Benefits of Yoga | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

St. Louis Corporate Yoga Delivers Positive Results to the Workplace

No one is immune from feelings of frustration from too much expectation or competition. Tensions can arise especially in the workplace. Practicing yoga and looking at our breath can greatly neutralize excessive stress. When we redirect our attention to the breath, we find the unity and peace is there. According to Wayne Dyer, when we stay connected to spirit, nothing can go wrong. Judging another only makes us someone that needs to judge.

In order to develop a calm, equanimous mind, we look to our breath. After just one minute or longer, with the practice of deeper breathing, we feel more energized and refreshed. Too much work often results in poorer overall performance and results. Try to step back several times throughout the work day and simply be aware of your breath.

I began practicing yoga sixteen years ago to find inner peace. At 26, I was a restless, and very anxious first time mother. I wanted to be a great mom. So, I decided to try yoga. At first, I found it difficult to stay focused and concentrate on one pose at a time. My mind wanted to race around so many times! I must be honest, because my body was so flexible, it gave me courage to keep trying to calm my brain. After practicing yoga regularly for 6 months, I definitely noticed I was less judgmental both with myself and with others. Now after 16 years, my mind may still be unruly and reactive, but now I want to learn how to work cooperatively with others, soften their burdens and be happy.

Yoga corporate onsite classes has this same softening effect on our clients. Many students reports that they feel less tension at work, greater energy, more vitality and more patience with their own approach to learning. Students tell me that they practice the breathing on the plane, while in a meeting or completing a project. Corporate yoga students enjoy learning how to breathe the yoga postures apart in order to enjoy all the benefits yoga has to offer. They are most appreciative for the all levels yoga approach that St. Louis Corporate yoga classes offers and find that stretching with their work colleagues is a great way to build a cooperative and collaborative, fun work atmosphere!

By gently coming back to the breath, we can all release negativity and develop a stronger mind. In truth, I think the universe wants us to enjoy our tasks and to have a greater sense of ease with life’s responsibilities. It is certainly more fun to let go of things we cannot control and learn to stay calm, and be more focused.

Finding greater discipline to stay in there in times of challenge helps us to cherish and awaken loving kind energy and vitality at the workplace. Let us help you design a unique yoga corporate program that fits your company’s needs today! To get a free phone consultation with St. Louis Corporate Yoga, call 314-630-1677. Please join us!

St. Louis Corporate Yoga Clients Feedback

Presenting corporate yoga programs for over ten years, St. Louis Corporate Yoga now teaches 11 corporate yoga classes each week and offers several more private yoga classes to top company executives too.

The top benefits for having on-site yoga classes is the convenience, the team building, fun and challenging movements and the incredible vitality and energy clients feel throughout the day.

The reason yoga is so successful is its emphasis on the breath. Poor breathing is the cause of much tension, stress, exhaustion and anxiety. And even more importantly to understand, poor breathing is an epidemic bad habit in today’s society.

Our yoga instructors will guide clients to learn how to practice yogic breathing. This deeper breathing will allow for greater circulation with less work, less stress on the heart, improving the overall cardiovascular system and enhancing ability, comfort and awareness in difficult situations.

Here is what several of our corporate clients had to say:

“I can handle the daily problems and hassles better and I have a new variety of positions or movements from yoga to help alleviate my back pain. Many of these I can do during the day, even in my office. I highly recommend Michelle’s class and have so to many friends.” Tom Hinton

“Yoga has improved my overall health and attitude personally and professionally. I am stronger, calmer and more focused. I recently participated in the biometric screenings and ALL of my numbers were great.” Natalie Warren

“Yoga has helped me reduce stress and tension. My balance has improved as I am getting older. The breathing aspect has helped me to quit smoking.” Donna Boeger

St. Louis Corporate Yoga offers a variety of levels in each yoga class. No matter what background and level of ability, every yoga client is encouraged to join and attend class. Because the emphasis is on how you feel and not how you look, St. Louis Corporate Yoga motivates and empowers everyone to be their own personal best. When we are true to our heart, the world bends to support us. Authenticity comes from the soul, not from the ego.

More and more companies are seeing the direct benefits of offering company yoga to their employees. Insurance premiums are lower. Employees report heightened satisfaction at work. In just a few short weeks, clients report greater inner strength, motivation and sense of purpose.

At St. Louis Corporate Yoga, we truly believe that everyone can practice yoga. And that once we find the support is there, we change the way we look at things, and with that newfound perspective, everything in life naturally follows. It is true that life is simply a stretch!

For more information about St. Louis Corporate Yoga, please contact us at 314-630-1677 or email us info@claytonyoga.com. Also to view more corporate yoga video testimonials about this program, please click this link here: http://claytonyoga.com/corporate-yoga/

Yoga = Natural High Energy = Positive Successful Life Results

Yogi’s have known for a long time that our energy levels can facilitiate enlightenment. We have the ability to boost our own levels of energy. The key to increasing our energy is to focus on the inside in a loving and positive manner. Each of us according to the Tibetans is a piece of the divine energy.

Ways to increase our energy are:

Daily exercise
Eating alkaline-non-processed, non-dairy foods
Breathing deeply increasing oxygen rich blood back to our cells
Sleeping well consistently
Focusing on Gratitude and counting those blessings throughout the day
Develop wisdom that our weakness can often become our greatest ally
Letting go of judgment and remembering to value our intuition
Writing in a Journal
Making time for a Friend
Pray every morning you wake up

In everyday life, with all modern day complexities and lack of time, it is difficult to remain true to one’s own inner heart. Yoga trains the mind through stretching to dig deeper, to look on the inside, and find hidden treasures. Moments that we feel deep inner stillness can offer profound awakenings. We discover that although there are weaknesses or cravings, we can notice and not take the bait. Just like an underwater sea diver looking for beautiful coral at the bottom of the ocean, our soul is also searching to develop and heal.

The Buddha taught us that all life is change, temporal and fleeting. When we attach to outcome and cling, we suffer. When we let go, and let good, we allow life back in and we become luminous like a star in the night time sky. And in the words of Saint Francis d’ Assisi I wish to seek not so much to be understood, as to understand.

The Shinto Buddists do not meditate as much as they emphasize gratitude. Through one’s awareness, we come to understand we are never alone, that everything is interdependent. At my new corporate workplace, because of the constant efforts of my employer, the students who sign up, the room coordinator and the cleaning lady, we are able to enjoy a great yoga class.

Being a professional tennis player taught me that having things in itself is an empty experience. More important than things, is being able to feel confident in one’s inner nature, to have a gift, to share, to inspire, and motivate pioneering new ways of living peacefully and collectively on this planet. Now that is one great yoga pose. Being willingness to listen and grow from another, have an open mind and a courageous heart all these qualities keeps us energized and young.

Having too many struggles with people, lawsuits, adversity, and bad energy is extremely taxing to our energy body. Prolonged tension can lead to energy depletion, a cranky mood, and irritability with our friends or much worse, dis-ease in the body.

In order to make the jump into a new paradigm, the desire must come from within. If we are filling our holes or insecurity with a ‘quick fix’, that won’t do. Before we embark upon the change for self-improvement, we must get clear as to why we wish to change.

Are we motivated by joy or by guilt? Our deeper reasons for action provide us with how we shape our tomorrow. Use your breath every day, witness your energy levels when they lower, and do not panic. You newfound muscle of awareness will provide you with objectivity, neutrality and great inner strength. Once you can bow to your inner critic, your tapestry of love will expand into the light and finding deeper meaning and purpose in life again…

How Can Yin Yoga Help Benefit Corporate Yoga Classes?

Yin Yoga is a unique style of yoga that emphasizes relaxation while promoting optimal mind-body functioning. The emphasis is on holding poses for long periods of time while relaxing the muscles of the body.

Up until recently, doctors believed that it was not wise to put pressure or to exercise the joints, believing joints would only wear out. Yin is comprised of weight bearing postures placed on the joints. This opens the deep connective tissue and strengthens our joints. Yin Yoga postures work the deepest layers of tension often located from the top of the knee to base of rib cage. Movement in upper back or head can be kept relaxed and at ease.

Although traditional western medicine has been skeptical about the existence of energy pathways, according to Chinese medicine there has been a great deal of research proving the beneficial flow of ‘chi‘ or energy throughout our meridians.

The connective tissue of our body throughout our body act as a conduit for the flow of energy through the meridians. By activating the connective tissues it may be possible to directly stimulate the meridians and this can profoundly affect health in a positive way.

Yin Yoga is very similar to acupuncture and works with the meridians or energy lines of our body. Additionally, placing our body into particular postures sends electrical currents back to the internal organs which in turn help to promote overall long term health and healing.

For the self-aware practitioner, this can provide another aspect of practice where by specific postures are selected to support the health of particular organs or to even rebalance disruptive emotional states. For example in traditional Chinese medicine, the health of the liver and gallbladder is associated with emotions such as anger and frustration. By practicing yin yoga poses such as swan and dragonfly the flow of energy through the liver and gallbladder meridians can be enhanced and the practitioner may find relief from these imbalances.

Yin Yoga can also challenge yoga practitioners in a unique way whereby the long hold times can often produce a sense of ease with what is uncomfortable. Yin Yoga can foster an increased awareness of the deeper aspects of our selves as they rise to the surface to be confronted.

Yin Yoga allows us to draw our attention towards the internal phenomenon within us so that we are able to come closer to maintaining awareness of the subtle flow of energy. We may become awakened to the way we store tensions within the body and as we release the physical pressure, we allow and let go of the cellular memories and can gain access to an enhanced sense of clarity.

This facet of the yin practice, is especially useful for those who sit all day at their desk. In addition to the sense of quietude that can be experienced during a Yin Yoga session, these wonderful postures can also result in quite intense and illuminating occurrences that are invaluable for those seeking personal and spiritual growth.

Let’s create a unique yoga program for your company’s individual needs, please contact us at info@claytonyoga.com or 314-630-1677.

Need More Energy?

Late winter is the time that many people complain about having very little energy to go through the day. No wonder … after the winter, our bodies are depleted and usually low on some vitamins and minerals. And we all feel the impact… some days seem to drag on for too long, we don’t feel productive at all and struggling with taking action. Getting stuff done seems to be just wishful thinking on some days.

A few easy tips to increase your energy in the spring time:

Go outside, walk and breath in the spring air! Go on a walk during your lunch hour instead of shopping. Stop and look at the beauty of spring, breathe in the smell of new life. Feast your eyes on the energizing colors around you.
Pay attention that you get enough sleep. You might need a bit more at this time of the year so try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every day. If you feel very tired and under pressure but have to finish a project, it might make more sense to get some zzzzzz before you attempt to continue working. Yes, this sounds counter intuitive as you feel that you are losing valuable time, but you can abuse your body only to a certain extent….
Let citrus fruits brighten your day. Sniffing at oranges or lemons will make you more alert. Of course eat them, too. Let the peel sit on your desk for a continued dose of lingering scent.
Elevate your mood with essential oils. With low energy levels, the chance to feel depressed, hopeless and inactive grows. Turn to pure scents to gently increase your capacity for joy. Peppermint, rosemary, basil, pink grapefruit, orange, ginger, lemon and lemongrass are just a few of the natural oils that can work wonders for your mood.
Enjoy a handful of raw nuts every day. Cashews, almonds and hazelnuts… full with magnesium goodness will help you get an energy boost without the sugar.
Add color to your life for a better mood. Yellow, orange, red, vibrant blue and green – colors influence our lives. Leave those dark winter colors behind and let your home and office get a makeover. Just adding a few strong accents of color will have a huge impact on your energy levels.
Feeling dead tired? You might be dehydrated without even noticing it. To really understand how much water you drink, get a water bottle, fill it up and keep track of how many bottles you finish per day. Most people get less water than they need to function properly. Your brain needs water so if you need your brain working properly… go and get a glass of water now.
Begin practicing yoga! If you are lucky to have on-site yoga classes at your company, definitely take advantage of those. No corporate yoga classes yet at your workplace? St. Louis Corporate Yoga can help your company to build the best yoga course for your colleagues and employees. All you need to do is to connect with us through our contact page or give us a call at 314-630-1677.

Let’s get you energized!

Diabetes and Yoga

Prevalence Of Diabetes And Pre-Diabetes In The United States, 2007

Did you know that more than 8% of the total population of the US suffers now from diabetes? And this number is consistently growing: just in 2010 1,9 million people were newly diagnosed with this condition according to the American Diabetes Association’s 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet (released Jan. 26, 2011 Source: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/). There are estimated 79 million people who are in the pre-stages of diabetes.

How many of your employees are suffering from this new epidemic or are in the pre-diabetes phase? And what is the impact on your organization as a result?

The costs of diabetes are horrendous for our society. Not just the economic burden we suffer as a result if this disease. We should not forget about the consequences of loss in quality of life for all the sufferers and their families.

Some of the most serious complications as a result of diabetes are:

heart disease and stroke
high blood pressure
blindness
kidney disease
nervous system disease (Neuropathy)
and amputations.

Here are the shocking facts about the real cost of diabetes for the US economy:

“New research provides revised comprehensive estimates that suggest that the U.S. national economic burden of pre-diabetes and diabetes reached $218 billion in 2007. This estimate includes $153 billion in higher medical costs and $65 billion in reduced productivity. The average annual cost per case is $2,864 for undiagnosed diabetes, $9,975 for diagnosed diabetes ($9,677 for type 2 and $14,856 for type 1), and $443 for pre-diabetes (medical costs only). For each American, regardless of diabetes status, this burden represents a cost of approximately $700 annually.”

Source: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/2/297.short

The above research results urge all of us to search for understanding of how to prevent and treat this new epidemic and reduce its economic toll.

Can yoga help in managing diabetes and decrease the debilitating health conditions as a result of diabetes?

We see growing evidence that yoga may positively influence the health of our yoga students with or without a diabetes condition. Some of our clients report lower blood sugar levels and a higher awareness for healthy lifestyle choices.

We found a research study critically reviewing published research around diabetes and yoga done by Kim E. Innes and Heather K. Vincent at the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville, VA, USA.

Here is the summary of this research:

“In summary, a growing number of studies suggest that yoga may improve indices of risk in adults with type 2 diabetes, including glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, anthropometric characteristics and blood pressure. Limited data also indicate that yoga may reduce oxidative damage, improve coagulation profiles and pulmonary function, and decrease sympathetic activation in adults with diabetes and related chronic disorders. Yoga may also be useful in reducing medication requirements in patients with diabetes and could help prevent and manage cardiovascular complications in this population.”

Source: The influence of yoga-based programs on risk profiles in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2176136

Besides reporting very promising facts about the use of yoga in diabetes therapy, it also calls for more “rigorous studies … to clarify the effects of specific yoga therapies on measures of DM 2 risk and related clinical outcomes, especially in American and other Western populations that remain underrepresented in existing research.”

Our St. Louis Corporate Yoga program introduces a gentle Vinyasa yoga practice that emphasizes the importance of the body-mind connection. Offering on-site yoga classes once or twice a week for your employees will increase their health consciousness and can result in better diabetes management for those who suffer from this condition.

If this article piqued your interest, please call us at 314-630-1677 to get more information how we can help your employees stay healthier longer!

The graphics above “Prevalence Of Diabetes And Pre-Diabetes In The United States, 2007” are from: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/2/297/F1.expansion.html

Content sources for this article:

www.Diabetes.org

http://content.healthaffairs.org/

http://europepmc.org

Sweet Sleep For Increased Productivity

Lack of sleep has a major impact on productivity. It is difficult to function 100% and keep your focus when you haven’t slept enough. We all know the leady tiredness after a night that didn’t bring enough sleep.

Sixty million Americans have occasional sleep issues. Just imagine how many of your employees might suffer from the consequences of sleep problems!

“At least 40 million Americans each year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders each year, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. These disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities. They also account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year, while the indirect costs due to lost productivity and other factors are probably much greater. Doctors have described more than 70 sleep disorders, most of which can be managed effectively once they are correctly diagnosed.”

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm#sleep_disorders

Insomnia, the most common sleep problem affects more than half of all adults in the United States. Sleeplessness means the inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep as long as one desires.

Would you like to know if you suffer from this condition?

Do you have difficulty falling asleep? Does it take longer than 20 minutes to fall asleep?
Do you wake up during the night and cannot go back to sleep?

If you answered yes to those questions, you might well be suffering from insomnia.

Most often you get a prescription for sleeping pills in order to deal with your sleeping problems. But do they help? Taking sleeping pills might get addictive fast, robbing you the ability to fall asleep without the pills.

Fortunately there are ways to ensure that you can fall asleep fast and easy even after a stressful day.

How practicing yoga will lead to better sleep

Sometimes people are just too tired to fall asleep. This might sound as illogical but true. You need to relax in order to be able to fall asleep.

If you are tired before your bedtime, doing restorative poses and breathing will help. Practice for a few minutes – even 5 minutes will make a difference – until you feel more relaxed and then go to bed.
Doing yoga breathing slows down your heartbeat and helps you relax. One of the easiest breathing exercises that you can do anytime and especially beneficial before sleep is this: Inhale to the count of 3, exhale to the count of 6. Important thing is to exhale twice as long as you inhale. Breathe through the nose. You can increase the count to 4+8 or even 5+10 as you get more advanced.
Try progressive muscle tensing and relaxing when you lie in bed. Lie down comfortable in the Savasana pose. From your toes up tense and relax your body parts. It takes only a few minutes and will raise your awareness for your body. If you need help, there are audios available as mp3s or CDs to learn this method.

During our corporate yoga classes we pay special attention to breathing and restorative poses. What you learn during those classes, you will be able to use in any situation. Plus if you have any special questions, your yoga instructor can give you expert advice. Or even put together a special yoga sequence just for you!

We would love to show you how St. Louis Corporate Yoga can help to increase productivity in your organization! Give us a call at 314-630-1677 for a consultation if you are interested to learn about our company yoga programs!

Sitting is Silently Killing You!

There is mounting evidence that sitting for longer periods at a time can be very dangerous for your health. The same is true for your employees and colleagues, too of course.

Let’s look at research done in the last decade to understand the threat that sitting at work poses in the workplace.

The dangers of sitting too long during your waking hours:

Heart Disease

Several studies indicate an association between sitting for extended periods and heart disease. According to a study in the “American Journal of Epidemiology,” sitting for more than six hours daily leads to an 18 percent greater risk of death from heart disease. Research conducted at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center found that extended sitting results in a 54 percent greater chance of a heart attack.

Other Chronic Diseases

Many studies also indicate an association between extensive sitting and cancer, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. The 2008 “Diabetes” study posited that the 47 million cases of metabolic syndrome — a condition that leads to diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular problems — in the U.S. are linked directly to a sedentary lifestyle characterized by extended sitting. Unfortunately, even if you exercise for the recommended 30 minutes per day, five days per week, it doesn’t compensate for sitting eight hours daily.

Mortality

Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. James Levine describes sitting as a “lethal” activity, according to The Wellness News. While this may sound dramatic, studies back his assertion. A 2012 study of more than 222,000 participants found that people who spend more than 11 hours per day sitting have a 40 percent greater chance of dying in the next three years than do those who sit for four hours or less per day; participants who sat from eight to 11 hours per day had a 15 percent greater mortality rate. The increased risks weren’t affected by other health factors, such as participants’ age, weight and physical activity levels. Further, the most inactive participants in the study — those who spent the most time sitting each day — had more than twice the mortality rate of those who sat the least. Similarly, a 2011 study at the University of South Carolina found that men who were sedentary for 23 hours per week or more had a 64 percent greater chance of dying from heart disease than men who were sedentary for 11 hours a week or less.

The above excerpt is from an excellent summary article published on http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/health-problems-sitting-day-work-1827.html.

One solution is to provide employees with standing desks or even treadmill desks. But not every company is willing to make the investment in these innovative desks. Plus it seems that after the initial enthusiasm is gone, the usage of these desks declines among office workers. Sitting is still more comfortable and associated with “doing your job”.

Walking and moving around during the workday will bring huge benefits if done consistently. These methods don’t cost you a penny, either. The only thing you need to get the most health benefits from these easy activities is your unwavering commitment.

Some ideas to get you stand up and move during the day:

Walking down the corridor to talk to colleagues instead of writing an email
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
Standing while talking on the phone
Standing during meetings
Taking a walk during lunch hour

Company yoga classes are also an excellent way to get employees moving and away from their desks for an hour. Yoga practice can offset the health destroying impact of sitting for hours every day.

From the testimonials we get from our corporate yoga students, we know that yoga had many very favorable changes to their well-being and health. Would you like to hear some of our happy students speak about their experience of St. Louis Corporate Yoga classes at their workplace? We gathered a testimonial video collection on our Praise page: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/praise/

We would love to help you bringing better health and outstanding productivity to your employees. Please call us at 314-630-1677 to set up a complimentary consultation on creating the best fitting corporate yoga program for your company.

St. Louis Corporate Yoga Benefits St. Louis Corporations

The effective antidote for the stress of modern-day challenges in business and in life: Yoga.

The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital found in survey after survey, that Americans identify stress as their number one health concern today. More than 50% of adults in the U.S report high stress on a daily basis. Untreated, stress can seriously affect, performan, health and well-being. St. Louis Corporate Yoga brings yoga right to your doorstep! St. Louis Corporate Yoga offers business professionals a great way to unwind, learn how to relax in their own workplace, increase positive energy, and team bonding.

Corporate all level yoga classes are designed for all levels and backgrounds. That is because the emphasis is not on achieving advanced postures but learning how to stay calm moment to moment. We work with negative emotions such as impatience, fear, anger, aggression toward one another and develop a systematic program to learn how to shift into stress-free appreciation, team bonding, and courage.

Clients who have worked with St. Louis Corporate Yoga say that it is the convenience of having such a course right at the workplace that they love the most. Yoga has been proven to lower blood pressure, improve sleep and alleviate stress. According to Thomas Perls, M.D. and director of the New England Centurion Project at Boston University, “It isn’t the amount of stress that matters, but how you manage it.”

Begin now to notice your posture, and style of breathing. When you do not sit up straight and hunch your shoulders forward, you are cutting off circulation between the body and brain. This requires a huge amount of energy to keep circulation going. Try in this moment, to sit up tall, relax the shoulders and take a few simple, deep breaths.

A study done at the University of California at San Francisco has confirmed that stress really does age you. The reason is that constant stress causes the telomere, or tiny caps on cell chromosome which govern cell regeneration to get smaller. When the cell’s telomere become too short, the cell stops dividing and eventually die. Greater relaxation then leads to a longer life span for the telomere and rejunvenated energy throughout the body.

Please read our list of benefits for Corporate Yoga Program here as well as click on our St. Louis Corporate Yoga Video to see just what it is like to be in one of our on-site yoga and wellness classes.

Benefits of Corporate Yoga Programs:

Improved morale in the workplace
Increased productivity and communication
Increased efficiency
Increased concentration
Decreased anxiety and tension
Decreased muscle tension and pain
Decreased sick time and absences
Ability to manage emotional stress

To start a corporate yoga on-site program and boost your employee morale, simply give us a call or email today. One of our company representatives will be happy to answer any of your questions.

You can reach us at (314) 630-1677 or info@claytonyoga.com.

Find Your Mind-Body-Spirit Center

What is stress? Why does it take its toll on our body? Stress manifests in our body as ‘gruntis’ or knots. When we have anxiety or deadlines to meet, and misperceive ourself as unable to meet such needs, we feel stressed. When we are friendlier with ourself, we feel we have more ability to take more risks and our belief in the self increases.

Our Corporate Yoga Classes teach and train students how to deal with the stress of everyday life, when they are asked to play the edge in every yoga posture and then remain calm.

When just the right amount of pressure, tension, stress and resistance, we can all excel and become stronger. Challenges we face in the everyday life are hidden gems in disguise.

Human organisms don’t thrive under cozy conditions. They thrive when conditions are a challenge and the organism is fighting to become stronger. A very famous French literary author Jean Paul Satre once said, we are all doomed to find within us our destiny of freedom. I believe the freedom he was referring to was the opportunity to provide yourself constantly with life’s second chances. Or those moments when you face mistakes with a smile knowing these moments to be pivotal stepping stones for personal change and evolution.

The first teachings of the Buddha were that life is difficult but the good news is that we need not suffer. When we develop or cultivate a warrior heart approach to life, we face the harsh wind and soften. We develop a wisdom and knowing that life will knock us down again and again, and it is human to resist, but honoring our resistance is saying yes to the whole journey of transformation, not just the parts the suit us.

When we slow down at first initially, it may feel quite different, even painful to explore some of these dried out and neglected spaces within our own psyche. This is why Pema Chodren says that it is essential to touch lightly our suffering and to always be gentle.

All challenge in our life is said to present itself as a personal obstacle course designed to teach us to move from our center. When we do, we encourage newfound gentle wisdom to arise and allow the waters of our mind to settle and become clear. It is then that we may access the prajna, or living wisdom of the heart, and find a solution. Albert Einstein once remarked that you cannot solve the problem from the same place it was created.

The practice of awakening or enlightenment is to discover our own hero’s adventure lies within. It is never too late to pick up again our sword and defend our own honor. Rather than fighting the dark, we understand the power of simply turning on a light. Gentle loving kindness is the way. Stiffness, tension, too much flexibility, all of these attributes define the way we view our world.