It’s all about design.
Have you ever looked back and thought the time between Thanksgiving and New Years was a blur?
Do you have an M.O, or “modus operandi” for the holidays?
Do you simply throw your hands up and let the current of what you’ve always done take over? Buy all the things? Eat all the treats? Go to each and every event? Eat at the same times? Have the same meals?
Ok, that might be a little extreme or maybe even glutinous, but it can happen quickly if we aren’t conscious of what’s happening. While I love tradition, I’m a fan of change. I like it in my yoga practice; I like it in my business; I like it around the holidays too.
To me, it’s a sign of being ALIVE and prana is FLOWING.
Be the change. Act the change. Role model the change.
There is still room for tradition but from a conscious place. Change doesn’t diminish what’s important, it actually creates the space for what’s important to emerge.
One of the things I learned early on in my studies of physics and then again in reading yoga philosophy is that the universe is continuously expanding. You may or may not agree, but if you’ve studied physics at any point, you’re likely with me..
So if it’s true, and we are a reflection of nature (and the universe), our “nature” is to expand. It is to grow, transform and change.
Is it always comfortable? No
Is it always easy? No.
Is it important? Yes.
You aren’t the same person you were a year ago. You have new cells in your body. You might have a new job, a new partner, a new house. Possibly even a new perspective? You might have moved.You might live in a different climate even.
Consider how your environment influences you.
My inner and outer environment have a huge impact on who I am and how I feel, which is ultimately how I experience the world.
I spent the Thanksgiving holiday refining my space. I know it will make a big impact come January.
That meant deep cleaning, trips to the thrift store and an all-around reassessment of what I want to surround me. This has been my practice every six months, like clockwork, for the past five years.
Why?
I’m changing. My family is changing. I need my outer space to reflect what’s going on inside. The moment I notice an incongruence between my physical space and how I want to be moving, thinking, creating, playing, I change it.
My husband used to make fun of me. Now he gets on board. Miles wants to help too now. We talk about letting go of toys and things that no longer serve us. When we hand things off we wave and say thank you and give our accolades of gratitude to items that are meant for another home.
How can you shift your external environment for the month of December to match how you want to feel in January?
Where are you going to start?
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Rachel Peters is a yoga teacher, yoga health coach, lifestyle and habits expert, easeful living advocate, and lover of wild places. She leads others towards Embodying Ease through a yearlong wellness & lifestyle journey to dissolve perfectionism, embody daily habits that promote mental clarity, overall ease, and deeper connection to life on this wild ride of modern living. Learn MORE today!