The clock shows 4am as I step onto my yoga mat. I mean to do 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar, mostly to celebrate the divine source of spiritual energy from the last full moon of 2012 (but also the need to work off all that excessive Christmas eating).
Instead I first sit cross legged, my face bathed in the brightness of the lunar luminescence that streamed through the windows of my practice space. It's just days away from my long awaited beach holiday, and I think of the gravity of the moon as it pulls the oceans back and forth, creating tides that constantly kiss and caress the shoreline. Just as the tides of our lives flow and ebb, I take a moment to reflect on the year that was about to end and how I'd embrace the new year that was about to begin.
Looking back, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for life's roller coaster ride of 2012. To me, gratitude isn't just a 'feeling'... it is a state of being... a way of looking at life through the lens of goodness to see the hidden wonders of what the world has to offer us. Being grateful is also to embrace our imperfections, and to recognise that there is so much love coming from every direction in our lives, and that whenever we are aligned with faith, we will be OK no matter how things turn out. When we are able to focus on the stuff that matters, and let go of the stuff that don't, gratitude beckons.
A sweaty but deeply gratifying 108 Surya Namaskars later, I write the last post for the year, and pause to set a Sankalpa for 2013. A "Sankalpa" means "vow or determination"... it's kinda like setting life's resolution but with a yogic flavour. A Sankalpa is about the "I Am" and not about the "I Want". It aims to bring out the best in us and focuses on the efforts and nobility behind that intention. In order to usher in the positive, we must first recognise and eliminate the negative. And by training the mind to develop trust and faith in ourselves, a Sankalpa can be the creator of our destiny.
In this new year, may you be free from the shackles of self-imposed boundaries, for you can be truly exceptional if you believe it in your heart of hearts.
May you be happy and surrounded by love and laughter, for there can never be enough of that in the world.
May you find gratitude in the angels who cross your path and reignite your inner fire.
May your Sankalpa enhance your life with contentment and inner peace.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Have a Happy and Blessed New Year.
Instead I first sit cross legged, my face bathed in the brightness of the lunar luminescence that streamed through the windows of my practice space. It's just days away from my long awaited beach holiday, and I think of the gravity of the moon as it pulls the oceans back and forth, creating tides that constantly kiss and caress the shoreline. Just as the tides of our lives flow and ebb, I take a moment to reflect on the year that was about to end and how I'd embrace the new year that was about to begin.
Looking back, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for life's roller coaster ride of 2012. To me, gratitude isn't just a 'feeling'... it is a state of being... a way of looking at life through the lens of goodness to see the hidden wonders of what the world has to offer us. Being grateful is also to embrace our imperfections, and to recognise that there is so much love coming from every direction in our lives, and that whenever we are aligned with faith, we will be OK no matter how things turn out. When we are able to focus on the stuff that matters, and let go of the stuff that don't, gratitude beckons.
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| "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should be thankful for those people who rekindle our inner spirit" (Albert Schweitzer) (photo taken in Old Town Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct 2012) |
In this new year, may you be free from the shackles of self-imposed boundaries, for you can be truly exceptional if you believe it in your heart of hearts.
May you be happy and surrounded by love and laughter, for there can never be enough of that in the world.
May you find gratitude in the angels who cross your path and reignite your inner fire.
May your Sankalpa enhance your life with contentment and inner peace.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Have a Happy and Blessed New Year.
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