New Year's Resolutions

I asked a friend from Boston the other night what his new years resolutions were and he said, "i don't make resolutions on one night---I like to perceive myself as someone who resolves on a daily basis..." hmmm...interesting, I think.

Well, while I do agree with my friend, I have chosen three new year's resolutions for myself while maintaining the awareness that a lot can change in one calender year---so, we'll see what happens.

1-Be kind. The one person in my life who I treat disrespectfully is----myself---I would really like to change this throughout this year. I would like to speak kindly to myself and try to stop negative thoughts from clouding my mind---in sanskrit, we talk about Chitta Vrittis or mind chatter----I know I deal with A LOT of this and a great deal is negative...so I would like to become more aware of when this occurs in order to make a change toward SELF LOVE. In the words of every self-aware and intelligent human being I know...one cannot be loved until they love themselves. AMEN.

2-Meditate. At Kripalu Yoga School I made a sort of promise to myself that I would meditate everyday for 20 minutes. This lasted...a day! I want to incorporate some sort of meditation practice into my daily life----this can include, actually mediation (stilling the mind), journaling, or collaging....all things I love to do but don't necessarily make time to. It is more difficult to do these things in Houston with my family bustling about...but I want to make an effort to when I get settled back in Austin for second semester.

3-Relinquish emotional dependency on men---yes, this is a very private thing to post in a public forum...but I, like many women am used to being in a committed and serious relationship with a man...actually, this is the first time in my adult life that I am actually SINGLE---I want to try to hold onto my singlehood or at least my independence in this next year or at least 6 months in order to prove to myself just how strong and powerful I can be on my own!

So, these are my resolutions for the new year...a big change from years in the past where I wanted to eat healthy and lose weight....here's to self-acceptance, embracing inner beauty and strengthening emotional well being!

Tomorrow I'm going to a 9:30 yoga class, which is certainly NEEDED (my yoga schedule has been interrupted by the holidays...so gotta get back on the wagon. I love teaching...and CANNOT WAIT to get back into the swing of things mid-January.

Namaste.