“The highest spiritual practice is self-observation without judgment.” – Swami Kripalu
New Beginnings
Maybe you are one of many who find themselves at the beginning of the New Year saying “this year is going to be different”. “This year I am going to prioritize my health.” If so you may also be one of those who by the beginning of February has completely given up on any change and is just keeping on with the same routine as the last year. It just seems to get to be too much. Too overwhelming. “I am too busy right now.” “In a few months I will have more time.” Sound familiar?
The problem seems to be that we get to a place in our lives where our bodies may not be in the condition we would like. We would like to lose weight or be in better shape. Maybe we are worried about our health or we have been told by a doctor that there is a problem. January seems to be the month where all of this collides and after indulging in holiday cheer from Halloween through New Year’s Eve it all comes to a screeching halt.
I am all for cleanses and working. I think you should do all of it but if you are going from chicken wings and beer to a cleanse and then back to soda and pizza that not only isn’t healthy it isn’t helping. It is a shock to the system. What I am suggesting is a change in the trajectory of your life. An altering of the course. You didn’t get here in a day or even 30 days so lets together make changes that move you to a different place from where you are.
The idea behind this is grace. Grace is the gift that you give to yourself. It is not guilt or shame. It is love and acceptance of where you are and a realistic plan of where you want to go from here. It is the gift that allows you to love yourself on a journey to a healthier place then you have ever been. The best is really yet to come.
The process is going to be based upon one simple principle which is addition. In school you learned to add before you learned to subtract. If you notice New Year’s resolutions are all about subtraction. I want to lose weight, to eat less, to stop drinking, to stop smoking…. This is the hardest form of change. As soon as you say to yourself you can’t have that it becomes all that you think about. So we are going to add instead of subtract. Add in health, add in respect, add in care for yourself. Adding in simple steps that lead to big changes. The rest will go away on it’s own. Really it will. Your path will change and you won’t want to do the same things. Not through guilt and shame but out of love of yourself and your life.
So as we progress through the year we are going to walk through some simple steps that you can add into your life. Each week we will build on what has come before. If you fall off the cycle just get back on. Health is all about the routines in your life. Adding in simple new routines will put you in a different place next year.
We want to alter the course in a way that is not overwhelmingly painful or difficult but easy and fun. So let’s get started.
Tomorrow is a New Year and a new day.
This year I will be sending out emails on simple steps to change the course of your health so keep an eye out for easy ways to make your health the best it can be. This is for email subscribers only so if you know someone who might benefit from this please pass this on.
I am wishing you the best health in the New Year,
Shanti