I have been doing yoga for what feels like a lifetime, but has only been three years! It is something that I look forward to doing every week, not only because it helps keep me fit, but also because it helps align my body, mind, and soul.
Yoga has pushed me to be the best version of myself that I can be. It teaches you how to focus, how to keep your mind centered, and how to forget about the outside world for the time that you are in the studio.
For years, I would go to yoga and try to sneak my way out before savasana. I hated that time. I didn’t know how to surrender. I had a list a mile long of things I needed to do and places I wanted to be instead.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I really made the commitment to give yoga my all and commit to every part of the practice, including savasana. Instead of silencing my mind, I used this time to recite my gratitude, and then one day the surrender happened and I floated away.
Here is what my savasana sounds like in my mind:
Thank you body
Thank you mind
Thank you for strength
Thank you for discipline
Thank you for willpower
Thank you for showing up!
I am grateful for this day
I am grateful for this moment
I am grateful for yoga
I am grateful for my teachers
I am grateful for knowledge
I am grateful I am growing
I am grateful my body moves with ease and flow
I am grateful I am healthy
I am grateful my mind is clear
Thank you for another chance to inspire and be inspired
Thank you for love
Thank you for guidance
Thank you for everything!
I say this in my head as I lay on my mat. All of my thoughts of the outside world slowly slip away, and I am left with me, myself, and my mind.
I never used to like being alone with my thoughts. I didn’t like what went through my mind. I was negative. I didn’t like sitting still. I wanted to do yoga and then leave when the mindfulness part began. However, when I shifted my focus and my mindset, savasana became a whole lot easier for me. I actually started to look forward to this part of the yoga practice. I was no longer dreading it, but finding myself excited for it. It wasn’t because savasana all of a sudden changed and I liked it now. It was because of my mind shift. It was because I started to be grateful for this practice and what it taught me. Being grateful can change anything and EVERYTHING. Give it a try. Your body, mind, and soul will thank you!
Shilamida, a healer and licensed acupuncturist, has been called an inspiring messenger who empowers people to shift their thinking and take the actions needed to live out their truth and ultimately be the best version of themselves. In addition to her healing practice, Shilamida is a best-selling author, keynote speaker and modern day spiritual leader, who has spent over 16 years learning from some of the world’s foremost spiritual leaders and coaches herself. With an infectious energy, Shilamida has the ability to connect and engage with those around her as she shares her journey of finding gratitude and the shifts she had to make in her own life to achieve abundance and success.