Happy New Year!

As much fun as the holiday season can be, it can also be pretty stressful. Now that we're a few days into 2018 (and the kids are back in school!), it's time to reassess and recommit to our self-care routines.

First, a story. When I met my yoga mentor at KYM in India a year ago this month, I asked her how to manage the stress in my life, as I was starting to develop anxiety. She asked me about my daily schedule, and I explained that between my work, my children, and my home responsibilities, my schedule was different every day. She was totally perplexed by how anyone could live like this and tried to impress upon me the importance of routine. By the end of our meeting, I was pretty well convinced she might not be the right mentor for me because she clearly didn't understand the American way of life, but I tried to be open-minded.

Mrs. Padmini told me that certain activities, such as waking, yoga practice, eating, and sleeping, need to occur at a regular time every day for optimum health. I seriously questioned whether this could be feasible, but I figured I'd give it a try.

I started making small changes to my schedule to create more routine. I shifted from teaching my yoga classes in the evening to teaching in the morning. My husband took over morning drop off and I picked up the kids in the afternoons. This freed up my time in the morning so that I could develop my daily yoga practice. I also got serious about my kids adhering to their bedtime. Lo and behold, these small, incremental changes have really helped me get my stress under control and I haven't had anxiety in months. I can hardly believe the change; I feel so much healthier.

This being the start of a new year, it's a great time to take an honest look at your habits and plan out small changes to help optimize your health.

• Are you getting enough sleep?
• How is your quality of sleep?
• How is the quality of your diet?
• Are you getting enough exercise?
• What can you do to develop a consistent yoga practice?
• What do you want this next chapter of your life to look like?

Changing habits and creating routines can be tough work. Here is some advice from the YogaSutras [The Heart of Yoga, DKV Desikachar] to keep in mind as you set upon your journey:

I-14 - It is only when a new habit is followed for a long time, without interruption and with a positive attitude, that it can succeed.

I-50 - As this newly acquired habit gradually strengthens, it replaces other less desirable habits.

Please know that we're here to help! Most of our weekday Classes are scheduled MW or TT so that you can build consistency into your yoga practice, plus we have lot of options on theweekends. If you're experiencing a specific issue that you'd like to work on, you might consider a Therapeutic Series or Individual Instruction. And if exploring a new aspect of yoga would provide just the motivation you need to recommit to your practice, you might check out a Workshop.

Any questions? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you. :)

All my best,