I have been thinking about what December’s theme should be and I keep coming back around to the concept of lightening our load. I hear from so many people, on a daily basis, how full their plate is or how there never seems to be enough time. If this isn’t you, don’t you worry, I have something for you to play with too.

Here is my December offering to you, you can think of it as a wish from my heart to yours; an invitation in to a life lived well, and how you wish it to be.

Pause, breathe, and take a look into your life. Look at all of your commitments, your habits, your sleep schedule, your self care, your diet, your sugar, coffee, alcohol intake, your stress level, and the balance of your life. This is not a practice of judgment, or perfection. This is simply taking a bird’s eye view of you and how you are living this life, right now, to see where there might be a shift possible.

How is life working out for you? Are you walking through your days in peace, and at peace? Are you sleeping soundly, eating from the earth, drinking lots of water, practicing self care on a daily basis, and living the life you want to be living? If you answered yes to those, then fantastic!

If you answered no to some, or all, then take some time looking deeper. This is your life, you get to create it how you want to; you are the Master of your domain. I understand work commitments and family obligations, financial requirements, etc.. There is a way to orchestrate all of it so that you are living a balanced life, walking in peace, finding enough time to do all the things that bring you joy, health and wellness.

How, you ask? Well, here’s the fun part. I’m here to help if you would like some support along the way but basically it is as simple as reformatting your life. Let’s all take the month of December to see what we want to carry with us into the new year and what we don’t wish to practice any longer. We get to ask ourselves what is working in our life and what isn’t and the good news is we can drop/change/shift all the stuff that isn’t in alignment with our greater good. Here are some examples of areas we can make subtle, or grand, shifts with.

I am phrasing these offerings as questions so they may be sprinkled throughout your life in a sense of wonder to play with. This is intended to be a lighthearted practice, approached from a place of love, curiosity and expansion.

~Am I going to sleep at a time that is most conducive to my wake up time and daily commitments? Do I feel rested when I rise?
~Is my diet still working for me? Are there some other foods I might benefit from incorporating, or things I perhaps should let go of?
~Do I really need coffee in the morning and/or cocktail in the evening? Is there another ritual I can invite in that is more in line with my well being?
~Am I rushing through life? Is there a way to do less and still be okay?
~What if I didn’t reply to every text, email, ding, ping, and alert in my life right away? What if I create designated times to be with tech and reply to people once or twice a week? Can I turn notifications off? Do I need to always be connected to WiFi and/or Bluetooth? Where can I unplug in my life?
~Am I nurturing the relationships that really matter to me? Am I leaning into the people who are my village; my tribe, my safe space? Are we connecting via text, voicemail and email or are we truly being with each other voice to voice, or face to face when possible?
~Do I need all this stuff around me? What can I let go of and gift to others? What do I want to take with me into the new year? Where can I create more space?
~Am I sweating everyday somehow? Am I gifting my body enough attention and love? Am I gentle with it and balancing that with some form of meditation, restorative movements/poses, and quiet time? If there isn’t time for this daily, then is there a way some things can shift so there is enough time for this daily?
~What is the benefit I receive from doing oh-so many things in a day? Am I in perpetual habit mode or can I make some changes in my life to bring me back to a place of mindful living where there is an ease to life; a flow, peace and balance?

Ponder these questions and look within to see how you are living this life and how life is living you? Where there is space to edit, release, soften, find ways to do so. Let us all take this month to let go of what we don’t need, what isn’t serving us, and what doesn’t bring us joy, peace and calm. And allow this month to be a time of inviting in new patterns of living; new practices, setting new habits so that we may live a life of harmony, good health, and a deep connection to gentle living.

For those of you who might already be living a very mindful, calm, quiet, still, existence draped in harmony, balance and plenty of spaciousness for self care, healthy living and peace, I invite you to go even deeper. Do a life scan and see what can be released; what you no longer need to be doing every day and what might serve you better moving forward into the new year. You can also go into your belongings and do a life scan there. What can you let go of? Where can more space, ease, and harmony exist in your home, car, office, etc.?

I often find myself going through my home and lightening it even more than I did when I did a cleaning months earlier. Sometimes we see what is left and live with that for a while and then realize we need even less. It is a slow process, there is no rush, simply observe, listen, and play with these invitations.

Enjoy this splendid month of December wherever you are on this beautiful planet.
Touch nature often.
Create the life you want to live.
Remember, you are an expansive being, constantly evolving. We are supposed to be changing and shifting in this life; never done learning, growing and becoming.
Allow your life to develop into new ways of existing as you continue to expand into your Truth.

I am here to continue this conversation and go deeper with you all on this path we call Life. Let’s keep going my loves; keep polishing, moving, breathing, and living—mindfully.

See you in class this weekend.