yoga sunset

 

By Melody Lima

 

September is a time in our lives, off the mat, when we are in transition.

The kids go back to school, in the Jewish faith there is a celebration of a New Year, the weather changes, schedules fill up with more activities, the United Nations sponsors International Day of Peace (September 21st) and it is National Yoga Month.

All of these changes can cause a bit of trepidation.

Since re-entry into a busier schedule can be a bit bumpy, I like to hit the pause button in September. It is a time to reflect on all that we have accomplished and succeeded at over the last several months. For me, I painted two bedrooms in our house, started this column, Yoga is for Everybody, spent most of the summer chatting with my 11 year old about Taylor Swift videos and created a new business venture.

It is also a time to see where I can improve my service to myself.

I can eat less potato chips, look at my phone less, call my mother more often, exercise more, use kinder words in my conversation to myself and may be use a few less bad words when I am hanging with my girlfriends. I can always fit more meditation practices on the calendar.

What I am grateful for is the opportunity to start each day fresh, with optimism and hope that today I will be kinder to myself. I want to serve my family, community, students and you, my readers, to the best of my ability. Sometimes, my best looks like a working mom’s: very human best with flaws and imperfections.

In class recently, my teacher spoke about re-routing, like a GPS. We must continue through the obstacles, challenges and road blocks until we reach our goal. It is okay to take a pause, re-assess, adjust, tweak and acknowledge our missteps and persevere with a bit more wisdom. With a calm, monotone voice in our heads or even spoken out loud to re-route and discover a new part of your path.

Whether you are practicing 108 Sun Salutations to practice peace for Global Mala or decorating your house with pumpkins, cornucopia and mums for the Fall Equinox, celebrate this September transition in gratitude, peace and a little more me time.

 

Photo: yogaprivatelessons/tumblr

Editor: Dana Gornall

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