Forgive Yourself

In my post from a couple of weeks ago, I talked about my aversion to New Year's resolutions and how I eventually came around to finding one of my own. I talked about how I intended to “schedule 'me' time into my calendar so that I will be rested and nourished and present,” and become a better version of the woman I currently am.

Well, that's great and all, but after a couple of weeks of trying to put this into practice, I have a new perspective...

If trying to work self-care (or any other wellness-related New Year's resolution) into your schedule causes you to miss other important priorities and deadlines and ends up causing you guilt and stress, you've got to ease up on yourself!

Create balance. Schedule in some self-care, but don't go get too hung up on it. As one of my wise students shared in class this morning: celebrate small achievements, let go of shortcomings.

This week I've been studying how I'm dealing with shortcomings in my own planned self-care. Yesterday I arrived at the studio early with the intention of getting in a good hour of practice. That didn't quite work out, and I realized something.

Just getting on your mat is enough. Roll it out, lay down on it, see what happens.

Maybe you lay there and breathe, maybe you do some kind of movement. Maybe you get motivated to do something bigger, like sun salutes or hip openers or chest openers. It doesn't really matter what you do. Just indulging in the ritual of rolling out your mat and laying on it is calming and healing. Bonus points if you do some actual physical yoga poses.

There's no sense in berating yourself for not getting in 45 minutes of choreographed yoga sequences followed by 15 minutes of breathing and meditation 7 days a week. The point is wellness. The path you take to get there doesn't really matter.

So my thought of the day is, whatever is going on in your life, whether it be falling short on a New Year's resolution or something more serious, go easy on yourself. Let it go. Forgive yourself. Treat yourself with care and love, and try again tomorrow.

What are your thoughts on forgiving yourself? Have you ever held on to guilt too long? Have you ever experienced positive outcome after you've made the conscious decision to treat yourself with care and love? I'd love to learn from your wisdom - please post your comments below.

XO, Zelinda

(Re) Finding My Peace

Over the past week, it seems everywhere I turn people are talking about their New Year's Resolutions. Truth be told, I've been kind of annoyed by it all. What's so special about the beginning of a year? We can vow to change our habits and be better people any day of the week. I resolved that I have no need for New Year's Resolutions. But then on New Year's Day I was taking a walk around my neighborhood and I had some quiet time to reflect on why I was feeling so annoyed.

I realized that it was because I've been so busy that I literally have not had time to think about the state of my life, much less whether there's anything I want or need to change.

Just over a year ago I wrote a blog post about the importance of keeping your peace. That used to be a really huge priority for me. Now, in retrospect, I realize that keeping my peace went out the window around the time when we started construction on the new studio. It was a lot to manage, and then we moved into the new studio, and just like moving into a new house, there's a lot of work involved. It all just kept piling up and I slowly lost my peace and my life was dominated by my To Do list.

In the back of my mind, there's a list of a bunch of things that I wish were different in my life. I'd like to be more present with my children, cook and eat at home more, get the clutter in my house under control, practice yoga and meditation more consistently, have time for self-care, and maybe even have time for my old hobbies.

And so I realized during that walk on New Year's Day that the key to shifting my focus to these other important areas of my life lies in rediscovering my peace.

So here's my plan. I'm going to be more careful in scheduling my time. I know I have a tendency to over-commit myself, so I'm going to be conscious about that. I'm going to trust and depend on my fantastic new office staff and work traders to help me run the studio. I'm going to schedule "me" time into my calendar so that I will be rested and nourished and present, so that I can be a better mother, a better teacher, and a better boss.

2014 will be my year of newfound peace.

Now that I'm all in for New Year's Resolutions, I'd love to hear yours! What are you doing to make 2014 a great year? Please leave a comment on our Facebook post or here on the blog. I love to be inspired by your ideas!

XO, Zelinda

P.S. What are you doing tomorrow morning at 8:00? Come join me for my new 90 minute Gentle Yoga class! I'll weave together gentle and restorative yoga poses, deep relaxation, and maybe even some meditation for a guaranteed blissful start to your weekend! Beginners are welcome :)