My Body | My Temple

3 Affirmations for the Holidays

The good news – food, family and money! The bad news – food, family and money!

But wait - you have much more in your power than you have given yourself credit for.  

Your subconscious mind records all information since the time you were born.  That’s a lot of information.  Some of what we retain from the past serves us and a lot of it does not.  Patterns of thought create grooves in the brain – like a pathway.  Once these pathways are set – they become our automatic default.  It takes a consistent and deliberate approach to release these habits.  It can be done.  It takes a little bit of focus and the rewards are immense.  It is the process of becoming mindful where all the magic happens. You can do this.  

How do you start?  Figure out where your trigger points are.  Three of the most common ones are here in this article.  The next step is to work on unraveling the belief.

Our remedy for addressing the limiting belief is an affirmation.  Affirmations reprogram the pathways in the brain.  If you have always turned left at the bridge – maybe its time to turn right.  Or even go over the bridge and see where it leads.  Affirmations are like guide posts – steering us in the direction of choice rather than habit.  Here are a few – right in time for the holidays. 

1. I bless every bite with love

It’s the season to indulge.  That’s part of why we love it right?  It’s the best time of year for family recipes and all things battered, fried and buttered.  Since you will likely eat it anyway – how about applying a blessing instead of a curse?  An important part about what you eat is how you feel about yourself when you eat.  If you believe something is good for you and you eat it – you feel great and it will have a positive affect.  If you believe something is bad for you and you eat it – you will not feel great and it will not have a positive affect.  Here is a humble offering to heal your relationship with food.  Give it a go at the table this season.  Notice what happens. 

 

1. Everyone is my Teacher

One of the Sikh saints once said – show me an enlightened person and I will ask her to spend a day with her family.  Ha ha.  But not always so funny.  Here is a way to elevate the situation.  Turn the focus back on yourself.  What can you learn about yourself in each situation?  How you can leave the occasion with your dignity and your miracle mindset intact?  Look for the lesson.  Look at the other person as an opportunity to get clear on yourself.  If in doubt – go to the bathroom and spend one full minute smiling at yourself.  Works like a charm. 

 

1. I Am Open to Receive

Money comes and goes.  If its customary in your circles to give gifts – then you may have been watching money flow outward with a little panic in the back of your mind.  Practical advice is to spend within your limits.  Energetic advice is to couple that with a keen awareness of all the love, positivity, gifts, time and blessings that are coming your way.  The more you notice what you have – the easier is for the good stuff to flow your way. 

 

This is the perfect time to recommit to your personal wellness strategy.  Pick an affirmation and run it through your mind multiple times a day.  No one has to know you are doing it.  No one will even notice.  Give yourself a little more space.  Excuse yourself for a few minutes to take the dog for a walk, offer to run an errand, check out a local Yoga class or sit quietly near the Christmas tree and meditate. Be present to your own expereince and reap the benefit of a loving heart and a quiet mind.  

Here is a powerful way to connect with yourself.  Enjoy.  

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays and much love to you for your journey in the year ahead. 

 Salimah Kassim-Lakha 

Yoga Therapist 

www.yogavision.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Life as a Yogapreneur - 9 months in

Have you thought about ditching your corporate job for a chance to work for yourself?  Does the idea of making your own decisions and learning lots along the way appeal to you?  Do you have the heart for risk and reward? If you said yes, then idea is already in you – and yes you can make it happen.  I’m doing it and you can too.  

On March 21, 2014 I left the day job and opened YogaVision Studio.  I had the golden handcuffs – great hours, benefits, and clients.  I also had a yearning to be more and do more and contribution more than I could when I was working for a big organization.  I watched my parents run their own business and was a little unnerved by the kinds of ups and downs they went through – so I stuck with corporate life as long as I possibly could.  After awhile, I looked at the long road ahead to retirement and decided that it was too long to wait to have the life I really wanted.   In the past few months, I tested my capacity to grow, learn, trust and  transform beyond what I thought I could.  Guess what?  I like this way much better.

Here’s what I have learned along the way: 

1.  The Answer is Always There

Stuck in a rut? Not sure where to turn? Working harder or longer doesn’t solve the problem.  The answer always shows up when I still my mind.  Usually sooner than it takes to complain about the problem again.  This goes for everything including money, time, people and love.

2.  It’s in You to Give

In the beginning my objective was to fill the studio.  It was a tough go.  Everyone I met became a make it or break it situation.  Then I shifted to thinking  about how to serve.  Starting every task or phone call or meeting with a desire to serve is a game changer.  Walking into meetings with something to offer – a relaxation technique, a  calming presence, or a strategy for transformation is the key to being called back.

3.  Its all about connections (aka Sales)

This one hit me kinda hard.  Welcoming people into the studio or into the practice is about connecting.  Connecting is also known as sales.  When I got that – it helped me see my role more clearly.  Be clear on what you are selling.  Be clear that what you are selling requires a personal touch and an understanding of the person in front of you.  It can only happen if you are willing to ask questions and listen to the answer.

4.  Let Go of the Old

Without a doubt all of my relationships, routines, preferences, and habits changed – dramatically.  The people I had around me when I had a desk job mostly worked in offices too.  We could lament for hours about the travesty of it all.  I started every day with a coffee as my reward for making it in to work.  Now I look for opportunity and see opportunity, the miracles and the magic.   And when I do have hang out time – I am extra careful about what I do and who I do it with.

5.  Count Your Blessings

There are tough days – and on those days in particular being grateful for what is happening is really important.  No matter what – the good is always flowing.  Not always on my time but always on god’s time.  Trust.  And always hug your spouse/partner at the end of the day.  It goes a long way. 

 6.  The Best Part

I love all the people who come into YogaVision everyday.  People from all walks of life come into YogaVision to learn, to practice, to look after themselves, to heal, to explore, to connect and to discover who they really are.  It’s inspiring and a refreshing reminder of how important this work it. 

 

Salimah Kassim-Lakha is a Yoga Therapist and Director of YogaVision Studio in Mississauga.  Visit her website at www.yogavision.com.  Mention this article and your first class is on us.