I challenge you to find one person who looks in the mirror without criticism.

It's a sad fact that most of us are primed to see what we are dissatisfied with about ourselves, instead of what we are blessed with. The reality that so many of us miss when we are busy focusing on our so called “flaws”, are the things that other people notice in us with envy (remember your beautiful eyes, hair, lips, cheeks, cute nose, eyelashes, adorable freckles, quirky smile, perfect mole, sensual curves, adorable bum wobble....)

Our negative body talk sinks us further into a state where we obsess over our physical appearance, and forget how our body serves us so well.
Therefore, the best cure for body dissatisfaction isn’t to change your physical appearance, it’s to change your mindset by appreciating what you body can do for you.

Next time you go to yoga, have a look around you; you will see an array of different bodies. No two are the same. Yet despite all the variations in packaging, what you will likely notice next are the magnificent capabilities of all these bodies. They can stretch, twist, and even invert themselves. In yoga we learn that our body was designed to support us; our feet, our hands, forearms, elbows, toes, fingers, forehead, stomach and so on all work together to allow our body to find our own way during every posture. If we lose balance in any posture, we have another part of us ready to pick up where we left off and restore our calm. We are our own safety net. That’s incredible! Our body has been amazingly designed to support us. Now it’s time to support our body by recognising what a gift it is.

You can do this by focusing on your body’s capabilities: For example, your body has an amazing system designed solely to heal what ails you. It affords you physical strength, comfortable padding, temperature regulation, not to mention emotional and physical regulation. Your body allows you to experience physical pleasure, but also knows how to keep you safe through automatic pain alerts. Your body, when you really pay attention to it, is a beautiful barometer of your mental and physical health. If you ever need to gauge where you are in life, where you want to go – just listen to your body. It will tell you exactly what you need. Your body is the perfect indicator of whether you need to restore balance and clarity and has a strong intuitive centre that will tell you exactly how to do so. Your body is your vehicle and serves as a strong marker for your self-identity and it’s also how others recognise and interact with you. Your body is the gift-wrapping for your soul.

Yet sadly, so many of us reject our bodies. Are angry with them. Are displeased with what we have been given, and forget that what we have been gifted is an incredibly useful and powerful life tool.

To move forward, and to develop a sense of pride in your body, start reminding yourself of all the things your body can do. Pay less attention to how you look in your yoga clothes, and pay more attention to the incredible way your arms and legs work together, connected by your core, to help you balance.

Be proud of your body and thank it each day. It is your life vessel. Without it, quite frankly, you just wouldn’t be you. Perfect, amazing, incredible, you!
Love and Light,
Taryn

Yoga helps.

Yoga helps if it helps you feel your body, believe what 

you feel, and respond. 

When you feel you, it's hard not to become your own 

best caregiver. It changes how you live, how you speak, 

how you relate. 


It also changes how you eat. You get a good sense of 

which foods help you feel good, and which are not so 

good. 


Feeling good can be addictive.

Yoga helps.

With the popularity of yoga growing & that many people doing yoga, it is natural that not everyone can accomplish everything they are asked to do.  Looking around whether on websites, in magazines or seeing others on their mats, you might see that some people are really open, strong and flexible.  Really it is all in how you look at it.  You can take great inspiration from those people or it is also a little bit possible to get a bit bummed out about it because you can't do what "everyone else" can do.  Having said that, there is a great mental antidote.  All you have to do is focus on how lucky you are to be able to do whatever it is you can do.  There are a great many people in the world that can not do a single chatarunga push up, or do Warrior 1 even it they wanted to.  In that respect  we are incredibly lucky to be able to practice today. So if this feeling arises in your mind, just focus on what you can do in your practice today.  Thru your practice and poses you may start to feel a sense of accomplishment for what you can do.
Much Love,
Taryn