“The unexamined life is one not worth living.” – Socrates

Are you starting to crave a fresh start and looking for new opportunities?

December is a time for reviewing the year and planning for the next. As we get ready to embark on the next decade let us take a moment to engage in our end of year ritual using these four steps: Schedule, Reflect, Strategize and Intend.

Schedule

First, find time.

If you are a busy person, like most of us are, then you know how challenging this step can be. But, if you are reading this article you also know how important this time is. When you take the time to pull back from daily activities and pause for self reflection everyone in your life benefits.

Choose a time that is most convenient for you. Maybe it is a few hours on a Sunday morning or in the early evening, at a retreat, or even on a long airplane ride. Schedule it in your calendar to ensure it happens.

Reflect

Once you have set aside at least a couple hours of time sit down with a journal or your laptop and reflect on your life over the past year.

This is not a time to get attached to your past. It is a time to celebrate your accomplishments and learn from failures so you can strategize the best plan moving forward.

The goal here is to create clarity.

Create three separate columns that reflect each area of your life:

• Professional

• Family/social

• Personal

Think about the experiences you had pertaining to each category. Which ones were joyful? Which were challenging? With the attitude of receptivity, reflect on why those experiences brought you joy or difficulty. The goal is to learn more about yourself and nurture your own authenticity.

As Oscar Wilde so brilliantly stated, "Be yourself—because everyone else is already taken." There is never a better time than now to start being true to yourself. Own, nurture and celebrate every part of you. The planet will thrive as well as our communities and families when we stop being afraid of embracing our individuality. Besides, who isn’t tired of being the person everyone wants us to be? Or, being the person we “think” we “should” be? Or, on a larger scale, “conforming” to some way of conventional thinking?

Strategize

After you have gained valuable information from the reflection process it is time to plan a new year. You now know which areas of your personality require some “house cleaning,” which areas you would like to explore deeper and which areas you would like to nurture and grow.

Some people might liken this step to making a New Year’s resolution, but instead, consider it a course correction. Life is dynamic and full of change. It is normal to get thrown off course and become estranged to your true self. This is another opportunity to amp up your self compassion and dream big.

Take out a calendar and look at each month for the upcoming year. Have a sharp focus on the first quarter, it is coming fast!

Again, make plans for each category of your life:

• Professional

• Family/social

• Personal life

Begin by brainstorming ideas. Not all ideas will manifest, but it is important to write them down anyway so you can have a roadmap to follow.

Intend

Intention is direction and determines outcomes. Wherever your attention goes your energy flows. All great think tanks - ancient and modern - understand the power of intention. In the yoga tradition, the word is “samkalpa.” You can check out last year’s blog if you want a clearer description of how to work with it.

Samkalpa is the intention of the highest kind. This is an internal longing, a prayer from our heart. It is related to our core values and it becomes an affirmation that is non-negotiable.

For instance, as I dream big and strategize my 2020 self-care routines, family trips, trainings, projects, self-development and collaborations I simultaneously invoke my personal samkalpa, “I am peaceful and I am connected to source.” This is my internal mission statement, my inner vow that cannot be compromised.

Peace is something I long for, but it can often get lost or misplaced. So, with every big idea I have for the new year it has to align with this core value.

This samkalpa is like an inner mantra. It is a simple statement, but it is loaded full of nuances, imagery and meaning. Don’t let the simplicity of the statement fool you. The samkalpa has a charge of the highest kind and it literally lives inside you. Wake up with this mantra and try to remember it throughout the day. This intention will not only direct you to make better choices, but it will attract the opportunities you desire.

Yes, there are times when the samkalpa can get lost. That is why this cycle - Schedule, Reflect, Strategize, Intend - is a helpful reboot. Do this ideally once a quarter, but certainly at the end of the year.

“Intention is one with cause and effect. Intention determines outcome. And if you’re stuck and not moving forward, you have to check the thought and the action that created the circumstance,” says Oprah Winfrey.

Challenges will arise. How smoothly you will navigate these challenges lie in how well you know yourself and the tools you use along the way.

The end of the year is a perfect time to use those tools to strengthen your bond to yourself, re-evaluate your life goals and affirm your intentions. Take the time to schedule your year end ritual and catch the energetic tidal wave into the next decade.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Glenn Carstens Peters on Unsplash

Welcome to Yoga Unplugged Conversations!

A podcast dedicated to helping you grow, thrive and gracefully make tough life decisions, so you can lead a happier, healthier life.

Yoga Unplugged Team member Sarah Burchard is your host. She invites special guests on the show to deep dive into real life issues, providing tools and philosophies to help you navigate them with greater ease.

Sarah is a freelance writer, natural foods chef and certified health coach who is passionate about promoting local businesses and food through her writing, farmers market tours and farm-to-table events under the name The Healthy Locavore. When she is not talking food she's marketing events for Yoga Unplugged and supporting the yoga community on Oahu.

Today Sarah is speaking to Laura Christine Mansfield––a musician, internationally certified kundalini yoga teacher, master reiki teacher and a teacher of self-empowerment. Laura Christine hosts two podcasts: Tidbits and Light of Conscience. And her message is this: No one can empower you but YOU, and when you learn how to tune into yourself and honor who you really are and what you really need, you become healthier, happier, more confident and more successful.

In this episode Sarah and Laura Christine talk about the 5 stages of the spiritual journey and how to navigate them with grace. Find out why Laura Christine believes, “Just because we’re good at something doesn’t mean we have to do it” and "Nothing matters."

Connect with Laura Christine on Facebook @lightofconscience and visit www.lightofconscience.com to learn more.

I’ve been a dancer and an athlete almost all of my life.

My clients ask me all the time, what my favorite form of exercise is, and I think of it like this––just like I want to eat something different every day, by body craves different ways of moving every day. Some days I want to go on a hike, other days it’s yoga, a swim, Pilates, a walk, GYROTONIC®, dancing or a combination of things.

But, if I had to choose one thing that has been integral to keeping my body pain-free over the years it’s GYROTONIC®.

GYROTONIC® helped me rehabilitate from years of debilitating shoulder and neck pain. In fact, GYROTONIC® helped me recover from chronic headaches, hip, knee and back pain too.

Let me explain. I have always had very mobile joints, so doing postures that require a lot of flexibility are my jam. Although it always felt great to be able to touch my toes with ease it also meant that I was locking out my joints without the appropriate muscular support. This went on for years.

To ease the pain I tried everything: massage, chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture, cupping, rolfing, energy healing and even going to a medical doctor. Although these methods helped, but they only gave me temporary relief.

I’ve had a regular yoga asana practice since the age of 18 and had been doing Pilates and weight training for a couple of years when this took place. Thinking back, I’m confident that I would have been in much worse shape, had I not been doing these forms of self-care.

I was starting to think that I would be in pain forever and be one of those dancers who would eventually need a hip replacement. 14 years later I am happy to say, that I am pain-free and feel stronger than ever.

What is different about GYROTONIC® is the symbiotic dance between the repertoire and progressions of movements, the instructor’s applications and the way the GYROTONIC® equipment supports or dictates each movement. Words don’t do it justice, it really is something you have to experience to fully understand.

With this system I have learned (and continue to learn) what it feels like to move authentically in my body. I feel the effects of the movements deep in my bones, muscles, fascia and nerves. It’s opened my eyes to unchartered territory in the way that I move and how I feel. I now know an ease in moving that I’ve never known before. I leave every session more open and connected, energized yet grounded and humbled yet inspired. These effects linger for days.

To me, a GYROTONIC® session feels like I’m dancing with a partner under water. My partner is the equipment and the water is the resistance, or in some cases the sensation of weightlessness, that the equipment provides.

GYROTONIC® equipment is something to marvel. The main piece of equipment is a unit made of a tower and handle. The tower utilizes pulleys and weights to provide buttery resistance to various movement patterns. There is also a bench that utilizes ball-bearing plates that provides consistent support for undulating the spine.

When students see this equipment for the first time I hear reactions like, “What are these torture contraptions?” “Are these sex machines?” or “Wow, what a piece of art!” No matter what your first impression is, you will surely fall under it’s hypnotic spell once you get a taste. I know I did.

From day one I knew GYROTONIC® needed to be a part of my life and that it was something I wanted to share with others. It was definitely what my body resonated with the most during my journey of recovery.

I’ve seen time and time again what an amazing compliment and cross training GYROTONIC® is to my other physical practices and I’m constantly reminded that there is always more to learn.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Wainani Arnold, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by: Wainani Arnold

“From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy and satisfaction are/is obtained”.   - Yoga Sutras II:42

The Yoga Sutras is a celebrated masterpiece written over 2,000 years ago by the yogic sage Patanjali. This is “THE BOOK” on yoga. In just 196 short verses, or “sutras,” it addresses the shared human condition and maps out how to work towards a more liberated experience of body, mind and soul. There is no mention of flexibility or acrobatic tricks here and it is not religious or dogmatic.

The Yoga Sutras addresses these four principals:

1. Life can be difficult and suffering is real.

2. How to understand the root causes for suffering.

3. How to discover the means for overcoming these causes.

4. How to master those means.

Get to know yourself

The Yoga Sutras share that true self-care begins with having a good understanding of ourselves. Deep within the heart and core of each of us there lies many similarities.  What are these similarities and moreover how does understanding them make life better? These are just some of the inquiries that The Yoga Sutras explores. Knowledge is useful and when put into practice it can really make a difference.

Take care of yourself

I remember when I first realized that no one could take care of me and love me the way I could. To truly practice self-care is not to seek care externally from other people or things, but to learn how to find it from the inside. The Yoga Sutras share that the practice of kindness and gentleness towards ourselves is paramount. This concept is also highlighted in another of my favorite books,  A Course in Miracles, which offers this universal truth: “the outer world is nothing more than an inner condition.”  This is an important inquiry. Is it possible, that if we could practice more gentleness and kindness towards ourselves, that our outer world would transform?

Think positive

If you have been to any of my classes you will know I am obsessed with ending our time together in the self-care practice of “Santosha,” or contentment and gratitude.  No matter what is happening that day or how ugly life can get, The Yoga Sutras teaches us that this practice will produce an alchemical shift, saying that when practiced regularly “unexcelled happiness and mental comfort are obtained.”  The late Joseph Campbell put it so succinctly, “Find a place inside where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”

Learn and practice

Being a human is a miraculous gift, yet it is very mysterious. The mystics who have lived here. and are still living here now, drop maps and wisdom to help us along our journey. The Yoga Sutras is definitely one of those gifts of wisdom.  

There is a myth that Patanjali was part serpent with 1,000 heads. The 1,000 heads were a metaphor for the 1,000 ways he shared great wisdom. Each person asking from a slightly different vantage point, and each person receiving a personal message just for them. This is The Yoga Sutras.  If you have this text I invite you to grab it off the shelf and take a fresh look. If you are just now learning about this text, here are three recommendations, that I have absolutely love and return to all the time:

For beginners:

The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope

For intermediate:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sacred Teachings) by Alistair Shearer

For advanced:

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary by Edwin F. Bryant

Just contemplating one sutra a day can bring powerful insights as you continue to travel along your journey.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

The Yogic sage Patanjali

I’m a planner. Always have been, always will be. My follow through is on point about 99% of the time, and I almost always have time to accomplish everything I want to do each day.

Is this because I have a compulsive Type A personality, and love the satisfaction of being able to check everything off of my to-do list? Well, yah…LOL, but it’s also because I have acquired these three very important skills over the years.

3 skills necessary for effective time management:

1. Priority Setting

“Time will stretch to accommodate what we chose to put into it….When we focus on what matters we can build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.” – Laura Vanderkam

The words, “I don’t have time” translate to, “it’s not a priority.” Don’t worry, it’s OK. Not everything in our lives can get priority status.

But, it’s time to get honest with yourself, and others about what the priorities in your life are. What are your non-negotiables? Your “I’m-a-miserable-person-if-I-don’t-do-these-things-everyday” tasks? This is where you need to start, when it comes to managing your time and building your ideal schedule.

Make a list of the things you must accomplish every day, week and month in order to be happy and feel accomplished. Do this ahead of time, instead of when the time comes. Once these decisions have been made it will be much easier later on to focus on getting them done. Make commitments to yourself and others based on your deepest values.

2. Organization

When it comes to organizing your time you need two things: tools and a good grasp of time. Things like calendars, reminders and to-do lists can be helpful tools for getting organized. But, what is equally important, is being able to determine how much time you will need to set aside for each task you need to accomplish. Whether it’s brushing your teeth or driving to and from work, everything takes time. The more dialed in and honest you are about how long things take, the more productive your life will be.

3. The Ability To Set Boundaries.

Once you have figured out what’s important to you and how you are going to get it all accomplished, you have to set boundaries, so that you can carry out your plan.

Be firm. When someone asks you to do something that doesn’t fit into your schedule, say no. This can get tricky, because as we all know, life likes to throw us curveballs when we are the least bit ready for them. So, keep this as a general rule, but don’t beat yourself up when you get knocked off course. If you end up changing your schedule, do it consciously, in a way that feels good and in line with your values.

It is helpful to plan for this, when you are thinking about your priorities. For example, if you enjoy going out for brunch when a friend calls out of the blue, or have a co-worker that is constantly asking you to cover their shift, you will need to plan for this and make room in your schedule just in case. Worst case scenario, you have blocked out time and the thing you planned for doesn't happen. I’m sure you can get creative, in order to make the best use of this time. Massage anyone?

How to put these skills into action:

Step 1: Analyze your current situation.

Track what you are currently doing every day for 1-2 weeks. Make notes of how long things take, how often you got distracted and for how long. You want a clear picture of what you are actually spending your time doing every day.

Step 2: Create a list of your top priorities.

Create different categories such as work, family, friends, health and passion projects. Think about goals you have or things you would like to do in the future. In each category choose your top priorities. Then take that list and organize them from top to lowest priority again. This is your starting point.

Step 3: Create tasks.

Every priority and goal whether it be cooking dinner for yourself, launching a new business or taking a trip will have tasks associated with them. So, what are they?

Here are examples of tasks associated with the goal of cooking dinner 5 nights a week:

• Come up with 5 meal ideas (or better yet, get inspired at the market)

• Write grocery list

• Go grocery shopping

• Prep/cook dinner

• Clean kitchen

When you start looking at your goals in this way you really start to see how involved they can be. Each of these tasks take time. If your goal is important to you (a priority) than you will figure out how to accomplish each one in the time allotted.

Step 4: Fill out an ideal weekly schedule

I do this every Sunday for the week ahead. I keep a general template that doesn’t change much week to week and fill it in, or make changes as needed. I let people know that when I make plans they need to be at least a week out, so that I can fit it in to my schedule without having to compromise one of my priorities.

For example, a sample work day of mine might look something like this:

5:30-6:45 am - Morning routine (brush teeth, drink lemon water, do mobility drills, read something inspiring, journal, meditate)

6:45-7:30 am - Write.

7:30-8 am - Eat breakfast

8-8:45 am - Make bed, get ready for work.

8:45-9 am - (travel time)

9-12pm - Work

12-12:30pm - Lunch break

12:30-4:30pm - Work

4:30-5 - (travel time)

5:15-6:30 - Yoga

6:30-7 - (travel time)

7-7:30pm - Prepare dinner

7:30-8:15pm - Eat dinner with my husband & clean up kitchen

8:15-8:30pm - Reflect on my day and write my to-do list for tomorrow

8:30-9pm - Get ready for bed and read.

9pm - bedtime

Note that all commuting time is accounted for and that only my top priorities are on the schedule. This will look different day to day, depending on what I have planned, but the basic template always stays the same: Morning routine | Work | Exercise | Quality time with my husband.

Another thing I will note here is that I do not fill any free time with things that are not meaningful to me. I rarely ever turn on the TV, I limit my time on social media and I only check my personal email 1-2 times a day (instead of several times throughout the day). These things can be time suckers and I’d rather be doing something more productive with my time.

Step 5: Constantly reflect and adjust to improve.

Are you accomplishing all of your tasks each day? If you are constantly saying no than you are either not being honest about how long each task takes, or you are not commiting to your ideal schedule (in which case, it’s probably not an ideal schedule for you). Not too worry, you can adapt and change it whenever you need to.

Helpful tips:

• Stay focused. Work on tasks one at a time until they are complete before moving on to the next one.

• Delegate. What can you get help with, so that you can focus on your top priorities?

• Make decisions ahead. Set yourself up for the week and then make a to-do list every night for the next day. This prevents your brain from becoming overwhelmed the day of.

• Schedule in free time like it’s an appointment. Your brain needs downtime in order for it to be creative. Take at least one day off each week where you don’t have to follow any kind of schedule.

• Decide what your most productive times of the day will be. For me, I am most creative during the morning and beginning of the day, my brain starts to fatigue around 3 or 4pm, so that’s the time I usually go work-out or meet up with a friend.

• Always pay attention to your calendar. Check it every day. Put ideas, tasks and reminders in there so you never forget anything. Don’t ever rely on your memory. 

• Schedule things in chunks. For example, My morning routine actually extends up until the time I leave for work (5:30-9), then I have a work chunk (9-4:30), then an exercise chunk (5-7) and then the rest of the evening is free to have dinner and relax at home (7-9pm), that’s four chunks.

• Automate as much as you can. Save your brainpower for problem solving and creating. Put it on auto pilot for everything else. Automations, such as auto-pay for bills, eliminates these tasks from your schedule freeing up time and brain space. 

• Wake up early. Unless you are sick or exhausted laying in bed all morning is a waste of precious time. Make sure you get your 7-8 hours of sleep though.

• Create routines. This way you automatically know what comes next. Consistency creates habits.

Written by Sarah Burchard

Sarah Burchard is a writer, marketer and ingredients driven chef. She is the author of The Healthy Locavore, a food and lifestyle blog that focuses on cooking, healthy habits and supporting local. Sarah also leads farmers market tours and hosts farm-to-table events in Honolulu. Follow her on Instagram to learn more about local Hawaiian food.

Do you notice the difference in your life when you put self-care on the back burner?

As a daughter, a wife, a mother of two small children, and an active member of my community I have so much more to give when my reservoir is not depleted. Practicing daily self-care makes me smarter, more patient, more relaxed and able to be more supportive to others. 

Depriving yourself of self-care will eventually cause suffering. 

For yourself, and for those close to you. Self-care is not a selfish act. When we feel mentally and physically healthy everyone benefits.

It's like what they say when you board an airplane, "Please put your oxygen mask on first before assisting small children."

Practicing self-care is like putting your oxygen mask on first. 

It is important to take care of others, but don't forget about taking care of yourself.

I have the tendency to get temporarily stuck in the "on" position when I don't get enough self-care. As a care-giver there are times when giving your all is necessary, however being stuck here is a disservice to everyone.

If you are new to this whole self-care thing, here is some inspiration. Maybe you are already doing these things, or maybe you could try something new. Either way, make sure you do something....

30 Ways To Practice Self-Care:

• Get a massage

• Try acupuncture

• Make a healthy meal

• Drink Water throughout the day

• Try a movement based class like yoga or pilates

• Meditate

• Swim

• Turn off Screens 30 min before bed

• Get 8 hours of sleep

• Enjoy a social media FAST and Detox

• Stretch before you get out of bed in the morning

• Take a walk or go for a hike outside

• Read a book

• Get together with friends

• Go to a park, museum or concert

• Incorporate Foam Rolling or Massage Balls into your routine

• Cuddle with your pet

• Take a bath

• Take a nap

• Get a mani pedi

• Get some sun

• Go to a sound bath

• Journal

• Incorporate hot lemon water upon waking

• Invigorate your skin with a body brush

• Practice good oral hygiene - use a tongue scraper, try oil pulling

• Find a way to get in nature

• Meet with a health coach

• Schedule some alone time

• Book your annual physical

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard