I decided a long time ago that I was done with New Year’s resolutions.

Why?

Because they never worked.

I used to set all the big ones - to exercise more, to eat healthier, to attract healthy love, to spend more time outside......

Every time, New Year’s Day would come and go, with all of it’s excitement and promises of new beginnings, and I’d slip right back into being my old, comfortable self.

It turns out I’m not alone.

42% of people make at least one new year’s resolution, and only 8% of them keep it.

If you’ve ever wondered WHY this happens and how we can flip this paradigm on its head, then keep reading!

Why it's so hard to change


Experts in the field of neuroscience say that by the time you are 35, you essentially have a subconscious computer program that runs you.

It's made up of your most deeply ingrained thoughts, emotions, beliefs, reactions and behaviors.

You are largely functioning on auto-pilot.

In Yoga, this is called your Ahankara. Ahankara is your sense of self. You build it by gathering information from the world around you, from what people tell you about yourself, and from your successes and failures in life.

It becomes so rock solid by the time you’re an adult that trying to change it is like moving mountains.

Your automated computer program dictates the decisions you make, the behaviors you engage in, and how you feel about yourself and the world around you.

Neuroscientiest Joe Dispensa says that this automated computer program, or your Ahankara, makes up 95% of who you are.

So take a moment and do the math. If 95% of who you are is locked down, that leaves FIVE percent of who you are that is still malleable.

When the new year rolls around, you may have the VERY BEST INTENTIONS in your heart when you take stock and think about this time of renewal and how you want to seize the opportunity to grow, to make a change, to better yourself.

Setting that intention, feeling the possibility and believing in yourself, is so beautiful and powerful.

But that poor little 5% goes up against the super fortified 95% that is so locked down and so practiced at what it does, it is almost always a losing battle!

Here is the hope


There is extremely good news in all of this -- It's actually really easy to completely re-program your automated computer system.

By easy, I don’t mean it doesn’t take work. It requires commitment and effort. By easy, I mean it's extremely accessible to absolutely everyone.

How it works


I want to share an awesome research project with you to show you how this works.

A harvard scientist brought in a group of volunteers and had them practice an exercise on the piano for two hours every day.

After one week of practice, the area of the brain devoted to their piano exercise had grown significantly. New neural connections had formed. They had altered the structure of their brain through the repetition of their practice - after just one week.

The researcher brought in a second group. They didn’t touch the piano. They didn’t even move their fingers.

They simply imagined how their hands would move if they were actually practicing the piano exercise.

Amazingly, the second group had the same growth in their brains as the first group -- meaning the mental training alone physically changed the structure of the brain!!!

What this means for you


You can easily re-program your subconscious computer system. All it takes is consistency and commitment.

If you want to be more healthy and active, meditate every day by visualizing yourself already being that healthy and active person.

What does she look like? What behaviors does she engage in? How did she act? How does she think? What does she wear? What does she eat? How does she feel?

To make it most effective, don’t get up from your meditation until you feel like that person.

Repetition is the key!

If you do this once in a while, it won’t have the effect you need to make a lasting change. But if you do it every day, you will re-wire your brain to be the person you want to be.

If you remain committed, your body and your life will catch up.

So, please please please if you’ve made new year’s resolutions, add this piece to the actions you’re taking to make them a reality.

Now, leave a comment below to share your resolutions and how you plan to make them stick!

I believe in you!



 
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I get super over the top excited to share new yoga downloads with you. I regularly check to see how many times my guided relaxation for sleep has been played (over 3,800!) and my heart swells, because I love that I can help you in your daily life through these resources.

My first ever video resource, Step Out Strongly, is here, and it makes happier than ever to share it with you.

You see, this is a short yoga flow I created for myself a couple of years ago. I was going through a rocky time that threw me completely off my game. Every day, I woke up full of fear and uncertainty. It was hard to focus and figure out how to begin each day, as I constantly felt scattered, overwhelmed, and uncertain.

I had fallen out of my daily yoga practice, and my fear-based thinking had me convinced that I in no way had time for one.

I had a little talk with myself that went something like this.

Fearful self: "I don't have time for yoga right now. I know it would help me, but there is so much I need to do. It's just not an option."

Higher self: "This is when you need yoga the most. You have tools that can help you, and if you tap into them, you will get out of this rut."

Fearful self: "I know, but I just don't have time."

Higher self: "Give me just five minutes each morning."

Fearful self: "Five minutes?! What good will that do?"

Higher self: "Trust me. A little bit goes a long way. I've never let you down before."

Fearful self: "Ok, five minutes. (Starting to feel hopeful) Let's do it!"

So I took a short vinyasa flow that I sometimes lead in classes, and added affirmations that would support me in creating the attitude, energy, focus, presence and strength that I needed to start each day in a place of power, rather than defeat.

I did the flow faithfully every single morning for a long time. Eventually, I began doing it several times throughout the day. After all, I could always spare five minutes, especially for the immense benefits of regrouping, grounding, practicing self-care, invigorating my body and mind, shifting my energy, and getting myself back to a place of faith, confidence, and trust.

Whenever I lead this affirmation flow in a retreat or class, participants ask to take it home with them.  I had shared it in our Yoga and Drumming retreat, and one participant, Anna, (now a dear friend) wrote me years later to tell me she used it religiously while tending to her father in the hospital.

"My father was visiting me from Moscow and suffered a heart attack. He was in the ICU at Boston Medical Center for 5 days, and I was his only family in the US. He doesn't speak English, so I was by his side all day and during all procedures to translate and help with medical decisions.

I had to be strong in order to help him, although I was so scared. I wore your spiral necklace around my neck and kept tracing it with my fingers to calm myself. I did your affirmation flow regularly in the middle of the ICU. I had to sit a lot by his bed, so your flow and affirmations helped my body to stretch and my mind to relax. I felt empowered, and everything went well. My dad just turned 78 last month and he is still working as a professor in Moscow."

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It became clear to me that I needed to share this flow with as many people as I could. The best way I could do that was to record it, so you could have it whenever you need it.

So here it is, my gift to you! Your free video to practice at home each morning to start your day in your strength and power.

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As you continue moving into 2017, may you remember that this year has never been lived before. May you step into each new experience with curiosity and a spirit of possibility.

I always love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Always with my love and gratitude,

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