The tagline for my yoga collective Transcendence Yoga happens to be the title of my blog this month. I really stand firm behind these six words. This short phrase offers me the reminder I need to trust myself and move forward in my own personal integrity of what is right for me. February has been a month dedicated to improvements. I have used every day as ‘Loving on Me Day’, finding new ways to honor and empower the ‘I AM’ divinity that lies within. Often times I get wrapped up in the needs and desires of the world around me, but this month I made it my mission to work on my most important relationship; the one I have with myself. Through my dedication to slowing down and spending more time focusing on what I need, the cycles of some heavy karmic conditioned mind patterns have been revealed at the root. I am fine tuning my ability to listen to my inner wisdom and tap into the Goddess within, giving myself the attention and respect that for so long I found myself craving from others. Here are some of my personal struggles that turned into valuable nuggets of wisdom. By having compassion and patience with myself, they have enhanced my individual growth and given me the ability to tap into my strength and love myself even more than before.

Hold space for yourself.

I am a very passionate speaker. I express myself  with my hands, face, feet and elbows if there’s room. When I turn to friends for support when I am upset, sometimes it can be overwhelming and trigger them in ways that I may not understand at the time. As a way of showing love to myself and others, I have been more mindful about taking time away from expressing myself outwardly and taking a moment to reflect on all of my emotions internally. By practicing sitting with my thoughts and the sensations that arise in the body during moments of duress, I have found that I can attain more clarity and a better understanding of self. Taking time to nurture my inner child in her most frustrated moments has increased my ability to hold space for myself and rely on my own comforts more. We all need a friend to lean on from time to time, but it can be more empowering to sit with a situation and share your reflection, not your reaction.

Spend more time doing what you love.

I’ve been an empathetic caretaker since I was young. Often times I overextend myself in relationships and work projects. Before I adapted a more ‘hippie’ lifestyle, I was working in the fine dining industry, doing everything from general operations to private business consulting. I have the proven skills and dedication to implement new structures of organization that can help run a business even smoother than before. I had to stop and ask myself why my generous work ethic had not been applied to my own passions. If I am willing to give 40 hours a week to a job, plus volunteer hours with organizations I support and artistic events thrown by my community, then why not pull an all nighter to plan a themed yoga class for my private practice?

Assessing the distribution of our energy is a very important part of self love. Just because you are able carry a lot of weight doesn’t mean you should. If you do decide to, let it be the weight of something that means the most to YOUR mission. Find that balance and recognize that your goals don’t have to go on the back burner. You don’t have to work your entire life to make someone else’s dreams come true. Take that drive and focus and put it into something you love!

When you focus on what is best for you, life alters to support it.

When you are on the path to manifesting your earthly mission, there will be moments where unexpected things are revealed. If we are already adapting the mindset that our triggers can help us heal, then the next step in that evolution is to understand that when people genuinely try to hurt us, they distract and weaken our ability to do our best work. I asked the Divine to show me what relationships were going to enhance my growth and which ones would not. People with ill intentions that were around me were removed with no real effort on my part. As I observed the behaviors of people around me and didn’t involve myself so heavily in their affairs, their true colors were revealed. I focused more on my self care, life goals and loving service to the Divine, and people who did not align with that purpose were revealed in painfully obvious ways. No longer am I willing to sacrifice loyalty to myself for the expectations of another. My inner circle may have gotten smaller, but the quality of the people surrounding me is of the highest tier. The ones who were removed served their purpose, and I am not willing to sacrifice my self love for anyone else.

In what ways have you empowered your spirit to enhance self love?