Namaste.
Good morning and welcome.
My name is Samantha from Zayoga.
And if you have a moment before it,
Do stretch the body out and loosen it up so that you can come into a comfortable seat.
And know that that comfortable seat does not necessarily have to be crossed like it on a floor.
It could be on a chair.
You can sit on a bolster or a cushion,
Whatever feels comfortable for you.
Now,
Bring in your hands to your knees so that the palms are open.
Closing your eyes and taking a nice deep breath in.
Allow your breath to relax you.
Allow the breath to soften by slowing down the breath.
Noticing the exhales as well as the inhales.
Notice if there's any part of the body that's tense and tendency is that the eyebrows,
The corners of the eyes,
The lips,
They tense up,
They tighten.
So then the beginner of the week,
The body,
The mind might not be at a place that you would like it to be.
You might not have all the energy,
But when you do that then you can slowly decide what direction to pull the breath,
What time to pull it.
So position your shelves around the The mind might not be at the place that you would like it to be.
You might not have all the energy that you wish for.
But coming into your seat and allowing yourself to just settle in,
Notice,
Becoming aware.
And it brings balance back into the body,
The mind,
And gives you the energy to step forward,
Step into the day.
And it's easy to step backwards,
Hide,
Not confront the issues,
The situation,
The day.
Sometimes,
Stepping forward seems like you're carrying a ton of weight.
So that lift in that leg and stepping forward might not be as easy as it sounds.
But life is going to be challenging at times.
We cannot only step forward when things are smooth and easy and calm and relaxed and fun.
It's when it's challenging,
Hard,
Difficult,
Uncertain.
That's when we have to step forward.
All the other times,
It happens so naturally,
Like the breath,
You don't even notice that you're doing it.
You don't notice that you're breathing,
It's just breathing.
Why pay attention to it?
But when you do,
When you do pay attention and you do notice when there's an interruption,
There's a shortness,
There's a heaviness to the breath,
You realize that there's also that that's happening in the mind,
In the body.
So that weight that you feel when you step forward in times of crisis,
In times of uncertainty.
Those are the times that you truly need to hold yourself together with all the uncertainty,
With all the doubts and step forward.
That's the time that you're going to learn,
You're going to truly experience,
Truly grow as a human being.
That's the time that you really truly enter this world and interact and experience all that life has to offer.
And I'm not saying that stepping forward in that heavy feeling has to be a pandemic or a horrible tragedy.
It could be stepping forward to learn something new,
A language,
And that makes you nervous.
Stepping forward to take an exam and everything on your body feels that it's just not ready.
And stepping forward is also knowing that you might fail.
And that's a lesson in itself.
Because when we truly fail at something,
We learn in that moment.
And then acceptance,
Realization,
All comes into play.
They say the most successful people failed in order to be successful.
So when your day feels heavy,
When you feel like you can't step forward,
When you don't see that light,
Walk a little further.
Take the chance to experience,
Learn,
Grow,
And trust.
Not every day is going to be easy.
Not every day you're going to walk and it's going to be light like you're walking on water and feathers.
But every day is your own.
Every day is an opportunity to experience,
To learn a little bit more about yourself and grow deeper.
So as you start your day today,
You might feel light as a feather.
Or you might feel like you weigh a ton.
And you want to crawl back into bed.
Step forward.
Take the opportunity to take a deep breath in.
Let it out.
Notice the sounds,
The smells.
Interact into your world.
Maybe take little steps.
Until you feel a little lighter and you can take a bigger step.
But do step into the world.
This is your world,
Your life.
How you choose to live it is up to you.
Choose to step forward.
Choose to grow.
Choose to be.
So you can stay here a little longer.
Maybe your body feels a little stiff in the morning.
And you want to just relax here.
Ease yourself into the day.
But do take your steps.
Maybe small.
Then a little bit,
And a little bit,
And a little bit more.
But for now,
I leave you here.
Keep your distance.
Stay safe.
As you move around the world,
Move around your life.
Namaste.
And have a wonderful day.
