I’m so honored to be sharing with you a more personal post today as part of The Declaration of You Blog Lovin’ Tour. Although I’d spent nearly 30 years inside this head & moving this body around, it wasn’t until the past few years that I took the time & energy to do SOUL WORK and really find out about myself.
Two years ago, if you’d have asked me “Who are you really?”or “What makes your soul sing?” or “What are your core values that you are using to make the really big decisions in your life?” I would have just given them the blank stare. I’m so thrilled to see a fun and engaging resource like The Declaration of You book to help others find their own inner-light and celebrate their own uniqueness and talents.
Of course, my first encounter with setting an intention occurred on the yoga mat…
During the first few weeks I started regularly attending a yoga studio, my first response to the instructor’s directions to “Set your intention for your practice today” was always “Do yoga” or something like “Don’t pass out or fall over today”. Little did I realize that the physical poses are only tools to access the head+heart. Finally one week, the profound intention to “Just be present” stuck in my mind and has been one of my biggest challenges since that day.
My body was on the yoga mat, but my mind was somewhere else…
It was through this invitation to set an intention at the beginning of each class that I slowly started taming my monkey mind. For many months, I’d find my body in Warrior II or Triangle and my mind worrying about work deadlines or mentally reviewing the grocery list. Committing to a daily meditation practice was a slow and steady path that allowed me to filter out all the sub-conscious noise in my head and stay more present to the moment no matter what I was doing.
The best of intentions…
I don’t often set intentions consciously, unless I’m instructed to before a yoga class or entering a particularly stressful or challenging situation. Sometimes my intention can be a mental commitment to “Speak my truth” or “Remain calm and don’t yell” or “Listen to the this person without judgement.”
But truthfully, I keep returning to the most simple and most powerful intention, BE PRESENT. Maybe it’s because my mind tends to keep wandering off or I find myself replaying the past or worrying about the future. I’m constantly reminding myself to enjoy the breeze & beautiful flowers rushing by as I ride my bicycle instead of mentally reviewing my checklist. When visiting with friends or family, the BE PRESENT manta will repeat inside my head as I see my attention start to wander to paying the bills or my busy schedule the next few days.
Having times where I set a specific intention for the moment and also having the constant BE PRESENT commitment in my life has been a powerful tool to life in this life, this moment, and soak up all the beauty and blessings in the here and now.
If doing this SOUL WORK and learning to celebrate your own gifts & talents sounds intriguing to you, I’d highly suggest you picking up The Declaration of You book & following along on the the Blog Lovin’ tour to see what so many other people are saying about enthusiasm, uniquity, self-care, success, money, intention, and more. Every Friday around lunchtime, they are hosting a Facebook party on The Declaration of You Facebook Page with a live chat on the week’s theme.
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