bitten by the bug!

ick! i've finally managed to catch myself a little cold that has left me hacking and sneezing all over town. luckily i was able to cancel my classes tonight so it's nothing but hot water with lemon and bed rest for me. i'd like to kick this bug before ringing in the new year.





on an exciting note, my germy little hands are typing out this blog on my brand new laptop! my old one was coming close to celebrating its 7th birthday and caused more frustration than fun when trying to do anything like use the internet, load a page, answer emails, work, you know - basically anything. hubby felt bad because i pretty much relied completely on my phone for internet and work so when i came home from a client sesh yesterday a beautiful, new, black, shiny laptop was awaiting me! and because electronics don't like me very much, i also found another late christmas surprise in my stocking .... a new (functioning!) ipod nano! now i can make all my running and yoga playlists which makes me a very happy girl.





how were your holidays? i hope wonderful and RELAXING!





have you set your 2010 intentions yet? i've been doing this in all my classes this week. i have a mile long list of intentions, but the ones i'd like to focus on the most this upcoming year are creating more space in my life, practicing non-reaction as opposed to over-reaction, mastering (or at least stepping within the vicinity of) the art of forgiveness and ego-checking.





in the meantime, i plan to spend some time journaling the highlights of 2009, writing out game plans for 2010 and figuring out ways to incorporate these intentions into my life.





i would love to hear some of your intentions!






image: madammoisellenon

the art of forgiveness

this morning in class i got into an interesting discussion about forgiveness. a yogini friend of mine recently went through a difficult time and is still in the transition stage of moving from anger and pain into peace and forgiveness. i commented that, while i'm immensely proud of her, i don't know if i myself would have been able to forgive as successfully as she has at this point in her life. she's an amazing girl and i know its her strength and resilience that aids in her growth. that convo happened almost 5 hours ago and i still find myself thinking about it. forgiveness has always been a tough one for me. for some reason, i always felt that if i forgave someone i was somehow condoning and accepting their behavior towards me. but forgiveness is really about the freedom to let go of grudges, release pent up pain and breathe a little lighter. it doesn't have anything to do with me rolling over and becoming a doormat. it has to do with me being strong enough and secure enough to let it go (whatever "it" may be).

if we don't forgive people for hurting us, we're the only ones carrying that weight on our shoulders. we'll always have that grudge holding us back and causing us pain. i know there are definitely some grudges i'd like to release. so while last week was all about giving thanks, i'm making this week all about offering forgiveness. and its something i want to do for me. i know the people that i'd like to forgive won't even know that i have forgiven, but i'll know. and for right now, that's what i need to do. forgiveness is powerful because its not always easy. it doesn't make us weak. it takes more strength to forgive than it does to hold onto hate or anger. and those emotions are so toxic to us.

and while my mind is meditating and working on forgiveness my body will be twisting and releasing all of those long-held, painful emotions that come with grudges.

a heart-opening and twisting practice will be my life on the mat. saying "i forgive you" will be my life off the mat.

image: epic self