Why I'm Not All About Self Improvement

As I think about my New Year intention and resolutions, I’m trying to remember that there are no disciplines or practices that will make me a more worthy human. Now I can stop grasping, pushing, clinging, struggling, and fighting to self improve. Just be

Welcome to 2021! Feels much like 2020, huh? I'm ok with that. Big change and worthy transition takes time. I'm still reflecting a bit, even as I'm super excited to forge ahead.  Recently on my podcast, we listened to each chakra and asked ourselves how 2020 affected us in all areas of our lives.  (If you haven’t listened yet, I encourage you to listen to that PODCAST episode (#101) where I take you through the chakras and corresponding questions. You can also download the accompanying PDF, and spend 15-20 minutes asking yourself those questions.)  I really feel looking back is imperative to moving forward with wisdom and right action. Because we DO want to move forward!

Even today, as I look around and listen to the chatter online and with students, it seems that people are setting their agendas and closing in on what to do and how they want to improve this year.   Well I’m going to share a little secret:  I balk at the word “improve.”  In my opinion, “self-improvement” implies a lack at the level of the Self.  I’m not saying there isn’t great advice out there for best practices and ways to improve certain functions and develop talent or skill.  This is right effort and I applaud it!  But at a deeper level, I believe self-improvement actually closes us down energetically.  It starts from a negative standpoint of not-enoughness.  I think it has a basis in shame. 

And as shame is the shadow of our third chakra, our will and ability to manifest in the world, I think we unconsciously create resolutions out of our shame rather than creating dreams out of possibility. 

And what do you think is the quality and longevity for things created out of shame?  I’m gonna guess it’s not great.  

So in response to this “not-enoughness” we create a little agenda for ourselves as to how we’re going to get better and be better.  A worthy desire, but not necessarily a helpful one.  In our truest form, in our deepest Selves, we need no improving.  All the possibility for our lives is like an acorn within us, which houses all the information needed to create the mighty oak. 

Practicing yoga helps reveal that mighty oak within you.  The chakras reveal it step-by-step.

Recently when I was preparing to guide my class in setting intentions for the new year, I was derailed from what I planned and was thrown into a new way of coming into a new year.  We have always set intentions for the new year around this time, but what came to me in my own morning practice changed my agenda entirely.  In this week's PODCAST, I discuss these points and share the opening chat from my New Year's Eve Hatha class, Release Your Agenda and Open to Possibility. It will help center you on thinking bigger, surrendering your agenda, and living into what the Universe has in store for you.

I believe there is a way to stay open to possibilities, yet lay the groundwork for a new year, or even a new chapter or new way of being.  Because this life is a co-creation, we need a “both/and” approach to creating the life we want to lead.  We need to ask the right questions, listen for wisdom’s answers, and then apply right effort to what is ours to do in this world.  This takes time. We need a way to do this mindfully, with compassion and grace.  We need a game plan.  To me, the chakras lay out the game plan perfectly.  I believe a months-long journey through the chakras in order to build the life you want (especially after the upheaval of 2020) is worthy of our attention and time. 

• Attention to abundance, not scarcity, lays a new foundation of steadiness and ease. 
• It takes time to release what is blocking you, and start to move forward with freedom and joy. 
• Speaking your truth deserves more than a new year’s resolution--it deserves tools and practices that are easy to incorporate into your everyday life.  

This is what I watched myself do over the last couple of years.  Believe me, I’ve been through clutching fear, emotional upheaval, loss, heartbreak, new visions, rebirths, and moments of complete Divine inspiration and total surrender.  And because I paid attention, I am super ready and very excited to share what I learned with you. 

So now I ask you:

What if you had a way to take all that possibility and reset your life, confidently and mindfully, and do it with guidance and a supportive community? 

That’s what I’m teaching this year in my new online yoga class, Chakra Savvy: Reset Your Life Game Plan.  This has been three years in the making, and now is the perfect time to launch.  We will spend three weeks per chakra, from January 18-June 18, and ask the hard questions, apply right effort, and open to possibility in every facet of our lives.  2020 took our game board and threw it up in the air, pieces flying.  Nothing but possibility! Now we have the opportunity to put the pieces back the way we want them, mindfully, with compassion, confidence, and grace. I really hope you join me this exciting 21 week immersive journey through all 7 chakras that includes weekly classes, life lab videos, and a tool kit box mailed to you for each chakra.

If this sounds as exciting to you as it does to me, I invite you to try it out for free! 

January 11-15 is my Virtual Open House.  You can attend live Zoom classes or participate on your time with the class recording.  This open house also includes my ongoing Tuesday/Thursday Hatha classes, so you can get a taste of what regular, consistent yoga practice can do for you.  

So, I guess you can see I’m pretty excited about this semester.  I love this opportunity to share the chakra system and its applications with you in a way that is relevant, transformative, and completely doable.  It's gonna be a great year!

May your resolutions of self-improvement become radical practices of self-acceptance as you co-create your one unique life, exactly the way you want it to be.

Much love