Pixie Dust

One of my friends recently completed a week long yoga training.  We talked about it when she was finished & she told me how much she loved it.  She loved the training, she loved learning about yoga...and even more than that, she loved being surrounded by people who love yoga.  She said it was like "yoga pixie dust".  Everyone was kind & open & supportive.  It was a wonderful experience & it was wonderful to be part of that kind of a group of people.

If you've never experienced it, the best example I can think of is in contrast: being part of a group of people who complain all day, talk about others behind their back & think that nothing is going work or get better.  Sadly, most of us have had some kind experience with this example.

I've been teaching for over a decade now & so there's an abundance of yoga pixie dust in my life. Most of the people I know are covered in it, carry extra on them at all times & sprinkle it liberally wherever they go. 

Ok - sounds ridiculous right?  Or does it? 

Well, I don't really know about the pixie dust, but I do know that my life changed when I started practicing & teaching yoga.  Maybe I was sprinkled with pixie dust when I wasn't looking!  I am now surrounded by people who support each other, encourage each other, believe in themselves & others.  People who believe that life can be full of joy & abundance & that you can do anything you want. 

You don't have to take a teacher training to experience this (although a teacher training does takes it to a whole other level). 

Find the right studio for you & you'll find it.

How do you know it's the right studio?  Look for pixie dust in the corners:)

"Let's buy some Thyme"

I started this blog the day after Thanksgiving...

It's Friday after class.  I just taught.  I left the studio to pick up some posters, only to get to the Print Shop & remember that he's closed today.

I left the Print Shop to head home & remembered I had to go back to the studio.  Tomorrow is our Open Studio event & I don't know how to issue gift cards in our system (sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?).  I have to call tech support from the studio because I need to have access to the gift cards & scanner during the call (usually I call from home in the early morning or late night, when they're less busy).

 

So now I'm in the studio & I'm on hold with tech support.  I have a limited window of time because I have to get home so my husband can leave for work.  I do not like being on hold.  The box in the picture has a printer in it that I ordered.  It's been waiting to be unpacked for a few days now.  If I have to be on hold, I might as well get something done, right?  I want to unpack the printer & get rid of the box, so the lobby looks neat tomorrow.  I want to tip the box over & pull the printer out - easy.  Or not...all those darn styrofoam popcorn bits in the box will make a mess!  They go everywhere, they break into little bits...it'll be more work.  So I grab a garbage bag & start pulling the styrofoam out in small handfuls.  It's painfully slow.  I feel very impatient.  I haven't even gotten that far when tech support takes my call.

I want to rush & get stuff done.  I still have one more stop before I head home.  And a bunch of loose ends to wrap up before tomorrow.  But I know rushing won't help.  Stuff will just be a mess...not just the styrofoam popcorns, but everything.  And I'll just feel more stressed.  Instead, I'll do my best to take my time.  But I wish I had more time!!!

When I started this blog, I wasn't sure of my point.  And then when I got back to it tonight, it made me think about one day, just before the Holidays, when we were in the grocery store.  I had a recipe that called for Thyme.  As we walked through the produce section I started saying to my husband "Where's the thyme/time?  Can we just buy some Thyme/time?  I really need some thyme/time."  And it became a bit of a running joke for me/us for the next week (I'm not sure how funny my husband thought it!).  When I opened the refrigerator & saw the Thyme I'd say "Oh - I really need this time!  Just a little more time!"

I held onto to the idea of not having enough time for quite a while...most of the Holiday season, I now realize, a little sadly.  And then I listened to some Abraham & Law of Attraction & realized (once again!) that if I keep talking about what I don't have (time), it's not going to help...I was stuck in an attitude of scarcity.  Talking about all I had to do & how little time I had.

Listening to Abraham helped me shift.  I looked at my affirmations & found one that I hadn't looked at in a while "My life is full of abundance.  Today I have time to do what I want - to channel my energy where I want"

The days aren't any longer.  I don't have any less to do.  But my attitude & approach is different.  And it's my practice that's helped me do this.  And today I had the time to teach, play, write & more...

Let me ask you something....

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" - God (played by Morgan Freeman) from the movie Evan Almighty

I love this movie & I love this quote...and I'm not even comfortable with the whole "God" thing.  (You can substitute in "the Divine", "Universe" - whatever works better for you).

Sometimes we ask for alot - as well we should.  We are all children of the Universe & Nature & abundance is ours for the asking.

But sometimes, what we ask for doesn't arrive in quite the way we expect it.  And we wind up complaining about it.  That gift that you are expecting may not arrive wrapped in bright paper & ribbons with your name written in big letters on it.  Instead, it might be lying in a ratty old brown bag on the sidewalk.  If you're not present & you're not paying attention, you might just trip over it & keep on going. 

Yoga is a great place to practice everything you are asking for.  Be it patience, love, compassion, balance, strength, focus, abundance....the list goes on & on.

Every challenge that you encounter on your mat gives you the opportunity to practice finding, experiencing & receiving whatever you are asking for in your life.

Don't be afraid to ask - and ask for alot. Ask for abundance.  Ask for love.  Ask for joy.  But then, be ready to practice finding (and receiving) it in the most challenging moments on & off your mat.