It's All Good.

I signed into my blog the other day and saw that March was the last time I had written. I stopped to think about why I hadn't written anything, and why I had made this commitment to write if it wasn't going to happen. I have a tendency to hold onto guilt when I have broken a commitment. I think that's pretty common, but it's a tough one to let go of. I am actually dealing with that at this very moment pertaining to an entirely different situation. Isn't yoga supposed to teach you to "let go"? Well, it isn't working. Turns out there is a fair amount of conscious work put into letting go and creating change.

Over the past few months I have quit a job to be a full time yoga instructor and massage therapist, realized I didn't JUST want to do those two things, started a relationship, picked up a new boutique job, and enrolled in nutrition school. Wow. I have known for a long time that my life is alwasy shifting and that I am always making new decisions. And it gets pretty tiresome at times.... like I don't know what I want, or I can't commit to something. But really that isn't it. I realized that yoga has given me one thing that I overlooked. Presence. I make decisions and do things that I feel are right in the present moment... and later is when I find out if it worked. Alot of times it does, and many it doesn't. The question I try to ask myself is, "is this a healthy decision for me?" And if the answer is yes then I do it. The kicker is that you don't know if it's healthy until later...

So why is letting go so difficult? I wonder how many articles and conversations people have had about this very topic. It's not like you say, "I want to be done with this," and then you are done. There are steps.

1. Ask yourself why you want to let go of this thing.
2. Ask yourself what unhealthy component it is bringing into your life.
3. Explore what this thing does to you.
4. Why do you feel the way you feel when you are holding onto this thing.
5. Is the feeling you have a habit... aka does this happen often.
6. Recongize the cycle.
7. Make the decision to break the cycle and free yourself from the feeling.

This is usually what I do when I am having a hard time releasing stress, pain, anxiety, sadness, fear, etc. What I have realized is that when I am not letting go of something it's because I do not have a clear mind and I am not focusing enough energy on my own needs.

I take on a lot of projects every day. I decide new things quickly, and I am over old things quickly. Since this is my nature, I tend to get overwhelmed and at that point must stop and create balance once again. When you are balanced is when life makes sense and you can speak your truth.

As I am writing this post I am also reading Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook It's All Good, and at the end of her introduction she says this (even though it's food related I'm taking it to mean something more. "Falling off your plan is part of it, not a reason to beat yourself up. It takes time to make these changes. It's all good." Thanks Gwyneth. But isn't true? It is always all good, and if it's not, it will be.

This is exactly why I am going to nutrition school to become a Health Coach. Because the emotional habits we have in our lives affect everything. And the way we eat affects everything. Eliminate, cleanse, your mind, your body, and find what works, and what doesn't work. Because that's all you can do if you are looking to make a healthy shift.