Well, Christmas has come and gone and now we are on our way to a new year.   I love a new beginning; a fresh start; a blank slate.  I’m sure I could think of a few more descriptions if I were to spend some time on it.  However, my point is that we are closing out one chapter and opening another. ha...there was another one!

Usually, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions because I tend to think that we should make a daily goal of being better each day than we were the day before. For me, it’s an easier and more obtainable way of maintaining progress versus staring at a whole 12 months of blank squares that are waiting for me to mark off as a day of change.  One thing I do know is that whether we measure by the day or a whole year at once, the time will pass all the same.  I’ve said before that no one can stand still; time will not allow that to happen.  With or without our approval, time will tick away at the same rate it always has and that will never change.

There are three things I want to have accomplished when I look back on my life this time next year:

1. Learn a new language (become immersed in it so that I am fluent)

2. Complete the 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification

3. Skydive (preferably in Costa Rica in March after we renew our vows)

That is my list for the new year, but more to my point are the daily changes that make a difference in our lives as a whole.  

One way to begin a change is to become a new creature in Christ. There will never be a more important change in your life than to become a Christian. It’s a daily devotion to God that isn’t picked up and put down in a leisurely fashion, but a daily living, breathing relationship that cultivates as we pray and study to become closer to God.  When we do that the chains of the past are broken, we become free and the true peace of God begins to take over our lives.

2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:a The old has gone, the new is here!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

It can be difficult to reinvent yourself, but certainly not impossible. People know us for who we have been in the past which can make it more difficult for them to accept who we have become.  Even if they refuse to see you as a new being...change anyway. The world may not see the good that you can do...do good anyway.  Maybe you won’t get recognized as someone who has a kind heart because, after all, you haven’t always seen the world with compassion...be kind anyway.  

While you think that the world doesn’t see it, make no mistake that God knows all about it.  That is where true change comes from and that is through Christ our Lord.

Another way you may be looking to better yourself during the new year is making your health a priority. It’s a great idea to think we could just start on January 1st and workout everyday, drink only water, eat whole foods and ditch the junk.

News Flash:  That isn’t sustainable.  There is a reason that we are usually off the health bandwagon come March 1st.  

This is the first in a series of videos by my friend, Lynn, who is a personal trainer as well as my yoga instructor.  In this clip she will address the “S.M.A.R.T.” way to go about making a new lifestyle.  She knows her stuff and will tell you exactly what to do for success.  Lynn is the real deal so head on over and watch her “Where Do I Start?” video here. You can follow her on Facebook at Small but Fierce Yoga and Fitness.  There are lots of tips, recipes and videos or you can contact her directly for more questions.  
**Those are two very important goals: 1. Become a new creature 2. Get healthy

Now, I would love to see you add in one more for this year.  You’ve heard it said that you are never more alive than when you are scared to death...do something that scares the crap out of you.  I know that sounds crazy, but you know what, it is very empowering to look fear directly in the face, smile at it and then just kick it’s teeth in. Sometimes we need something like that to wake us up and realize we can actually LIVE this life we have been given instead of letting it just happen all around us. So, I challenge you to find what it is that scares you and take it on head first!!!

Some of the highlights of my crazy awesome life include moving to San Francisco, which is pretty scary for an old coal miner’s daughter that grew up in the mountains of East TN.  I’ve been surfing in the Pacific Ocean (I used a 9 ft board so the waves could more than handle a longboard), racing the Ironman 70.3 in Oceanside, CA with about 3,000 of my closest friends, open water swimming near Alcatraz and being bumped by a sea lion (it never bit me though), ziplining crazy high lines through the Ozarks and I am not finished yet. I have skydiving on the list this year along with whatever else may come my way.

Top Left: The Rock (Alcatraz) in the background Top Right: Linda Marr Beach

Bottom Left: Ziplining in the Ozarks  Center: Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, CA

Bottom Right: Golden Gate Bridge

Another thing I am very happy about is that I faced the fear of leaving my feet, both literally and figuratively.  As my yoga practice progressed, I was able to trust myself and leave my feet so that I could balance upside down. When you have been morbidly obese, the thought of leaving your feet is very scary. Facing that fear also helped me realize that leaving our feet and taking on new adventures are what keep us alive on the inside.  That’s how the name of this blog was born. I don’t want to live my life with my feet planted so firmly on the ground that I forget to spread my wings.  So, SCARE yourself every now and then.  

There is no better time to do all those things you have always wanted to do than right now...this very moment. We are coming up on the end of the year and it’s the perfect time to say goodbye to all things holding you back. Go...

Accepting Your Beautiful Self: Exposing my numbers...YIKES!!

unedited on purpose so please don’t look at the half hanging lights and sweaty hair :-)

My goal in posting this is really two fold.  I want for you to OWN the beautiful person that you are no matter the size of your jeans (or the build of any other part of your body) and to expose you to the idea that you don’t have to be a size 2 to practice yoga. I’m sure you can tell that I have become very passionate about the discipline and all that it brings about as you build your practice.  The movement of your body is only one dimension of the practice.  

Yoga can be for everyBODY.  If you have ever seen a post or magazine cover with a yogi posted on it, I can almost bet it has a trim body that makes the pose look beautiful and effortless.  While I love the idea that I look like that when I am practicing, the fact is I don’t... not even almost!  

As I said, my goal is to encourage you to own the beautiful you and I can only do that by example so here it is... I’m 220 pounds,  wear a size 16 clothes and the girls could probably have their own zip code.  There, I said it...I put it out there.  Ouch…

It’s exposing to put it out there, but I have to tell you that I really do love this body for what it is instead of hating it for what it isn’t. That is my reality. It will not change anytime soon and I will explain why.

As most of you know, I have come a long way in losing weight and changing my body’s shape. I’m proud of that because I have worked so hard to make that happen.  However, having bipolar causes me to have to take a medication that increases the appetite and slows the metabolism.  That would be easier to deal with if that were the only thing, but I have also struggled with thyroid disease since my early teens that continues to be a problem especially after starting these Lupron injections. Now, add in medical menopause and that makes it nearly impossible to lose weight.  The difference is that I have shifted my focus from trying to lose weight to taking care of myself in the best way possible. That starts with loving myself from where I am at this point and not for where I will be down the road. The truth is that I may never get to that perfect size that I have in my head.  What a sad thing to look back over my life and have wasted all that time hating the very body that carried me through my journey.

The lesson is to do all you can and take care of yourself as a whole. That is where yoga has helped me connect in ways I never even realized when it comes to seeing the link between the mind and body.  When you love who you are, you take better care of yourself and it leads to positive changes like ridding yourself of negative self-talk and accepting that you are ENOUGH just as you are at this moment. (Full disclosure: still working on that one myself; thank you bipolar)

So, I have put it all out there and while my weight is 80 lbs less than it once was, it’s my heart that feels lighter having let go of unrealistic expectations and accepting myself for what I am...a child of God that is nourishing the body that I have been blessed with to try and reach and encourage others.  

Namaste

also...Here is a good resource for how to modify some postures. I would also encourage you to go into a studio and let the instructor help you with alignment and props so that you can experience yoga and all that it offers.  

You are Enough!!

I’ve had a couple things on my mind lately and have struggled through deciding what to write.  One thing I wanted to address was “being enough” and the other was “owning our choices.”

The more I thought about it, the more I have realized that one has everything to do with the other.  Knowing and believing we are enough helps us see the value in ourselves and make decisions to lead us to the best life possible.  So, here it goes...

Are you __________ enough?  

Just insert anything you like in the blank: mom enough, woman enough, man enough, brave enough, strong enough, tough enough…

That list could go on and on.  Why is it so hard for us to believe we are enough, especially women?

When you believe that you are enough it changes the way you look at yourself and when you do that, it changes the way you look at the world.  So, to answer the question above, YES, you ARE enough!!! Just as you are...you are enough.  Believe that!!!  

Believing that does not mean we stop trying to learn, grow, breath new life into something and become a new being. It simply means that in this journey, and exactly where we are at this moment, I am enough and so are you.  I wish I could keep this concept in my own head all the time, but the fact is, I can’t.  My guess is that you can’t either.  

God isn’t in the habit of screwing things up or leaving something unfinished. So far, His track record is 0% on mistakes. I am not sure about you, but that makes me feel better knowing that he created me exactly as I am, even if that happens to be a crazy mess most the time.  

While we are all unique in how we were created, the one thing we all have in common is that our decisions have consequences.  Bad decisions on our part does not mean that God overlooked us or decided we were not good enough to be blessed.  Certainly, our own decisions will influence our lives and change circumstances.  If that were not the case then it would suggest we didn’t have free will.  The fact is that we do have freedom to make choices.  We have to own those choices and also the actions that come with them.  

I’m not going to tell you that the choices I have made in my life have always been good ones nor am I going to tell you that it was by anything except the grace of God that I am even breathing today.  I have absolutely made some stupid crazy decisions that lead to a less than ideal place. However, I have to own that I made those decisions.  While that didn't make my value any less than anyone else's, it sure made me feel like it.  That isn’t a feeling that is easy to shake for any of us.

Realizing that I am enough (even in a bad place) and finally wrapping my head around the fact that God wants me to have a good life helped me know that I was worthy of making better decisions and requiring more from myself. God loves me and wants to be the center of my life. I don’t have to be perfect for Him to want to be there. I am enough for Him to love me just as I am and no matter what mess I may be in at the moment, God still wants me. That certainly didn’t mean I didn’t have a lot of changing to do because I will be the first to tell you that as far as sinners go, I am a champ. I was ENOUGH then for Him to love me and I am ENOUGH now so that He still loves me and I am even beginning to love myself.  

Shifting our thinking is not always easy. If that were the case, we could simply change our mind and everyone would be having their best day every single day of the week. I think the real change comes when we can identify what our own truth is about ourselves and not what everyone else thinks about us.  When we are convinced in who we are at the core, we realize we are enough. All the other stuff becomes background noise and suddenly, we get a lot less busy in our thinking and our choices become more clear.  

You may be in the wrath of some decisions now wondering how to get out. I would encourage you to pray earnestly about where you are in this moment.  Then, take some time to let it sink into your mind that right now, as you live and breath, you are WORTHY. Decide what you want from this life and make a plan...an honest to goodness, step-by-step plan on how to get out of where you are and moving toward where you want to go.  Nobody can stand still.  Time will just not allow it to happen.  So, time is moving on, things are changing everyday and you have to move along with it. The question is: which direction are you going to move?  

      You have VALUE!!        You are WORTHY!!

Trying to get a plan can quickly become overwhelming so if you would like some help, please click on the link below. Cindee Joslin is a Certified Life Coach and the owner of Yoga Story where I practice yoga weekly. We would hire a coach to help us master a sport, Cindee can help you master a plan for your life.

Life Coach, Cindee Joslin
http://www.yogastory.info/#!life-coaching/c1ws0 
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