10 Bring A Friend

Partner up with a friend to come to yoga class can help kick start a regular routine.  Make sure that your friend is motivated enough to push you when you don't feel up to it and vice versa.  Post Yoga talks are also very helpful in helping to understand and process your yogi journey.  Try not to talk too much right after class. Make it an intention to be silent for at least a few minutes after class, perhaps all the way to your car and ride home, so that you can experiment and see how that feels. Now inhale, exhale and enjoy!

9 Ask More Questions

Often in class it is difficult to ask questions because of the pace. Also, many people are too shy to ask what is on their mind.   Your instructors welcome questions. In fact, that is why they are there. So go ahead, ask those questions about your experience and see what happens.  Maybe even ask your instructor to have tea with you; you never know what kind of inspiring conversation you might end up in.  Another resolution, for me personally, has been to not only ask more questions but to awaken critical thinking. In other words,,don't take everything at face value and ask the questions that would make you understand the topic on a deeper level. Thjs enables you to fully process your experience into everyday life.  I find that in our western culture, with television and even our schooling system, we have been trained to be passive processors of information. I.e. believing everything you hear without questioning the truth of the matter.

8 Go on a Cleanse

We all know that yoga becomes more than just what happens on our mat.  Try to complete the experience this year by taking on new initiatives to bring yoga into your everyday life.  A cleanse helps you stay focused on your health and opens doors for new openings in class and in life.  It feels great after a cleanse and there is nothing like feeling clear and focus in life as a yogi.  HEALTH IS WEALTH!

7 Connect with nature daily

Try going for a walk after your yoga class to the nearest park or river valley. Connecting daily with nature ensures that you connect with the pure potential or source energy of life. Mother nature has a calming affect on us and it is an amazing feeling to embrace the air in the wind, the water, the flow of the river, the fire and warmth of the sun. Try to even wiggle your toes in the grass!. FEEL GREAT.  Lao Tsu (an ancient Chinese prophet) said, "An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, accomplished without doing." Nature's intelligence functions effortlessly. It is carefree...full of harmony and joy. If we harness these forces with laughter, we can create with effortless ease.

6 Give

This frail vessel...empty again and again...fill it...still pour...still room to fill.

The universe runs on dynamic exchange. Dynamic systems are the systems that constantly move and change, live and breathe, and have flux of energy. Giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy. We must be willing to give that which we seek. That, in turn, will keep abundance and energy flowing through our lives. It feels great and we somehow always get back more than we give. The universe is beautiful!!

5 Let Go of expectations and have fun!

Accept this moment as it is. The universe has conspired to create it.  It is precious. On the yoga mat, that means letting go of your expectation of how flexible or strong you should be; it will all come in time, so enjoy the class for what it is right here, right now.

Try to smile in your yoga postures vs. having a strained red face; you will notice a huge difference on your experience in class.

4 Set your intentions

Goal setting is different from your intentions.  Intentions are things that you wish to experience. The feeling of joy when dancing with your loved ones, the feeling you get when you eat right and practice yoga, the feeling of accomplishment, the focus on feeling good.   Intentions are a great way to communicate with the universe.  You will never know what you can do in life unless you ask. Ask yourself, ask the universe, ask and your part of the equation is complete. The next step is the art of allowing.

3 The Art of Allowing

We often give up on our dreams right before they are about to happen. If things are not moving as fast as you wanted them to, then understand that there is a universal process in place and you are exactly where you need to be right here right now. Now, inhale, exhale and allow!  We are not racing to the finish line. We are not a rat race - we are spiritual beings living a spiritual practice called life.  Allow your experience to be joyful now!

2 Community

Try to connect with other people in your yoga class, at work, or even your neighbors. You never know what that person has to say to you and you never know what type of relationship might evolve and what you might learn.  Try to do a daily celebration in the evening. Life is to be celebrated and each day is a gift - let's appreciate that with our friends, peers, family and yogi pals for what it is.

1 BE CONSISTENT

The one thing that will guarantee that you enjoy the fruits of yoga is consistency.  As Guruji says, “practice, practice, practice and everything is coming.”  This is probably the single most important lesson I have learned about life and yoga; consistency bears fruits, the fruits that we enjoy!    LOVE!!