I’m being surprised with an entire day’s worth of outing(s) with my man friend, and I can’t even tell you how excited this makes me. No one ever surprises me ever! I always either find out, or help plan outings myself…

“just leave the whole day open for me.” men: those are some of the BEST WORDS you can say to your girl. honestly. if you’ve never said them, then get your shit together.

VDAY GIT HURR QUICK!

So I’m sitting on the couch reading for school and Eric walks up with a spoonful of peanut butter and a glass of milk for me, randomly. That is too fuckin cute.

Yesterday I had an experience which made all the bull shit corporate hoop jumping I’ve been experiencing at work lately worth it. A friend of mine who I signed up at YogaWorks, who I won’t go in to too much depth about for her privacy, was at the studio and I checked her in at the front desk as usual. I got to talking to her and noticed that she is rapidly losing weight (the good way) and just all around looks so much brighter. She used to have this sadness in her eyes always—be it from stress, life, etc. But yesterday I noticed it was replaced with definite lightness. 

So I asked her how everything has been going after a solid 3 months of practicing yoga, and that I noticed that she has lost weight and is looking so well. She said “this yoga thing is changing me.” She has lost probably 15 pounds and said that the clarity of mind she is finding through her yoga practice has made her start to finally—after ten years at a job that runs her into the ground—look for new options for a job and just her path in life. And that she as well is slowly cutting down on her normal chain smoking habit, and making better eating choices simply because yoga helps her realize that she wants to help, not hurt her body. 

It probably sounds silly, but this made me tear up a little from sheer happiness that someone else, someone who I never would have thought would give yoga a chance, let it into her life and now it is helping her realize how she deserves true happiness, and to then leave the main source of stress and darkness in her life. It just doesn’t get better than that people. Everyone deserves to feel this way. To find that source in life that helps you realize that whatever is bringing you down, below your potential level of happiness and health, has got to go—whether it is a person, a job, material objects that anchor down, etc. 

My instructor in the ashtanga yoga class I took last night is such an amazing woman. She said very simply that people misconstrue what yoga truly is. That is just a series of postures that give you a bangin body if you do it consistently enough. This is definitely a great side effect of a yoga practice, but what yoga truly is, is the union of mind, body and spirit. These poses are difficult for a reason, because as she said “yoga is similar to when you’re at a restaurant with a friend, and they say ‘hey look over there!’ then steal one of your french fries.” Yoga postures are the distraction that helps you realize the true strength of MIND that is in everyone. You work at positioning your body in some contorted way over and over, and through that you are there, on your mat with your own mind and self, nothing else. It brings groundedness to your mind and respect to your body.

This [pose] is what I am capable of right here, right now. Nothing more, nothing less. 

And through this repetition of physical movements we begin to love ourselves more and more, we accept our limits and love our strengths. …and I’m sure by this point in the post you’ve thought “woah this is some serious spiritual rambling.” But I hope some part of you recognizes that we all need that reminder that we are exactly what we are, and to not strive to change it, but to love it. And it is through loving ourselves that we find balance and development.

Amen. lolz.