Chapter 11

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and say these words out loud to yourself: I am worthy. I am enough. I am filled with unconditional love. Say them again. It’s the truth. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is nothing you need to do to be worthy of love. There is nothing you can do to revoke your spiritual inheritance. You are worthy. You are enough. You are filled with unconditional love. You just need to open your eyes, soften your heart and let it all in. Give yourself permission to be exactly who you are. Relax, let go and just be yourself. 

The Sanskrit word Satya, usually translated as truthfulness, can also mean authenticity. When you wake up one day and realize that all you need to be is yourself, you’re finally free. If you spend your life being what you think you should be or what other people want you to be then you will always feel empty on some level. There is something so captivating about someone who unapologetically owns their truth. When you say yes to your authentic self your soul vibrates with the full power of your life force. The spirit literally descends on you and fills you with light. Saying you’re sorry for who you are is like invalidating the power that made you. Don’t be ashamed of who you are because you are not a mistake. You are a divine creation, blessed, whole and complete. You don’t need to be the first, the biggest, the loudest, the best. You just need to be yourself. That’s it. That’s all it takes. Carve out the little niche in the universe that is specially designed just for you. Sing your song, do you thing, shine your own light. Be yourself. You are worthy. You are enough. You are filled with unconditional love.

It can be hard to get motivated to get on your mat in the morning when you want to sleep in and stay out late at night. It can be hard to turn the other cheek when you find a thousand reasons to be annoyed. Finding inspiration to live a more peaceful is the heart of the spiritual practice. If you take it on like a dogma it will never last. If you just do what you think is right without yearning for it in your heart then you just won't find the enthusiasm to practice consistently.  My biggest inspiration for the practice comes from being my teachers. Whenever doubt arises all I have to do is think about Guruji, read his words or watch his videos to give me the energy and enthusiasm for the practice. Inspiration is the course of Virya, spiritual strength that comes with energy it takes to walk the path of yoga. My students inspire me every day with their powerful stories of healing, their determination to practice and their brilliant, shining hearts. Share you inspiration today by tagging someone who inspires you, sharing a quote that motivates you or posting what inspire you.

Sometimes you have to stand your ground. Sometimes you know it's your truth and there is just no room to compromise. Some things are deal breakers that you just can't live with. Don't settle for less than you're worth. Don't do it just because you think it's the best you will ever get. Wait for something or someone that is worthy of your greatness. Deep down inside you know who you are and why you're here and how specials to truly are.

I didn't have enough self-esteem to think I was worth waiting for. I still remember the first time that a guy looked at me and said I was pretty. I felt like regardless of whether or not I liked him that I better go out with him because who knows if anyone else would ever like me again. Can you believe it? Where everyone saw beauty all I saw was an ugly little girl, too short, legs too thick, face too flat. Until one day after many years of practice I felt it, I felt the essence of spirit shine from within. It was the light of a thousand suns, brilliant, beautiful, powerful. And suddenly I was at home in my own skin. And I knew I would never settle for less than I am worth ever again. You are worthy of love. You are strong and beautiful. You deserve the best. There is a divine plan for your life unfolding in the perfect time. You just need to believe that you are worthy enough to be the person you already are deep down inside.

Emotions get stored up in the body if you don't let then out and process them. Grievances, hurt feelings, resentments, grudges all eat away at you the inside out. Yoga may sometimes be unnerving, it may bring up tears, painful thoughts, heaviness that you'd rather just not look at. But there is actually no escape from the scary emotional places within us. The only way out is through. 

Are you an emotional stuffer? Do keep things locked inside until they burst? Just for today see if it's possible to feel everything. Just for today see if it's possible to make peace with whatever emotions arise. Just for today give yourself permission to feel whatever you feel, free from judgment, or any need to hold it all together. Emotions only linger when we feed, fuel or fight them. Feel them for what they are, clouds passing through the great expanse of the sky-like nature of mind and you are already free. Cultivate equanimity and experience every emotion with strength and grace. 

Focus on the journey not the aesthetic shape. Focus on the inner experience not the outer show. There was a time when I would have sacrificed form and technique to just get the feeling of a challenging handstand transition. All that did was give me a bunch of bad habits that I've had to systematically retrain. If you're not ready, you're not ready. And that's ok. Just be exactly where you are and put in the work. Practice with intelligence, patience and non-attachment. Be a true a spiritual seeker. Never give up. Don't sacrifice the heart of yoga in effort to bend your body. Tittibhasana to handstand took me so many years that I thought it would never happen. When things don't happen right away, don't force it or quit, instead practice every day and keep the faith, because one day sooner or later they will. Everything always works out just how it's supposed to. The day the pose that you're dreaming of happens is the perfect day for that pose, not one day spooner. You're perfect already, you don't need any asana to make you whole.