Mastering your life

I want to start this piece with a wonderful quote by Don Miguel Ruiz: “We must challenge those beliefs that limit the expression of our lives”. Just imagine what would we be able to do if we did not “hear” old sets of beliefs about ourselves and others. We would simply be unstoppable! Our minds are busy and constantly moving from one line of thought to the next. Most of us have accumulated different “concepts” throughout our lives, and have adopted them as our truths. Unfortunately, these beliefs often belittle our true potential.

When we are not connected to the truth of our hearts, the truth that make us aware of our inner divinity, our consciousness shrinks. When our consciousness shrinks, our false set of beliefs (those beliefs that tell us we are not good enough, that we are too fat, we cannot do this without help….) expand and take over. We end up seeking power outside of ourselves.

Human minds have unlimited potential but we have limited access to it. Why? Because we don’t take time to go deeper into the depths of silence. We must learn to calm the vrittis (spinning movements) of thoughts in order to gain a glimpse of our infinite power. The breath is the gateway for this to happen. Right now, as you read this, inhale slowly and three-dimensionally and as you do this, inhale self-love, inhale slowly and invite confidence, courage, creativity. Invite with your breath and with your eyes closed, whatever quality you need right now to expand the expression of your life. Always looking at your unhealthy voices with compassion and understanding.

Namaste

Blossoming and expanding is our nature. Does a flower stops bursting out because she hears negative voices…?

Removing the darkness, polishing the needle...

So, a needle is inherently magnetic right? But what is the needle has been exposed to sea water, wind, rain, dirt or even acid…? On the surface it will look all rusted, but if we polished it, we would realise that the shining magnetic element is still there.

Our essence is pure light but from the moment we discover our “Asmita” or “Iamness”, and we split away form our source to become “separate”, we start splashing our heart’s inner light with rusting elements that darken our ability to connect to it. That moment when I realise my mum’s breast is not a part of me and therefore not available at all times, or that “other” has a toy or a piece of food I want, at that moment… ladies and gentlemen the beginning of all suffering starts!

And so according to Patanjali there are four elements that brig a dark veil to our hearts:

.- Attatchment: (when we cannot let go of someone or an idea, a concept or a desire…) even if it is as an aversion.

.- Jealousy: Someone has something I want and I don’t have. There are degrees of jealousy. One of them is a healthy one and it occurs when we feel “healthy envy”. Our soul recognises that “I” have as much potential as “that person” but I don’t wish him/her any ill. This one is ok if we use it to inspire us but unhealthy jealousy is just poison for the heart.

.- Desire to Control….When we are in conflict with reality we suffer! How freeing would it be to just abide in “what is in front of me right now”, our hearts will know if we are to fight it or not, but from a place of knowingness rather than ignorance.

.- Self - Righteousness: I find it a little bit strange that every time I am in a discussion, I always find myself on the right side… How about you? When we are always right, it is very difficult to find humbleness in our hearts and we suffer when the world is not as “it should be!”. That guys, most definitely sabotage our peace of mind.

So the way to dissolve the veil of darkness is by: Contemplating on the situation and then finding the root desire, in other words; the cause and thirdly cultivating its opposite feeling. So, next time you feel jealous of someone who has more than you or someone who is (in your mind better than you) , try to think how much has that person worked to reach where he/she has or the sacrifices he/she has made and send that person love. Try it, it works! but in order to do that efficiently you need to sit and listen to the silence in your heart. Your inner teacher is there, always there for you and with you.

Namaste!

Look at a candle flame attentively and without blinking for as long as you can. Afterwards close your eyes and keep the thumbs size light in your third eye for as long as you can… Trataka meditation.

OM Saha Navavatu

It is a rare occurrence for me to feel this low. It came unexpectedly as I woke up feeling physically weak. I decided to sit in front of the TV (which is another very rare occurrence) and quite by chance watched "Fern Britton meets Gregory Porter".  She was interviewing this American Jazz Singer whose words about faith for Jesus and love for his amazing mother captivated me. Every so often I completely burst into tears.  Surprised at my reaction I decided to sit with myself and become really intimate with whatever has been triggered by what was in front of me.

One of my immediate points of reflection is "what legacy do we leave behind". What legacy am I leaving behind?  And my tears come from knowing that there is still so much potential in me that has not yet flourished.  Do you feel the same?  This is the moment for change. There is no more chance for postponing life. Life is now and it's zest needs to be squeezed, tasted, explored, lived and most of all; shared! This amazing human being that sings with pure love in his heart talked throughout the program about his mum being such a source of inspiration.  I believe I have done well on that front and that fills me with contentment. Our children really are a legacy to the world if we do our work correctly. 

Being a mother is my first mission. It will always be. Oh but there is so much more to be done out there!  So here, on this sofa, I feel I want to surrender to my mother, my source. If this sounds strange to you, I am referring simply to a higher power, in whatever form seems sacred to you.  Gregory Porter's song are a representation of his surrender to the energy of love and Jesus. That is his strength.

I have experienced in the past that out of total surrender new seeds truly flourish.  I promise to myself to be a woman that will flourish so much.  What will be my legacy? What will be yours?  So a prayer from the Upanishad comes to the rescue:

Om sahanaa vavatu / Sahanau bhunaktu / Saha veeryam karavaa vahai / Tejasvi naa vadhee tamastu/ maa vidvishaa vahai Om Shaanti Shaanti Shaantihi

Translation: May he protect us both (the teacher and the student). May he nourish us both. 

May we create strength amongst one another.

May our study be enlightening and fruitful. May we love each other. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3N0A9nDn-I

So, in growing and evolving we all need to support each other. This is what life is teaching me at the moment. 

Namaste

Our dark side can be useful folks!

Every so often do you notice a negative part of you that jumps out when you least expect it?

I do! And I used to get very crossed with myself because you know, in the yoga world teachers have that image of what the perfect yogi should be like...Ha! How unreal is that! What an unnecessary pressure we put on ourselves! Or at least that is what I used to do. Sometimes....that need for perfection still hunts me.

Anyhow, my teacher's teacher Pandit Rajmani said in one of his talks about Tantra that we should never negate our dark side. That all we have to do is to notice it whenever it emerges and then use the energy and the strength of that same negative trait but for something positive.  If we try to hide or conceal our dark side, it will only become stronger, but if we see it as an observer and with the eyes, the distance and the compassion of the witness, we can extract that energy and apply it for positive transformation; then we have a great chance of continue to evolve as better human beings.

Let's say I have not forgiven someone from the past, and that anger manifests itself in reactivity... I could call upon that anger willingly when I am doing chaturangas, up dogs, down dogs! and this force will make me stronger during these poses.  This seems over simplistic but check it out!  You may be surprised!

Another example....If you are doing a sugar free diet and suddenly you become desperate for some chocolate... Observe where is the need coming from and just by taking the place of the observer you may notice that impulse becoming smaller... If this does not work then use the intensity of that desire to make a work of art! Or play your favourite instrument really loudly! Or chant OMMMMMMs until you become tired of chanting. I swear the anxiety and desire to eat the chocolate would by then have gone away! ...and if it doesn't? Eat the chocolate, it must mean your body needs it!

Namaste!

Staying grounded in the midst of change

After 11 years living in my beautiful house, it is time to move on.  Sometimes we can become too comfortable in our lives and in my experience, energies stop flowing.  

Taking ourselves out of our "comfort zone" is necessary for growth.  We cease learning when nothing challenges us. That is why a person or a situation that takes us straight into "that zone of discomfort and uneasiness to say the least, becomes our best teacher right there and then!  I can't bear my mother, but she has taught me unknowingly a great deal about myself.

The world is our mirror and if we are awake enough to see it, at every moment there is something interesting to notice. Good or bads are irrelevant. Developing the capacity to "observe" is the important thing. It is what makes us be connected to this moment in life.

So, right now become aware of your breath and take a minute to feel grateful for the gift of your life. Namaste!

Embracing every second like a tender baby, every moment is a gift of the divine.

I cannot touch my toes but I can touch the sky!!!

Have you guys noticed that the most flexible people always go at the front in a yoga class or workshop?  The ones with tight hamstrings, big bellies, or those who simply don't feel flexible enough lay their mats right at the back.

Surely we could name an endless number of amazing human beings like the Dalai Lama, Obama, Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Marie Curie, Stephen Hawking....etc, etc. that have not precisely been known for putting their legs around their necks or resting in full paschimottanasana.  

So, I wonder if flexibility is not over rated in the yoga world? 

We all know that strength and flexibility are an important combination, just like power and wisdom go hand in hand.  But what type of flexibility should we put more emphasis on? The one that allows us to do impressive back bends or flexibility in our minds?

There is real gain in keeping our mind open to see the world from disparate points of view. We are often only able to see life from where we stand and, without noticing, we become "stuck" in our own ways.  We become old when we get stiff, but not stiff only in our bodies. We only become truly old when we get stuck in our story and unable to add new colours to the painting of our lives. 

Being a parent

Is there any recipe on how to be a good parent?  I am sure there are loads of books written about this subject.  Some may give us good "tips" while others may sound better on paper than in real life.  I am writing about this subject because being a mother is a form of art and it fascinates me.  Being a good mother requires intuition, attention and a big level of humbleness, because it is important to be able to admit when one is in the wrong.

Parenting also requires the ability to take distance from oneself specially in challenging situations. Just like a painter looks at a canvas from a distance in order to gain a better perspective,  developing the ability to observe from a distance what is happening to our children, can be extremely beneficial.  Specially if we are able to see with some level of objectivity how often we project our "shadows" on them, how often we make our children the recipients of our frustrations, anger, fears, etc, etc.  We must learn to be more vigilant of the words we use because one simple word  or the lack of a loving, supporting word can mark a child and a young person forever! 

I have two daughters, one is about to become nineteen and the other is twenty one years old. They are my greatest teachers.  These last two years have been of a steady growth for me as a mother and as a woman.  I have had to challenge "convictions" that my parents and society "planted" in my belief system when I was a young person.  I see these "beliefs" visiting me and I see when they visit people I know well. A common one for many people is: "I am not good enough".  

My daughters answers and views of life don't cease to amaze me.  I believe a big part of who they are is due to the fact that since they were little they were respected and nourished as individuals.

I see little children going to the park, holding onto their parents hands happily or sometimes just walking sadly by their upset parents and my heart shrinks! They are treasures. Each one of them is a diamond, and we scratch them often until their light stops from shinning brightly and happily.

What is it that makes us think that we as parents deserve more respect from our children than the respect they deserve from us?  Ask yourself is this applies to you.  

In my personal experience, I have always respected my children, their privacy, their ideas (independently of my agreement or not) and the result is that they respect me equally.  

Very often parents want their children to manifest the dreams they themselves did not manage to fulfil. We must understand that they must live their own dreams and that their dream very possibly will differ completely from ours!  We must respect and support their inner teacher.  If we don't, how can we expect that they will be confident in the world?

Every cell in our body has a unique function. We have liver cells, red cells, brain cells,....and like the cells, each one of us has a unique function in this body of existence.  This is called "Sva-Dharma". Sva means Self and Dharma is law, order. Joined it means unique soul purpose.  But guess what? Many of us are not doing what we were meant to be doing in our lives. That is why there is so much unhappiness in the world.

There are plenty of unhappy doctors, dentists, accountants, lawyers out there that only chose to do that for living because their parents, teachers or elders, decided their future for them, or convinced them of not trusting their dreams.   Money is always a factor that parents and society tend to confuse with success. Happiness somehow never is.  Is't that weird? Surely that is the first question we should ask our children...There is this big belief that somehow we are not here to be happy!  But our emphasis should be on educating children to understand that whatever it is they do, they must have social responsibility, that they must care for the world they live in. That success is only valuable when we are able to use it on order to help others.

Don't take away the dreams of you child. Feed them, nourish his/her dreams. It is difficult to be a young adult in this competitive society.  Oh boy but if we support our children in their dreams they have a thousand times more probabilities of succeeding as human beings. Even if they make mistakes (like we for sure have), our job is not to tell them "I told you so", our job as parents is to hold their hands and say, all happens for a reason.  Stand up keep living your life fully. You are brave because you tried.

Intimacy...

...with silence.  Tomorrow is a bank holiday Monday and somehow everything is so quiet that the  the crunch of edamame beans between my teeth is the only sound I hear. I bite, I munch and crunch, I swallow and then there is silence again. I pay attention, I become intimate with this silence, with the space around me. Now I also hear the key board each time I type....ah! and I can also connect with the soft and rhythmic tic-tac of the kitchen's clock.  Tic, tac and the key board. Nothing else. I stop. I pay attention again, looking for that intimacy with every thing and in every moment of my life.  Ahh! I was lying. Just when I believed silence and only silence surrounded me, inner sounds emerged from the deepest corners of inner space.  You see, I have been experiencing a mild "tinnitus" which I call: "My private ensemble".

Is this "my silence then"? Of course not. Silence just is. Like air just is. We could also say, like water just is, but I guess some people could claim ownership over some waters. Countries do, don't they? Do we ever claim ownership over fire?  And how about ether?  The same happens with love. And I am of the opinion that love also just is. It does not belong to you or me. But I think that is a subject for another blog... I did not mean to deviate, but in doing so, I become aware of the fact that everything is completely interconnected.  Interconnection and intimacy go hand in hand.

Yoga helps us to develop the ability to become intimate with our lives in a deep and truthful way. How? Because through Asana and Pranayama practice we learn to be intimate with our bodies and with the energy flow that moves through us, just like currents run under the rivers and the sea.  

We can only become intimate with what runs inside of us: Energy, thoughts and feelings,  when we dive into silence.  

Only when we allow silence to enter our lives, we can fully enter our lives.

I pause. The Tic-tac and my "tinnitus" are friends tonight.  I enter my life whenever I pay attention. Otherwise life happens alongside me but I am not in it. Do you understand the difference?  Close your eyes and listen to sound. Inner sounds and outer sounds.  Pay attention, enter your life or it will slide away in between your fingers just like time does.

Crunch, munch, swallow...thank God for silence! Good night London. 

Perfection is Boring!!!

Yoga teachers are perfect beings?! Ha ha!!! Nope!  There is so much pressure for teachers in the yoga world. We practice observances and restraints. Many of us meditate, and are supposed to be free from attachments-from gluten, alcohol and material desires.  We, my dears, are on a direct road to enlightenment! 

I consider myself a positive person. Perhaps an idealist, too, I admit that. I am also a dreamer in the best possible sense. A dream is like a hint  that comes directly from your soul, a deep desire to become a full expression of yourself in this world. We all have a unique life purpose; "Svadharma".  My teacher sent me a birthday message that said: "May the light of your heart shows you the way of your Dharma".  Thankfully, after all these years, I am starting to see with more clarity that path.

But I have always had this problem: Perfectionism.  I tell you something, perfectionism sucks!  Trying to be perfect is nothing but insecurity, fear of not being ever good enough. Perfectionism stops you from doing things you want to do. We fill ourselves with excuses: because this is not perfect, I won't do this, or that! Perfectionism cripples you! By the way, this does not mean that I am against doing your best, but that is a different thing.

 A few months ago I did a practical exercise under the guidance of my teacher, Rod Stryker.  We did a Vichara practice and afterwards we were supposed to tell a partner what our desire was. Our "Vichara buddy" would ask us questions that would lead us to really discover what was our deeper "false belief" behind that desire.  During this process, I knew that my desire was "perfection", being the perfect yoga teacher... but when she asked me: And what would you be like if you were perfect?  Oh my God!!! This was a revelation to me, I realised what I would be: BORING! DULL!  ROBOTIC! PREDICTABLE! UNATTRACTIVE! and above all: INHUMAN!!

Ahhhh, it is so refreshing not to be perfect! Because that gives me a reason to live. Life is a school. Whatever is in front of me each moment of the day  is my practice and whoever is in front of me, is my teacher!  Every time I make a mistake I stop. I observe myself and I willingly take the lift to the 7th floor of consciousness. Once there I ask my inner teacher: " What I am supposed to learn from this experience? " And always, always, always the answer comes!  

So, if I was perfect I would be on that top floor of higher consciousness all the time and I would not live in duality. For the time being, I will stick around with my brothers and sisters, embracing my humanness, visiting the top floor often but coming down to collect much needed experiences.

I will take nourishment around here a little longer, growing older and wiser. Hopefully that top floor will be a more familiar place when my time to depart comes.  

On Self-Empathy

I always wonder if there are beings out there that don't experience any self-judgement? Recently I was doing a workshop with a very wise American lady called Judith Lasater. She was telling a story about someone asking the Dalai Lama to talk on the subject of self-Love. Apparently he could not understand why would anyone not love him/her-self. That thought in itself was for him incomprehensible!  

Surely that should be the norm, not the exception!  But sadly it isn't.  Most of us mortals, do have unwanted thoughts that don't serve us.

 A long time ago I adopted by my bedside table two books: " The four Agreements" and  "The Mastery of Love", both by Juan Miguel Ruiz.  Since I read them, I always tried to be much kinder on myself. Whenever a very familiar self-judgement visited me, I would just try to convince myself of the oposite. For instance if I thought: "I am not good enough" I would consciously repeat to myself, "Yes, you are!".

During this course, I learnt that actually that is not the most efficient way to have empathy with myself. Denying a familiar judgement can only make us be in conflict with our rooted belief system. What we can do instead is to observe the thought and just say to ourselves: "Here is that thought visiting me again....How human of me to have that thought....".   You see, just accepting that our fears and insecurities are part of our Humanness is a liberating experience in itself. 

We all have the same needs. When we are too self- absorbed, we have the tendency to think that these thoughts only happen to ourselves and that no one else feels lonely, or not good enough, or not strong enough or not successful enough or not popular enough. All these enoughs! When does it stop not been enough?

Lets embrace our insecurities, sit them by outside rather than trying to hide them under the rug.  There is beauty in acknowledging our faults. Everything is part of the Divine. That is Tantra! The good and the bad are both part of creation.  There is no creation without destruction.  Let's be at ease with the bad and let's feed and strengthen the good. We cannot be compassionate towards others if we don't exercise compassion with ourselves. 

STOP!

This morning I got out of bed at 5 am so that I could do my meditation before going to cover an early bird class that was scheduled to start at 7 am.  London seemed particularly calm. It was drizzling and this somehow accentuated the strange but beautiful silence of a big city still asleep.  

I always add a theme to my classes, whatever I find myself working on for my personal growth, I use that as my theme for the day. Nevertheless, as this was going to be a completely new group of students, I decided to use a theme I was "familiar" with.  The need to Stop, and pay attention!

I got there 20 minutes earlier so I waited quietly in my car. By five to seven I realised that the street was still extremely quiet and no one had arrived to open the yoga centre. No students waiting outside the entrance either. Hmmmm, this sounds dodgy. Have I turned up on the wrong day?  But if I did, surely the other teacher would be here and about to teach his normal class...I checked my phone...boom! I am supposed to cover next week! And...today is good Friday! duhhh! That is why the streets are so quiet and the birds seem to be singing louder! That is why I feel so connected to the atmosphere, the density of the air, the calmness in my heart. I am indeed aware of the world that surrounds me but...was I paying attention when I read that email asking me to cover? 

How can I teach a class on "Paying attention" when I don't do it?  Life is indeed such a school. I promise to do my best from today to read  my e mails carefully  so, I won't teach you to pay attention and to embrace every minute of your life with complete awareness until I start doing that myself! Hey ho, the beauty of being human!

On ageing and beauty

Well, that is something we cannot stop...ageing I mean. Unless...

But let's dont' deviate.  I want to talk about beauty and ageing.

I was born in Venezuela, the country of the Miss Universes. Every year in my school, there was a traditional beauty context. Yes, believe me. The girls in my class had to endure having our names put on the blackboard  (that is if we were medianly pretty) and from those six or seven names, the whole classroom would vote for "the prettiest one of all". I am not taking about any other attributes. No! Just outer beauty! The Shell, the Shell, the Shell!!!! Once a girl was chosen for each form, there would be a parade on sports day  (just like in the olympics).  Each girl wore makeup and a thick ribbon across the body, exactly like they use in beauty contexts.  At the end of the sports day, the "Beauty Queen on the whole school would then be selected. I cannot tell you the sense of inadequacy that I felt every year. My name would go on the blackboard and I was never chosen. You would say, but at least you were on the list! But I wished I had not been on the list because  I would not have had to endure, how many people voted for me or not! This is something that just should not happen!

Why on earth a girl would have to grow and be submitted to that year after year?  What type of qualities were they supporting? None is the answer!

Since we are little, we are taught that we need to become something. Basically we are told what we are already is not good enough! We need to achieve this or that!  But in my country, physical beauty is so important that since early age you are brain washed to be a beauty queen. That alone, and sadly I am not joking, can truly define your destiny in Venezuela! 

I have lived in London for 21 years. Since then, the popularity of plastic surgery has grown out of proportion in many countries around the world. But in South America that has been pretty big already for many years. I fear going back to my country after 9 years because I will be shocked by seeing friends with huge lips or tense masks instead of expressive faces.

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Plastic surgery... I have that in my collective DNA. And it has taken me a lot of daily practice to be happy nowadays in my own skin. I see my hands getting older and I see lines under my eyes. I am witnessing grey hairs appear in my head and I see this in wonder. I truly do! Not that I want to be wrinkled and old looking right now, but it is happening and I am ok with it.  Just like a child changes as she grows from toddler to be a little girl and from there to be a young girl and so on, I am witnessing my ageing process with gratefulness and wonder.

I am so grateful to be alive today. To see my face in the mirror and be happy with every wrinkle. Sometimes life feels very painful and in those moments I sit with that pain for a little while. I contemplate that pain until somehow it goes.   My few grey hairs remind me that for sure the sun will shine again. And it does! What I see now on the mirror and what I see in many women my age or older is power, wisdom, beauty, camaraderie and nakedness of soul.  What a gift! 

The Gift of Being Vulnerable

My teacher says than when we are feeling pain (due of course to our ignorance of identifying too much with the body rather than we our true essence), we need to wait until the pain calms down before we can meditate on it.

Yesterday I found myself crying like a six year old girl in fear.  I was actually experiencing being Giselle age six and in fear. Tantra talks about being able to develop "Witness Consciousness", in other words, being able to develop our capacity to connect to our soul and to distance ourselves from an unsettling or painful situation while seeing the Lila (play or game) of life unfold in front of our eyes. 

So I tried that witness consciousness thing.... The dead line to pay my tax return had ended and I had not even realised this until the last minute. I thought I was going to have to pay a huge fine and this made me feel useless and incompetent. You see...my father had done everything for me until I was 26 years old which is when I got married. Then my husband did everything for me and so on and so on..... I had given my power away since I was a child.  

                                                                                      Performance at The Slade School of Art. "Drawing myself into space"

So the witness saw little Giselle crying, this poor girl terrified of something so non life threatening. The "witness" then talked to Giselle's Wise side of her brain, who decided to hold her and tell her gently and with compassion that it was about time for her to grow. That she has to be aware of her finances and in charge of her own reins.  At first this did not work. The six year old cried again, this time even louder! Giselle realised she had tried to go into her wise side too soon.  So, she decided to allow that girl to cry and cry and in that state she called her  childhood friend who then told her the fine was only £100 and that she needed not to worry.

I felt so silly but at the same time so grateful for that moment of complete and total vulnerability.  It actually made me more compassionate towards friends that have problems with money and debts. I have never had that problem and always felt that people should not worry about money, that the universe always provides. But you see, not everyone has that certainty. We put our fears out there in the universe and our reality becomes a reflection of that fear.

By  the afternoon I had managed to meditate and to visit that place of knowingness where all is safe and complete.

The point of this particular blog is that by night time I went chanting, I felt strong and unstoppable. I feel that I am truly growing and flourishing and that pain has been a gift in my life. Pain is necessary for transformation and growth. Nobody grows without pain.  Our vulnerabilities are our allies. They give us the necessary training to fully become this agents of power, light and love.

If you ever doubt your power this is a good mantra to repeat over and over again with your eyes closed:

"Ahum Jotir Atman" Which means: I am that light that brightens this entire universe, I radiate truth, action, power and knowledge. 

Night night. Giselle xx

About New Year Resolutions. Creating a Sankalpa

On the first of January my class at Yogaloft was completely full.  For any teacher this is a beautiful feeling and I would like to take credit but I can't!  Simply because I could bet a million dollars that most Yoga Centres and Gyms all over the world had the same experience.

Why?  Most people have an inbuilt desire to grow and expand. Behind any movement there must be  firstly: "Shakti", which is the "power to become" and secondly; "Intention".  These two elements are the driving force behind any successful person.  If these two elements are stronger than the resistance (nobody said good things come easily), then we get more of what we want in life.

What happens during the first months of every New Year?  As a society we learn from an early age that it is accustomed to make a resolution. And so our minds know this is the thing to do but, as everything else, in time, if this resolution is not feed, this impulse wears out and we lose little by little the enthusiasm to carry with our goals.

The importance of writing a "Sankalpa".

San means: A desire that is born from the heart, from the soul.

Kal means: A rule that is followed above all others. 

Therefore a Salkalpa is: A desire that is born in the heart and that Will Be Done!

But please, please please!  Devise and write a Sankalpa from a true place in your heart. Allow the wisdom of your inner teacher to guide you word by word. Make sure that your resolution moves you in the direction of your Dharma. What is Dharma? Your unique life purpose! 

Tips for a Sankalpa to work:

1.- Write is in present tense and as if your desire has already happened.

2.- Repeat it at least three times a day

3.- Quit a vice! so you repeat your Sankalpa every time you have an "urge" for that vice :)

4.- Do Yoga Nidra at least three times a day.  I recommend my teacher's CD: "Relax into Greatness" https://www.parayoga.com/store/  You will love it! Relaxation has incredible healing effects in the nervous system and in the body.  Yoga Nidra is basically being asleep with a slight trace of awareness.

5.- Imagine you are having a phone conversation with a friend you have not spoken to for two years, on that conversation you tell him/her how you are thriving in your life so you say: "......." and that is good guide towards writing your Sankalpa!

Off you go! And never forget that everything you need is available within you!