Missing the Gift

As you might already know, last Thursday was my birthday.  This means I got to start the day teaching--which is my favorite way to start the day.  What a gift!  But as I shared with the class last week, that wasn't always the case.   I used to stress about it, starting the night before.  "What am I going to teach?  What poses will my students like?  What will they find inspiring? Will they even show up?? Will they come back?  What am I going to wear??"

The problem with these questions is that they were all about me and how I was doing and how I would be perceived.  I'm telling you now--that's a real joy-sucker.  WHILE I'm teaching I've always loved it, but the lead time had strife.  Unnecessary strife, to be sure. Because I was missing it!  I was missing the gift life had handed me with my silly worrying.  So I changed the language.   Now, instead of thinking, "I have to teach in the morning,"  I think,

"I get to teach in the morning."

This has made all the difference. It's about you, not me.  It's about divine inspiration, not human projection.  And you know what? I teach better.  When I get out of the way and allow the teaching to flow from the moment, inspired by Source, there is joy when I think about it and joy when I'm doing it.  

Does this work with laundry, dishes, and traffic?  Actually, yes it does.  We get to wash dishes because we have food.  We get to do laundry because we have clothes.  We get to sit in traffic because we have the ways and means to get where we need to go, albeit slower than hoped, which is good time to meditate. 

And now another gift is returning: we get to be together in community. 

Here in Austin we have shifted to Stage 3, which means things are opening up for us. Plus, the weather is AMAZING, so we get to go be in it!  Together!  I made a vow to myself to never again take being in community for granted.  When we come together things flow, hearts open, connections are made.  So I do hope you are finding your way back to community in whatever way that looks for you.  I hope you feel confident to venture out with as many precautions as are appropriate, as we are not meant to be alone.  

Sunday is our community gathering, and I hope you decide to join us. Heading out to Wimberley on a beautiful fall morning is not something we have to do--it's something we get to do. So let's DO IT!!

Also, the first week of November I'm going deep into community as I head to Lake Atitaln, Guatemala on retreat with my Prana Shakti dance teacher, Dr. Deb Kern.  I am also scoping out the situation for us so we can all feel safe and happy when we gather there in May!  

Here are two things happening while I'm away:

 I'm going live in the Jess G Yoga Facebook Group every day!  I'll show you around Villa Sumaya and consider together the beauty and possibility of yoga in this sacred place. There is a $150 discount on registration through November, so now's the time to see what is in store for us and realize you get to go on a retreat!! 

 I'm giving away yoga.  All of you left back here in the States get a sweet treat of daily yoga.  Chakra Savvy 7 is up and available to you now for FREE.  This is a quick 7-class course, one class per chakra.  I'm challenging all of you to do one class per day to kick off the month of gratitude.  Because after all, you we don't have to do yoga...we get to do yoga. 

May you see all of life as a gift, and enjoy yourself immensely whether at work or at play.