This Might Sound A Little Harsh BUT It Needs To Be Said

It's SOOOOO easy to avoid our personal practices.

Have you noticed?!

We set out with the best of intentions to take better care of ourselves, do our yoga, meditate every day. We know we need it so bad. We know it serves us. We know we feel better, more grounded, more alive, more connected to our best selves when we practice but, we just. don't. do. it. Life is busy and there's no room. We're so exhausted and depleted we just want to numb out when there's any room at all in our schedule. Watch a show, have a glass of wine, scroll Facebook.

These activities let us turn it all off for a bit but we don't necessarily feel better when they're over and in fact we may feel even worse. Brain dead, unproductive, disconnected, angsty, inner critic having a hey day with our choice of time use.

Again, we intend to take good care. To breath in the car on the way to pick up, to listen to that spiritual podcast that always connects us back to our energy, allow ourselves to feel our feelings and book that massage. And again, somehow we fall short. Fall off. Fall.

We talk to a friend and recommit, we hire that coach and recommit but somehow it feels impossible, like pulling teeth to write in our journals every morning, to make art even thought it's a spiritual experience every. dang. time.

So what's up? Why if these practices get us to feel better don't we want to do them?? Why do we avoid the depth and the personal time and space? Why do we fill ourselves SOOOO much that we can't connect inward? What are we avoiding???

Let me lay it down straight. There is NO ONE who can make you commit to yourself EXCEPT YOU. There is NO TIME in the future that will open up and give you more space and more ease to start practicing. THE TIME IS NOW. There is no "wrong" way to take care of yourself. You don't need to follow some formula to make this work. If yoga isn't your jam, then by all means, don't practice yoga. Infuse your creativity and your gut knowing and take FIVE minutes to connect with yourself. If you don't do it, IT WON'T GET DONE. If you want to do it and you say you're going to do it, GET STARTED. Be impeccable with your word to yourself.

I may sound harsh now and it's the only way I can figure out to say, connecting with ourselves feels like deeeeep ahhh, like the roots of the trees of us are being nourished and growing deeper. It's the only way I can figure out to say, YOU'VE GOT THIS, you're in charge here. NO ONE can do this for you or figure this our for you. That when you step bravely into the power of you and a daily form of connection with yourself, your days change, your moments change, your life changes and avoiding it any longer just isn't worth it. Avoiding you any longer, just isn't worth it.

Step bravely into the daily practice you've been saying you want to do this week.

I challenge you to an experiment. You know what it feels like NOT to practice some form of connection with you so this week, for the next five days, practice for just five minutes a day some form of daily connection with yourself. Feel your energy field, listen to your favorite song that takes you to connection land, play your HeadSpace App, dance in your living room, cry. For five minutes every day this week and then reflect how you feel about yourself and the week as a whole. Was it worth it to take those 25 minutes? Might you do it again next week?

The only thing standing in your way is YOU. The only way forward is also YOU.