I am positive! Are you?

On August 20^th, I completed my self-imposed “30 Days of Positivity” challenge, where I committed to listing three positives each day for a total of 30 days. It’s funny…I was initially challenged to doing this for only 7 days, but I ended up feeling like I needed to commit to doing this for a full 30 days. After all, I am a worrier by nature and have issues with anxiety, so I could really use some help with being positive more often. I knew that if I could focus on more of the positives around me, I would be more likely to get better at keeping my stress levels down, as well as to make some progress in figuring out my next step for my yoga/wellness career.

I’m happy to report that doing this challenge faithfully for 30 days really has made a difference! As I sat back last night and thought about everything that had happened during, and following, this challenge, I have to be honest…I am getting SO EXCITED about things to come! Here’s a little rundown some of the improvements I’ve seen for myself over the past 30 days:

• I am pursuing how to become a Yoga Health Coach, so that I can merge my yoga training with Ayurveda to help others implement healthier and natural lifestyle changes.
• I signed up for a 21-Day Meditation Challenge (I am currently on Day 15), which is focusing on how to be happier.
• I got my daughter off to college without completely breaking down, and I am genuinely happy and excited for all that she will accomplish, rather than dwelling on the fact that I don’t have her at home anymore.
• I have purged quite a few things from my house that I no longer need. My goal is to get rid of the things that don’t serve me…I noticed that getting rid of things I don’t need makes me less stressed. So now I am on a mission to de-clutter as much as I possibly can!
• I’ve connected with more friends. By making my physical, emotional and mental health top priority, I’ve been spending more time with my friends and family, and that has done wonders for my happiness level.
• I’m now deeply committed to making sure I take one day off a week. One day where I don’t work, teach, or do anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. That may take a little time to get this to happen each and every week, but the couple of times I’ve been able to do it so far, I’ve noticed HUGE differences in my ability to stay relaxed and it’s helped me to sleep better. So that’s my incentive to make it happen as often as I can. Plus, my new doctor said I need to do this, so I consider it my “prescription” for better health.

Though I am done with the 30 Days, I’m not really done. I’m just not publishing every little positive thing on Facebook anymore. I feel like committing to the 30 day time period really helped me to establish this practice as a new habit. I’ve noticed that I now wake up each morning looking for all the good stuff around me. In light of this, I’ve decided to change the structure of how I post my blogs.

I’ve been focusing my posts over the past few months on more of the spiritual and philosophical aspects of yoga, rather than on specific body parts or poses…after all, your feedback indicated you wanted more of this type of content. These aspects are just as important as the physical poses we practice, but incorporating the spiritual and philosophical practices are sometimes more challenging because many times, it involves changing a mindset completely. And for many of us, that’s not always easy to do. At least, not unless we practice, and practice…and practice some more!

So, rather than posting weekly like I have been, I will now be posting monthly instead. This means we’ll be focusing on a particular topic for the entire month, which I feel will give us plenty of time to work through what we need to in order to make it a permanent and lasting part of our lives. My hope is that we’ll use the comments section of each blog post to communicate with each other about challenges we come across, as well as successes. I think it’s important to share what works and what doesn’t with each other.

So what do you think? Are you with me? Are you ready to dig in to your yoga practice with me in a different way? Please say YES! Pretty please…I am so excited about this opportunity for all of us!

I’ll be posting the focus for each month during the last week of the preceding month…so September’s focus will be posted sometime this week, prior to 9/1/2014.

I know some of you don’t follow me on Facebook, so I thought you might want to see how my 30 Days of Positivity progressed throughout my journey. Here it is below, all together in one spot!

Day 1 Positives:

1. I’m alive and functioning…that’s a big positive, in my book!
2. My family is awesome…they are always there for me, no matter what.
3. I’ve got a job that provides me and my family with decent health insurance…this is not a luxury that many people I know have, so I appreciate this!

Day 2 Positives:

1. I get to exercise with my buddy,Patty Benjamin tonight!
2. I slept good last night…feeling refreshed today because of it.
3. I got to spend time with my youngest last night, which let us connect and catch up…LOVE!

Day 3 Positives:

1. My husband got up to do yoga with me at 5:15 a.m….the dogs joined in as well. We may not have accomplished masterful poses, but we had fun getting kisses every time we got down on the ground.
2. Several of my acquaintances are now becoming true friends to They may not realize how much they’ve helped or inspired me these past couple of weeks, but I am truly thankful for them, and they are a very positive influence in my life right now.
3. My legs and feet are hurting less today than they have been the past few weeks. Woot woot! I’ll take it!

Day 4 Positives:

1. My oldest daughter and I got to attend a Hot Yoga class together last night. It was just what I needed, and I enjoyed having time with her before she heads off to college next month.
2. The tomatoes in our garden are rockin!
3. I was a little sad yesterday, and my dogs could tell…they snuggled extra with me when I went to bed last night…they always make me feel more positive.

Day 5 Positives:

1. The creek in my backyard is making the most awesome, relaxing sounds, thanks to all the rain we’ve had.
2. The Deep Stretch class I taught last night was full of the most wonderful students I could ask for. I loved the questions they were asking, because it showed me that they are really invested in making the most appropriate changes for bettering themselves.
3. I came home from said Deep Stretch class to a wonderful dinner cooked byMorgan Leigh Deal…she even made separate things for me, due to my food restrictions…what a thoughtful girl!

Day 6 Positives:

1. The sun is shining!
2. I got great feedback from the little “after party” we had after the Chillax Yoga class last Friday…people enjoyed not just the wine and snacks, but getting to know each other, which was what I truly hoped for…Yay!
3. My cousin’sson spent the night with us last night. This is the first time I’ve ever had him for this long (he’s 16 years old), and I must say….I am very proud of the man he is becoming. My cousin, were he still here, would be so very proud!

Day 7 Positives:

1. After 7 days of doing this, it’s getting easier and easier to find positive things around me. I feel like this is something I will continue to do, though maybe not on Facebook.
2. We dropped Casey off at camp today, where she will be for a whole week with no way to contact us. She was so excited, and she is looking forward to making new friends…I am so glad she isn’t afraid to try new things!
3. Thanks toGayle Boissonnault Stefanelli, I am committing, starting now, to giving up ANY food or drink that has been artificially sweetened. I am so thankful to people who pass amazing info my way, as these things are all helpful in more ways than you know.

Day #8 Positives:

1. My co-worker,Timina Wilkerson Stengel, wrote an article about me and yoga for our division’s monthly newsletter and submitted it to the head of Corporate Communications for review. He sent me a personal e-mail this morning saying that the article struck him so much so, he wanted to know if I was OK with it being published in the weekly newsletter that goes out to the whole company! Wow! I feel so honored! And thank you, Timina, for writing such a wonderful piece!
2. All my strength training must be paying off. A few days ago, someone told me my legs were “rock hard”. And last night, my hubby told me my arms were looking really strong.
3. It is a gorgeous day outside…I am loving the cooler temps and the bright sun. Namaste!

Day 9 Positives:

1. God
2. Yoga
3. Meditation

And yes, these three things go together beautifully!

Day 10 Positives:

1. My new doctor…I met him yesterday and spent 2.5 hours with him…one of the things he “prescribed” for me is daily yoga. How cool is that?
2. My love of research. My new doc gave me lots of homework to do between now and when I go in again…good thing I love researching and learning all about health and wellness!
3. My yoga practice this morning…it was just what I needed.

Day 11 Positives:

1. It’s Friday, which means I get to teach my FAVORITE class of the whole week!
2. The yoga article about me was published to my division today, and I’ve already had 3 people at work ask me about how they can get started! I can’t wait to see if more people respond once it goes to the whole company next week. BOOM!
3. My new chakra bracelets, made by my friend, the lovelyPatty Benjamin. Aren’t they gorgeous? I need to buy the last 3, but these first 4 are where I need the most work right now.

Day 12 Positives:

1. Casey comes home from summer camp today! I haven’t seen or talked to her since we dropped her off last Sunday, so I can’t wait to see her beautiful face and to hear all about the things she did at camp.
2. I have now been free of all artificial sweeteners for 7 days. And I never had one craving for it at all during the 7 days…AND, my legs aren’t hurting today. Wonder if there is a connection to this, after all?
3. I am here for another glorious day…I am planning on making the most of it!

Day 13 Positives:

1. Today I begin purging. My plan today is to get through all of my books and get rid of the ones I don’t need to keep around.
2. Casey had a blast at camp, and said she can’t wait to go back again and again. I am so happy she met some new friends and tried some new things.
3. I get to attendJennifer Hunt’s amazing Restore & Renew class at Synergy Yoga’s Rock Hill location tonight. She is an amazing teacher! If you want 90 minutes of total Restorative Yoga, come on down and join us. Class starts at 5:45 p.m.!

Day 14 Positives:

1. I am an intelligent person.
2. I love learning new things.
3. I am strong and independent.

Day 15 Positives:

1. My early morning walk withPam Johnson Juliano this morning. It was great to finally get to catch up, AND get some exercise in at the same time!
2. Seeing Casey get so excited about books. She used to HATE reading, but now she loves it. I bought her a new book last night, as it’s the final book in a trilogy she’s been reading, and you would’ve thought I gave her diamonds…she was so excited…LOVE!
3. I am choosing to take the necessary steps to make my dreams come true.

Day 16 Positives:

1. Being sick doesn’t scare me anymore. I look at it as an opportunity to dig deep and find my strength to fight it.
2. Trying new things, if they will help me become happier or better in some way, is wonderful! I’m constantly looking for new things that fit this, and I never regret it, even when it doesn’t work out. It’s how I will fugue out my true purpose.
3. I tried a regular Coke yesterday because my throat was sore and HATED IT! I ended up throwing it away after only a few sips. I think I’ve finally and totally kicked my love of soda!

Day 17. OK…I have to admit it was hard to find 3 positives today, since I am still dealing with a fever and major body aches. But…I dug really deep and came up with the following:

1. My mom. She is awesome! She always makes me feel better. Especially yesterday.
2. My dad. He is also awesome, and never lets me forget how much he loves me, no matter what. It meant a lot that he took the time to let me vent yesterday.
3. My walk this morning. Yes, even with a fever and aches, I made myself get up and meet my friend for a walk. It did me good because it made me focus on something other than feeling like poop.

Day 18 Positives:

1. My fever seems to have broken, and my body aches are definitely not as bad today. Yay!
2. Casey impresses me more and more each day. She has really taken the initiative with starting a pet sitting business…she came up with the name, designed business cards, and then put them in all the mailboxes in our neighborhood. She’s got 3 “clients” now, and Iam super impressed with how diligent she is. She truly loves taking care of people’s pets…dogs, cats, hermit crabs…you name it! She is really making me proud!
3. My yoga students, each and every one of them is a positive in my life. Cool story…last night after the Deep Stretch class I taught, one of my students came up to me and said, “You know, Melanie, I’ve been practicing yoga for 36 years. And I have to say, you are the best teacher I have ever had.” Man! What a compliment! I was speechless and humbled and brought to tears. This is why I do what I do…wow!

Day 19 Positives:

1. I get alone time with each of my girls today. That is a very rare thing as they get older, it seems, so I’ll take it!
2. The rain. I love heavy rain in the summer.
3. Kundalini Yoga. I tried this type of practice today…it’s been a LONG time since I’ve done Kundalini yoga, and it made my shoulders and hips feel so much looser. Just what I needed.

Day 20 Positives:

1. Diligent banks. Wells Fargo called me yesterday to ask me about some suspicious transactions from Arkansas and Paris. Obviously, I didn’t make those purchases, so we closed my account and I’ll be getting a new card. I am so thankful they caught it before whoever stole my identity wiped out my checking account!
2. Travis and I make a great team. We got a lot accomplished in our basement yesterday…we should have it ready to be our “entertainment room” in no time.
3. No plans. I don’t have anything today that is demanding my time, so I get to do whatever I want…which is to continue working on the basement. Never thought I’d hear myself say THAT!

Day 21 Positives:

1. My friends. Some have been sending me some GREAT music links, some have been letting me vent, and some have been helping me in other ways. Thank you!
2. Having a plan. I am really working hard to get my life as stress-free as I can. I am finally feeling like I have a solid plan to get there, which I hope will help me in many ways.
3. I’ve got faith that everything will work out in the best way and according to God’s plan for me.

Day 22 Positives:

1. I matter. As Charles Dickens said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” And I believe I lighten the burden of my friends and family to the degree that I can.
2. The unknown is teaching me what I’m made of. It’s scary to venture into new territory, but I know I’ll never move forward if I remain stagnant. So I look at it as an opportunity to grow and learn.
3. I am getting better at making decisions. I definitely feel like I am able to make a decision and feel good about it more frequently now.

Day 23 Positives:

1. I can laugh at myself, and I do…a LOT!
2. The little things. Someone took the time out of their busy day today to check in on me, as they know I’ve had a rough week. That meant so much, and lifted me up.
3. Letting go. I’m learning day by day to let go of things that don’t serve me.

Day 24 Positives:

1. River kayaking. Got to do that today on the flat water, and it was very relaxing and beautiful.
2. Spending time with Travis and the girls. It’s rare that all four of us get time together. I enjoy every minute I can get.
3. Epsom salts baths. Man, do they make me feel and sleep better!

Day 25 Positives:

1. Sleeping in. I rarely ever get to sleep in, and my body (and mind) definitely needed it. I am glad I got to today, as I feel so refreshed!
2. I got the opportunity to devote an entire 40 minutes to meditating yesterday, and 20 minutes today. Lately, I haven’t had that much time to devote, and I could feel the difference…so glad I am finding more time for something so important.
3. Random acts of kindness. There have been two occasions this week alone where a stranger has taken time out of their own day to do or say something nice to me. It totally makes me happy and puts a smile on my face when these kinds of things happen, and it inspires me to continue doing the same for those I come into contact with.

Day 26 Positives:

1. I only cried a little moving Morgan in to her dorm. Ok, maybe a little more than a little, but definitely not as much as I thought I would, and THAT is a positive in my book!
2. Time with a family friend last night. One of our oldest friends from VA is moving to SC, and I got to spend time with her last night. I am so happy she will be closer!
3. Caramel Frapuccinos. On a hit day like today, they taste like a piece of heaven…yummy!

Day 27 Positives:

1. Morgan had a good first night at USC. She seems to get along with her roommates, and she connected with a high school buddy today.
2. Casey is all set to begin middle school tomorrow. Her backpack is ready to go, and she’s already got her outfit laid out.
3. I was very productive today and feel relaxed because of it.

Day 28 Positives:

1. Casey had a great first day of 6th Grade…Phew!
2. I had a great workout atPushpointe ..I love, love, LOVE the Hange10 class! I don’t know if I’ll be able to drive to work tomorrow, but I’ll do my best!
3. I am loving the book my new doctor is making me read, called “Why Isn’t My Brain Working?”, by Datis Kharrazian. It’s helping me understand the neurological issues I have been experiencing and offering amazing suggestions as to how to improve them. I can’t wait for my next appointment with my doc in September, so we can put a plan in place to get me all better!

Day 29 Positives:

1. The rain. I know we’ve had a lot of rain this summer, but I still say that nothing beats a summer thunder storm. I love the way it smells outside afterwards…that’s one of the best smells to me!
2. Less uncomfortableness. Last week, I had to prepare for a food sensitivity test by eating all the foods I’ve been avoiding these past two years, so that we can see if my body builds antibodies to any of these foods over the next few weeks. I thought I’d love eating all those foods again and not having to worry about looking at every single ingredient with scrutiny, but I was MISERABLE…puffy, itchy and lots of joint and muscle pain. I finally went back to my restrictive regimen on Sunday, and today, I feel a LOT better.
3. Feeling more complete. As I really dig in and start to work on making things happen, I am feeling less stressed and more complete. I finally see progress!

Day 30 Positives:

1. I successfully made it through 30 days of being able to find 3 positives each day. Many days, I found more than 3 but only posted the 3. It’s nice to look at things from a positive perspective more and more often! It really lifts one up!
2. I had two productive meetings at work, where we had consensus on all fronts! That rarely ever happens, but when it does, it makes me SO HAPPY!
3. Love from my old hound dog, Beta. She’s 14.5 years old and hides under the bed most days now. But last night, she hung out in the living room with us and just gave us some love. I love when she’s got the energy to hang with us!

Namaste,

Melanie