New Year, New You

by Sarah Gauta

It's a new year and everyone's looking forward to a fresh start, a clean slate.  Many people engage in self-reflection this time of year, looking back on the months that just passed and evaluating what could be done differently or better in the year to come.  Many set new goals and try to commit to improving themselves on one or several levels, only to lose touch with those goals as the weeks wear on and life happens around them.

One of the many things I love about yoga is that it encourages this kind of self-inquiry all the time, not just once a year.  Every time we come to the mat we're forced to meet ourselves where we are and examine what's both beautiful and not-so-beautiful about ourselves and our behaviors and tendencies.  We're also encouraged to observe these things without judgment; the idea isn't to beat ourselves up over how terrible we are and strive to change all that's ugly.  The idea is to simply notice, to see the big picture for a change, and learn how to respond to negativity and challenge rather than react.  This practice begins as simply as having patience and expressing acceptance toward yourself while holding a pose that challenges you, a pose that makes you feel inferior, unattractive, or incapable in some way.  Rather than fueling the negativity fire by agreeing with yourself when you have these thoughts, you begin to notice the thoughts and stop them in their tracks, mentally counter-arguing with positive, reinforcing thoughts.  Instead of, "I hate this pose, I can't do it, my hips are never going to loosen up", it becomes, "This pose is challenging but I'm doing the best I can and although it's intense for my hips, my legs feel strong and my chest feels open and I'm still breathing."  Transformation begins when this starts happening effortlessly and more often, and the more it happens on the yoga mat, the more it begins to happen in day-to-day life.  

So rather than focusing on all that's negative and in need of change about yourself, see it for what it is, accept it, and find the good as well.  See challenges as teachers rather than obstacles, and know that someday you'll be thankful for what they taught you.  We all have aspects of ourselves that we don't like and past decisions we're not proud of, but when we learn to be forgiving and gentle with ourselves and look forward with optimism and acceptance, the negative associations of these aspects begin to dissipate.  When we let go of the negativity, we begin to make friends with ourselves again and space is created for compassion, confidence, and self-worth.  And the more we value our self, the more we strive to keep walking the path and engaging in practices which better serve us all the time, not just once a year. 

Embark on your path...begin with your next yoga class, your next Warrior or Pigeon pose.  Just as the body relaxes in time with consistent practice, so the mind will as well.  And when there's a balance of relaxation and softness between body and mind, goals and resolutions are suddenly much more attainable; life is suddenly much more bright!