WELL I AM BACK TO A REGULAR ROUTINE NOW AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF SCRAMBLING. AND WITH MY ROUTINE, COME MY TO DO LISTS, MY HOUSE CHORES, MAKING SURE I GET IN MY DAILY EXERCISE, AND MAKING MEALS FOR ME AND MY FIANCÉ BEFORE HE GETS HOME FROM WORK. ALL WHILE WORKING FULL TIME AND TEACHING YOGA CLASSES BEFORE AND AFTER WORK. WOW! ARE YOU GUYS EXHAUSTED AFTER READING THAT OR IS IT JUST ME?

I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT HOW I LIKE TO GO FULL SPEED AHEAD IN ONE OF MY PREVIOUS POSTS BUT HAVE MANAGED TO SLOW DOWN. OVER THESE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I HAVE GOTTEN SO A HEAD OF MYSELF, I HAVE SENT MYSELF INTO SEVERAL ANXIETY ATTACKS AND I MEAN THEY WILL HAPPEN FROM TIME TO TIME BUT HAVE BEEN FREQUENT LATELY. THE KEY THING FOR ME TO DO IS LISTEN TO WHAT THE BODY IS TRYING TO TELL YOU AND NOT BELIEVE ALL THE NEGATIVE STORIES THAT COME UP.

FOR ME I THOUGHT I NEEDED TO DO MORE VIGOROUS WORKOUTS, LIKE POWER YOGA AND VINYASA YOGA TO EASE MY STRESS AWAY. THESE ARE MY GO-TO WHEN I AM FEELING OVERWHELMED OR OFF BALANCE. THOUGH THIS TIME I WAS NOT FEELING BETTER AFTER, IN FACT I WAS FEELING THE SAME IF NOT A LITTLE MORE ANXIOUS. I WAS GETTING FRUSTRATED THAT THIS WASN’T HELPING MY BUSY MIND. I HAD CHATTED WITH MY MENTOR ABOUT MY RISING ANXIETY AND WE DID A SHORT MEDITATION TOGETHER WHICH HELPED MY COME BACK DOWN TO FOCUS. THE MEDITATION WAS ENOUGH FOR ME TO RELAX AND COME BACK TO MY BREATH WHICH ALWAYS HELPS. AFTER ANOTHER COUPLE DAYS I WAS HAVING DINNER WITH A FRIEND AND WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT OUR ROUTINES AND WHAT WE NEEDED TO BRING MORE OF INTO OUR DAILY LIVES. SHE HAD SAID THAT SHE NEEDED TO BRING IN MEDITATION, AFFIRMATIONS AND GETTING CLEAR ON HER VISION. WHICH MADE ME THINK; I ALREADY HAD A GREAT DAILY ROUTINE BUT WHEN SHE STARTED TALKING ABOUT MEDIATION, I REALIZED MAYBE INSTEAD OF THE FEW MINUTES I DID JUST IN THE MORNING I NEEDED TO BRING MORE OF THAT INTO MY LIFE.

THE NEXT DAY I STILL DID MY MORNING MEDITATION THAT I ALWAYS DID BEFORE I WOULD GET OUT OF BED, BUT ALSO ADDED 15 MINUTES MINIMUM AFTER THE WORKOUT I WOULD DO ONCE I GOT HOME FROM WORK EACH DAY. TO ALLOW MY SELF STILLNESS, TO ALLOW MYSELF A LITTLE BIT LONGER MEDITATION WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED AND GUESS WHAT? THIS IS WHAT MY BODY WAS TELLING ME. MY BODY WAS CRAVING THAT PAUSE DURING THE DAY. I NEEDED TO HAVE A FEW MINUTES A DAY TO BE SILENT, INSTEAD OF JUMPING FROM ONE THING TO THE OTHER AND TAKE MOMENTS TO SLOW IT RIGHT DOWN. AS A YOGA TEACHER I SOMETIMES FORGET TO PRACTICE WHAT I TEACH. IT HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE LESSON TO COME BACK TO THE IMPORTANCE OF PAUSE IN A DAY.

SOMETIMES WE NEED THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE THINK WE NEED. AND MAYBE THIS SLOWING DOWN AND QUIET TIME IS A; MINDFUL AND SENSORY WALK OR READING A GOOD NOVEL YOU CAN LOSE YOURSELF IN, OR A MEDITATION. I INVITE YOU TO LISTEN TO A MEDITATION ON YOUTUBE OR PUT ON SOME MUSIC AND SIT QUIETLY FOCUSING JUST ON YOUR BREATH. TO HONOR OUR BODIES AND WITH SUMMER COMING WHERE WE ALL HAVE AMAZING PLANS TO LAST THE LONGS DAYS OF SUMMER, I INVITE YOU ALL TO JOIN ME ON A MEDITATION CHALLENGE I WILL BE DOING ON MY INSTAGRAM IN MAY. JOIN ME TO KEEP EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE TO ALL DO OUR MEDIATION EACH DAY WHETHER IT BE FIVE MINUTE OR 30 TO START THE HABIT TO PREPARE FOR OUR SUMMER. SO, HOP ON OVER TO MY INSTAGRAM AND TAG ME IN A POST/ STORY WHEREVER THAT WE WILL BE STARTING THIS INSTAGRAM MEDITATION CHALLENGE TOGETHER. ALSO BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL DEFYINGLEE FIT FOR UP COMING VIDEOS AND COMING SOON GUIDED MEDITATIONS.

Xo Kristy