Look How Far You’ve Come
September came and went in the blink of an eye. Our focus in September was one of taking stock. Once we see where we are with clear eyes, we can see where we need to grieve, where we can celebrate. Only then can we let go of both equally.
To help you close out your year with intention, we invite you to take stock by reviewing your work from our Winter Challenge. The questions you answered were:
What have you longed for?
What do you not want to go back to?
What did you invent / create?
What do you want to invent / create now?
Pull out your answers from January 2022 and see what you wrote. How is it going? Did you stay true to the answers that came alive in you nine months ago? Did the seeds you planted grown and germinate on their own or did you do some extra work each week or month to help them grow into the light?
Here’s what I had for my seeds way back in January 2022:
What have you longed for?
community
girlfriends
adventure
What do you not want to go back to?
business busy-ness
lack of time and energy
same old, same old
being so depleted and pulled in every direction that I lack time for creativity and inspiration
What did we invent?
new yoga studio
family game night
zoom yoga
special time for me and my kids
What do I want to create now?
circle of friends
ease
life that is congruent and full of meaning
life I don’t need a break from
As I look back to reflect on my seeds, I feel I have grown many of them some through intentional work, other grew on their own. One intentional thing I did this year was to create a women’s dinner group beginning with 15 Toasts! and now we meet bi-monthly with a new theme each month. There are 12 women total and we have even gone to weekend dinners, concerts or lunches with smaller groups from the larger one. I have felt more connection, laughter and friendship this year from a wide circle that feels like home. Knowing I have a larger support network has also led me to more meaning, laughter and ease. When we gather, we talk about the hard things, the ways we have come through, the challenges we still have and we laugh and cry together. Even though we don’t see each other daily, this has been a lovely anchor for me that keeps me full and inspired.
In order to not need a break from life, I set a few boundaries around work and when I will respond to emails and phone calls. I have stopped being so hard on myself when I am not very timely in my replies. I remind myself … this is yoga, after all. I can still be professional, but I can also give myself two days away from work to replenish and recharge. The world will keep on turning. This has helped immensely. To add to this space for ease and inspiration, this fall I am actually shifting my schedule and letting go of two classes per week (don’t worry- Jill McBurney will be in charge!). This has freed me up to take a training on spiritual direction and how to counsel others in times of transition. I am beyond excited to be a part of this year-long study as I know it will lead me to whatever is next for our community. It is crazy how life has shown up just in setting these few broad strokes down on paper.
Your home practice for this month:
Review your notes from our January “Planting the Seeds” event.
Look at each bullet and write out what has shifted either due to your intention or due to life leading you there.
Just sit and notice. Soak it all in.
Join Amanda Barbarito for a community building event on moving through the heaviness of grief to find your way into the light. Saturday, October 15th from 2-4pm.
