I returned to my yoga mat for the first time in two years this week. It felt amazing, emotional, cathartic, and like it was exactly what I needed. I’ve been on a long road of healing my body, and this week felt like the start of a new chapter for me.

I found a new yoga studio near my home (a must if I’m going to attend on a regular basis), and it felt welcoming, peaceful, clean and light to me. My yoga practice is always enhanced by the energy and beauty of the studio that I attend, and doing yoga with a community is something I really enjoy.

In the past 20 years, I’ve practiced all kinds of yoga. There’s something about yoga that really speaks to my body and soul, and makes me feel like I’m meditating and working out at the same time – a time-saving combination if there ever was one! My practice also creates the time and space for me to check in with myself on every level and ask, “What’s present for me today?”, “What do I require to feel harmonious?”, and “How can I surrender to this moment?”

I knew it was time to get back into my yoga practice because I’m looking for new ways to RECEIVE in my life. In an achieving based culture, I’ve pushed and forced and “made” things happen since I was a very little girl, and I’ve been rewarded for this way of operating in the world. But honestly, I know there’s a different way of showing up in my life that feels much better to me.

So, I walked onto my mat this week without any expectation, without any goal or lofty vision of “success”. Instead, I set the intention to open up my body and receive whatever was waiting for me in that opening process. I walked away from that yoga class knowing I’d discovered a new practice that will really serve and support me at this time in my life. I also walked away feeling full, at peace, and so happy to be alive.

I received so much by taking the time to open myself up to the magic that was waiting for me. Life is truly beautiful when we pause, let that beauty in, and fully receive it.