I guess it really comes down to a question of your goals and how you expect to reach them. The biggest challenge that most humans face as a species is the “addictive mindset.”  Plain and simple. I’ve decided to just “tell it like it is” and put all my cards on the table. If you’re alive and breathing air and living on planet earth, chances are – you’re addicted to *something!*

To be fair, let me just say that I use the word “addicted” quite loosely. In my eyes, attachment and addiction are one in the same.

So when I say “addiction,” I am not necessarily talking about heroin or alcohol or nicotine or food or gambling. By the way, you don’t have to weigh 300 pounds to be considered a food addict. I believe that if your relationship with food is self destructive, you’re a food addict – meaning you have an addictive relationship with food.  We could say the same for television or pornography or Coca Cola or your boyfriend or husband or wife.

If the relationship is destructive, I believe it can be classified as an attachment or addiction. Many people shun this idea that “attachment” must be bad. They will say something like – -”but I love my dog or my Mom or my kid or my husband and I am attached to them. How can that be bad? People need people. How can that be bad?”

And I don’t disagree! Yes, people need people! That’s human nature. We are social beings, dependent on interaction with others in order to stay sane. This is a given. So let me qualify. In my eyes, there is “healthy attachment” and there is “unhealthy” attachment. My guess is that if you are an adult and you are reading this post, you have some familiarity with what I speak of. I call this part of the post “Co-dependence 101.”

But I digress. So getting back to the original question:  Why YOGA? And why daily practice? I can only speak from personal experience on this.  And my guess is that they’ve never done a large enough double blind study to ever really prove what I am about to propose.  And personally, I don’t give a flying (you know what) if something has been proven scientifically or not. If it works for me – that’s proof enough. And that’s pretty much how I live my life. This ability to “trust my gut” is what makes me a yogi. There is a certain “self confidence” that comes with daily yoga practice and this my friends, is the essence of yoga.

In November of 2011, I just celebrated my 14th anniversary of daily yoga practice. That’s right, it was in November of 1997 that I made the commitment to make my yoga practice my highest priority. And I have not wavered from that promise that I made to myself.

People wonder how I stay motivated. That’s a subject for a whole other post. But let me cut to the chase. Yoga keeps me sane. There! I’ve said it! Yoga keeps me sane!

I guess that makes me part of the “sane minority” and I’m proud to be a card carrying member of that club. My guess is that most people who practice daily yoga or meditation (and I see them as one in the same) are doing it for this very reason – to stay sane.

If I gave you a choice between sanity and insanity – which one would you choose?

There, I think I’ve made my case for daily yoga. And I also understand that yoga is not the drug of choice for everyone. But I must say, in yoga’s defense, I’ve found the side effects to be quite attractive.

I believe that yoga may soon qualify as an addictive substance. Perhaps there will be a mandatory sign posted in every yoga studio worldwide:  Warning – Yoga May Be Habit Forming. With continual daily practice you can expect the following side effects: Proceed With Caution and Check With Your Physician if you have any of the following side effects:

• Over riding sense of serenity and inner peace
• Feeling love towards all of man kind
• Finding your bliss for extended periods throughout the day on a daily basis
• Seeing the good in others – finding fault with no one
• Treating others with respect and kindness
• Letting go of anger and feeling appreciative even when others disappoint you
• Total acceptance of the outcome of every situation
• Appreciating each moment and living fully in the now
• Free of anxiety, worry and fear
• Healthy body weight without dieting
• Loss of cravings for junk food
• Deep appreciation for Nature and a love of the outdoors
• Supple, flexible, strong, energetic body
• Calm, relaxed demeanor
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• Feeling energized, vibrant and fully alive

So remember to check with your physician if after practicing yoga for a few days, you begin to experience any of the above side effects. This may indicate a strong attachment towards or addiction to yoga. Proceed with caution as you may be heading towards heaven on earth!

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

There is a systematic method to help you manifest whatever is lacking in your life.  And it has to do with passionate desire.

We need to put first things first if we are sincere in our desire to manifest some changes in our lives. The first order of business is to look at our desire to change.  Think of your desire as a passionate, fiery flame, ever burning.  If you can’t even visualize the “flame,” your desire is probably not yet strong enough to overcome whatever obstacles are holding you back.  A certain amount of passion for change is needed and without that, your road will be difficult.

Here are some steps you can take right now to begin to cultivate that passionate desire for change.

1. Visualize your desire as a burning flame that lives deep within you, perhaps at the center of your heart.
2. Close your eyes and just meditate for a few minutes on that flame that is burning at the center of your heart.
3. As you become aware of your breath, with each inhale, allow that flame to burn brighter
4. On the exhale, let go of fear.
5. Now spend some time reflecting and contemplating on exactly what it is you desire in your life.  Essentially asking yourself the question: “What is missing?”  “Where is the emptiness in my life?”  “What do I need and what do I want?”  It might be a good idea to do stream of consciousness writing and spend at least 10 minutes on this.
6. This next question may take several days to answer and that is OK.  Take as much time as needed, because this is the critical step.What is holding you back from realizing your dreams right here and now?Now let me explain this step a little more in depth.  Let’s say that your desire is for a better paying job or just more pay at your present job.  What is preventing you from achieving this?  In other words are you currently job hunting and if not why not?  Or have you spoken to your boss about a possible raise and are there actions you could be taking to make yourself a more valuable employee? For each desire that you have, you need to figure out what exactly is preventing you from getting what you want.  Make a list of the exact steps you would need to take, to achieve each desire.
7. From here we are going to create an intention.  Find the most pressing issue in your life right now, that is holding you back.  It could be money issues or maybe you have a weight problem.  Hopefully after you have completed steps 5 and 6, some or your core issues will have risen to the surface.Often the things we need to work on are self esteem or taking better care of ourselves.  Try to narrow it down to one core issue that may be holding  you back in many areas.
8. Once you have found your burning issue, you need to make a decision.  Am I ready to do whatever it takes to overcome this obstacle?  Am I willing to make some sacrifices and changes in my daily routine?

Assuming you are ready, the next step on this journey will be to create your intention which will be covered in another post.  But right now you have your work cut out for you.

Change is not easy.  Change requires sacrifice, commitment,  and unwavering faith and devotion.

In the next blog post I will cover: How to create an intention that actually gets you results and how to effectively work with that intention.

In the meantime feel free to network with like minded others on the new Facebook Group – Discover Your Magnificence with Yoga. The mission of the group is to offer support to those who are embarking on a journey of transformation and personal growth using yoga and spirituality to access their higher selves.  To go to
the group now, click on the photo to the left.

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions and this cycle continues for too long, you may find yourself feeling like you’re in a rut. You know you’re in a rut when there is a particular habit or behavior that you are trying to change and you find yourself not making any headway at all, in spite of your best efforts.  Does this sound familiar?  Like you keep hitting your head on the same brick wall?

I have a very simple practice to share with you. This simple practice can pretty much be done any time and anywhere.  Although in the video, I teach it lying down, you can easily do this while standing, walking, sitting or really any time and anywhere.  With mastery of this simple breathing practice, you may very well begin to feel empowered to make changes in your life or daily routine, that currently elude you.

Please have a look at the short video, give Belly Breathing a try and let me know what you think. Ideally, take at least 5 minutes a day to practice this age old healing technique and you will be amazed by the results.  Make a commitment to try this for a week – just 5 minutes / day and see if it makes a difference in your life.

Sometimes the smallest, subtlest changes can reap the biggest rewards!

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

Includes 30 Affirmations for Daily Living!

What they don’t realize is that over eating is a habit like brushing your teeth.  Plain and simple.  The dieting industry will tell you that calorie deprivation is the answer. But that’s like putting a band aid on someone with a broken leg.  The problem with this method is that most people cannot live on a low calorie diet for the long run.  These super low calorie diets appeal to our need for “instant gratification.”  When we see the immediate weight loss, we feel like we are on to something.  But the truth is, this initial surge of excitement is short lived,  since the weight will eventually come creeping back.

When we treat over eating  as a “bad habit” or an addiction, then we can easily turn it around by using common sense, rational methods.  The problem with this strategy is that often times people prefer to behave irrationally.  And the result of irrational behavior is generally a negative consequence.

For more on the behavioral approach to over eating and one very simple action step that you can take right now –  http://www.50plusyoga.com/30-days-to-break-a-habit-sign-up-here/

The yoga practice supports the behavioral approach.  It’s about taking responsibility for your actions and aligning your actions with your core beliefs.  To learn more about the yoga approach to over eating please watch the video.

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

Includes 30 Affirmations for Daily Living!

To really understand this, it helps to think of unproductive ways that you react in specific situations.   Let’s suppose you have a short fuse.  Every time your boss asks you to work late, you blow a gasket and have a mini temper tantrum.  And let’s suppose that you are vaguely aware that this is your tendency but you feel powerless to change it.  This is where yoga can help.

For me, this aspect of yoga, the ability to recognize and transcend our habitual thoughts and actions, is the big draw.  It is why I return to my yoga mat again and again.

Both the yogis and the Buddhists believe that the way to break this cycle of reacting to life on autopilot, is by practicing mindfullness.   In Kripalu Yoga and in Prana Flow we are taught to keep our awareness on the breath and practice ujayi pranayama.  It is the deep focus on the breath that connects us to the subconscious mind where many of these samskaras originate.  As we fine tune our awareness with regular practice, it becomes easier and easier to eventually change some of these deeply ingrained habits.

As far as I know, in the classical yoga texts, there is no ABC manual that lays out a specific strategy for breaking bad habits.  But due to some uncanny turn of events,  recently such a manual has fallen into my hands in the form of a book entitled “The Compund Effect” by Darren Hardy.  Although not written as a yoga text, there are clear parallels to the yoga practice, and I recommend this book as a “must read” for any serious yoga student.

In Hardy’s words  ” I’m about to walk you through one of the single greatest strategies I’ve ever used in my personal development.  This strategy helps me take control of the choices I make throughout the day, causing everything else to fall into place and leading to behaviors and actions that shepherd my actions into line like dutiful, loyal minions.”

Hardy then goes on to ask you to pick one area of your life where you most want to be successful. As you focus your attention on that area,  you will be writing down all the actions you take throughout the day that relate to his area of  your life.  In other words,  if you are trying to lose weight, you will account for every calorie that enters your lips by putting it in writing.

When practiced regularly (tracking your actions) you will begin to see a pattern emerging.  Armed with this arsenal of knowledge,  you will begin to make better decisions and choices for yourself.

I’ve actually personally used this exact method for losing weight.  And I can tell you with total conviction that his is the only foolproof method out there that will encourage long term, sustainable weight loss.  This method works every time if you are sincere in your desire to lose weight.  Every other weight loss program or scheme out there is complete hype and will not give you the long term healthy relationship with food that you are seeking.

The reason I am so enamored with Hardy’s book is because there is only one way to change an ingrained habit and that is with total awareness of your actions.  Writing it down forces that awareness.

With this end in mind, today I made a commitment to myself.  I am going to test Hardy’s theory for 30 straight days.  Most experts agree that it takes 30 days to break a habit or establish a new habit.  I have chosen to make some changes to my wake up and bed time rituals.  There are 3 behaviors that I wlll be tracking for 30 days.

If anyone is interested in joining me with a 30 day journey of your own,  let me know and you can make a public statement here on this blog in the comments section.  In addition I invite you to join my Facebook Group - Discover Your Magnificence With Yoga where you can also publicly announce your intention and stay connected to others on a similar journey by comparing notes and offering support.

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

Includes 30 Affirmations for Daily Living!

But I can’t tell  you how many people I see stuck at red lights, trying to wolf down sandwiches and the like.   And something that strikes me as particularly amusing, is when you see someone trying to eat what looks like a whole meal with a fork and knife, while sitting at a red light.  I hate to say it, but *this* could get really messy.

Now what on earth does this have to do with the title of my blog post:?  I Want it Now!  The Allure of Instant Gratification . . . .  Well perhaps it’s unrelated, but I doubt that.  It really depends on why the person is eating while driving in the first place.  Are they on a long drive and just simply can’t afford to take the time to pull over to sit down and eat?  Or perhaps their schedule is so tight that they can’t take a lunch break.  So if they don’t eat while driving, they will starve.  But let’s face it . . . .  In many cases, people are simply too impatient to wait until they get home to eat.  Plus, they know they’ll be too lazy to turn on the stove.

Have we become the microwave generation?  I will readily agree that microwaves can be real time savers for heating up left overs.  But I shudder to think that people are using microwaves to actually cook their meals from scratch.

OK, but now getting back to the subject of this blog post.  What is the allure of instant gratification? What are the pros and cons of  getting your immediate needs satisfied with the speed and effort it takes you to click your mouse or turn on your microwave?  And what are the long term effects of this modern lifestyle on us both as individuals and as a society?

Are we becoming more impatient?  Are we becoming more self centered?  And I shudder to ask this last question . . . .  Are we becoming a society of  ”lazy Americans?”

And again I must return to my original subject – What is the allure?  Why are we so attracted to having everything we want, right now?  What are the benefits to having all this speed at our fingertips?  Facebook is a prime example.  Why is it so ridiculously popular?  Could it have something to do with instant gratification?

Let’s face it.  Making friends is hard work.  It requires risk taking, communication, loyalty and sacrifice.  But not on Facebook.  Friendship has been watered down, and is now something that can be created instantly with a click of a mouse.  OMG!

And so to spark your imagination on this subject  (oh sorry, I must remind you – imagination is something that people used to have, in the days before video on demand, YouTube and smart phones)  But anyway, in an attempt to spark what little imagination you have left, I’ve created a list of tools that many of us are using to satisfy our immediate needs on a regular basis.

• takeout
• cable tv with 60 zillion channels
• satellite tv and radio
• Bluetooth
• smart phones
• Internet
• Google
• YouTube
• Wikipedia
• Amazon
• GPS
• Instant Breakfast
• Ramen Noodles
• Frozen Orange Juice
• TV Dinners
• Video On Demand
• Net Flix
• ITunes
• Cell Phones
• Fedex
• Next Day Air
• Skype

And for those of you who still believe in the power of making small, subtle lifestyle changes with consistent effort, you might consider signing up for Discover Your Magnificence: The 30 Day Yoga Habit.  By investing a small amount of daily effort (in this case just 8 minutes / day) you can reap big rewards down the road and for the long haul.  No, it’s not as easy as Instant Breakfast . . . . but then again, it’s probably a whole lot more satisfying.

And if  you’re serious about making changes . . . . .
Please check out my free gift to you now

Includes 30 Affirmations for Daily Living!