Day in the Life of the Yogic Diet

Many people have practices that they do to keep themselves fit, happy, and steady. Some people emphasize different areas of fitness over others. To be well rounded, happy, peaceful, healed, and whole we should aim for a balance of keeping ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually fit. It is essentially the sum of these practices that I call "the Yogic Diet." Your yogic diet will be different from mine and from your teachers and friends. What are some of the practices of your yogic diet?

Experiencing the "light" of yoga makes me tick. So, many of my practices revolve around lighting up what I feel needs to be regularly re-lit and re-freshed.

1. First, I aim to LIGHT up whatever is going on in my mind. Mornings are best.
- I do about 15 minutes of spiritual practices to quiet my mind and then I affirm what I really want for myself and others in my life. If I'm worried about something like "Will I have enough participants to make a new class?" Them I affirm, "I feel successful and attract abundance into my life. My classes naturally attract an abundance of clients. I release all worry and concern."
- I also use this process to pray for others. If my parents or kids are struggling with something, then I affirm a positive way for it all to work out for them.
- I stay with it until I release every last worry. When I finish, I feel positive and happy...lit up.

2. Time to LIGHT up the body
- I walk briskly to get my heart rate up, feel energized, and burn calories.
- Practicing hatha yoga helps to light up whatever feels tired or achy in the body, to open the energy flow, to stretch and strengthen my muscles, and to draw my senses within.
- I mostly eat a light diet that is filled with fruits and veggies, nuts, some dairy, lots of water, healthy added oils, and less snacks.

3. Filling up with LIGHT
- Once I've cleared my mind and refreshed my body, I sit for meditation. This practice is my lifeline. Going within I have so much more to give out. I can focus more on "How are you?" rather than so much on "How about me?"

Believe it or not, this set of practices has taken years to develop. And though these practices give me great happiness, a feeling of steadiness, and the ability to serve others with my heart, sometimes I can still go days without doing them. Then when I go back to them, the steadiness returns. I feel that when I can do them like a world-class athlete who practices 2 x 7 x 52 x 10 (2 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year - for 10 years), it'll be time for my PBS special!

All my classes are essentially about learning to develop, practice, and deepen your own yogic diet. Contact me for more details on how to develop your yogic diet today.

Love and Blessings,
Monique

Keeping up the Resolutions

My teacher once said that in this day and age it is easy to give up our resolutions when something becomes challenging...not very challenging, just challenging.

What are some resolutions we may have made?
- Stop snacking between meals
- Give the kids/spouse/dog more attention
- Jog/Practice Yoga/Lift Weights X days per week
- Read scriptures
- Meditate daily
- Cut carbs
- See the good in everyone
- Reduce gossip
- Just say no to diet cokes
- Release the past and forgive everyone

What are some challenges we may face in keeping them?
- Time
- Faith
- Fear
- Success
- Emotions
- Hormones
- Working, eating, sleeping, drinking, talking, doing too much
- Fatigue
- Carelessness
- Boredom

So, how can we follow ever through? After he arrived in India in 1959, a Buddhist lama was asked, "How did you manage to escape from Tibet and cross the high and snowy Himalayas by foot?" He replied, "One step at a time." And so it is with our resolutions.

Each time we take a step in the direction of fulfilling our resolutions, we add to the momentum of change, of fulfillment, of heightened self-esteem. And so what if we take a few steps back? We owe it to ourselves and our families to find our resolutions, dust them off, and begin anew. Doing so helps us live an inspired and inspiring life.

Also, beginning over and over again and sticking with our resolutions does bring lasting change. One step at a time, we find ourselves more and more lit up from the inside and surrounded by abundance on the outside.

May we all release the hold that we have on our obstacles and the hold that our obstacles have on us. May we feel successful and attract abundance into our lives.

Namaste,
Monique

A Mirror

About ten years ago, I was visiting one of my teacher's ashrams and a woman who was leading one of the programs made an impression on me. She was beautiful, confident, down to earth, and warm. I noticed she was happily married to another yogi and they made a lovely couple. I remember feeling that I'd like to be like her. I wanted to be more powerful, confident, and whole in my life. I wanted my husband to join me more fully on the yogic path. It was an impression and a thought...and it was gone.

Fast forward ten years. Last summer, I was attending a retreat with my family at another one of my teacher's ashrams. The energy was as powerful as I remembered. I easily tapped into my own greatness and inner divinity and to that same greatness in others. This is the power of yoga. I watched my husband and children shift in powerful ways. It was an amazing retreat and a blessing for my family.

One evening, I sat down with some ladies that I had not had a chance to meet. We hit it off and began sharing about our lives. One lady shared that she was a life coach and had her own business. Wow, just like me. She also taught kid's yoga. Just like me. She was attending the retreat with her family. Just like me. She felt very powerful and strong in her life as she had healed many issues by following the path of yoga. She still sometimes struggles and is open and honest about that with her clients. Just like me.

Then it hit me. This was the woman that I had seen years ago. I asked her if she had indeed been there leading that program and she confirmed my intuition. The thought of wanting to be like her had manifested. Through grace, she had returned to mirror and show me how much progress I have made over the years. I told her my experience of wanting to be like her and we marveled over our parallel lives.

The magic, mystery, and power of yoga practices continues to amaze me. Yoga works. Yoga transforms. Yoga heals. Yoga empowers.

May the universe continue to guide each one of us toward the people, places, teachers, and ideas that show us a glimmer of who and what we are capable of being.

Namaste