Our yoga practice provides the opportunity to draw inward, reflecting upon our lives, our stories, our shining moments, and our shadows. Our “mat” is a safe place to open, acknowledge, observe, learn from, and release tension in our body, mind, and spirit. We want to return to the place where we can be fully present and aware. All of our life experiences help create who we uniquely are, and, if we choose, propel us positively forward. The key is our time of personal, honest reflection.

Try book-ending your day with this simple routine:

1. Every morning when you wake up, deepen your beautiful breath of life and write down three things for which you are grateful.

2. Before going to bed, write down three things that went well, or you accomplished during the day. Ask, “what am I committed to for tomorrow?” Treat yourself to a restorative yoga pose while lengthening out your exhale breath to unwind and relax.

3. Now, visualize someone you love. Who comes to mind first? What does he or she need? Lift up your concerns, and then release them to the power of the Divine. Express gratitude for this special person, and wrap them in love right now. Let go of any worry. Trust the process. The mind is calmed in the cradle of the heart. ❤️

This practice encourages us to shift our attention to the positive — to what is working in our lives — and to lift up in love and trust anything that concerns us. We often get caught up in the mundane of the daily grind, in the drama and struggles around us, that we lose sight of all the amazingness present in our lives. We just have to remember to notice and appreciate it! 😊

Yoga’s Reach by Danna Faulds

It is a wonder
how a simple stretch
deepens breath,
and an elegantly held pose
grows to touch the
whole of me.
Like sugar stirred into tea,
the potency
of yoga spreads
from body into mind
and heart, revealing
an ocean of energy
that heals and opens,
holds me close
and sets me free
all in the same moment.