Today I am grateful. I’m so grateful for the time and ability to participate in this 8 day challenge. The readings, meditations, and daily practice helped me connect to all the things in my life that I’m thankful for, and reaffirmed my belief that I am the architect of my life. I know that having the ability to get on my mat and move my body every day is a tremendous gift and this week helped me tune in to and celebrate all of the gifts in my life that make it possible for me to do so. I’m grateful for knowing you Dani and for all the incredible opportunities you‘ve brought into my life. I’m looking forward to getting on my mat with you again soon. Namaste 🙏

Having not seen your note Dani about today‘s yoga practice not being available until later in the morning, I woke up relatively early (for a Saturday) to be on my mat by 8:30. I was surprised to find that there wasn’t a yoga video and assumed there was no yoga planned for the day. I put my iPad away, turned off my phone, and used the time to do some things for myself, feeling grateful for the “extra” time in my day. Once I got back to my phone and checked my email I was surprised and again grateful to know that there is a flow waiting for me. I’m not sure when I’ll get to it now, but I know it’s there for me. So today my mantra is I am ready, whether for unexpected events, planned events, or nothing at all. I am ready 🙏

Yep, in my mind‘s eye!

Today my mantra is I am in control. I really connected with today’s reading and theme because I use visualization to guide my life all the time. I’m a visual learner and use things lists and imagery to organize and guide my actions. Through these practices I’ve learned that I am in control of my life and my path and I can use visualization to get me where I want to go (except a handstand 😂).

I decided to take today’s theme and reading literally with the mantra I am listening. And in order to really focus on listening I completed today’s yoga practice with my eyes closed, so I could truly tune in to myself without being distracted by the things around me. During the first eagle pose, I found myself saying how hard it is to do a balance pose with my eyes closed and of course I then fell right out of it. On the next round I told myself I am strong and I can do this, and while I imagine it wasn’t my prettiest eagle, I was able to get into and hold it without falling. A very powerful lesson!

Today my mantra is I am present. I woke up feeling unmotivated to get on my mat and was distracted during most of the practice today. As a result, I was not giving much love to my heart center until the beginning of the second side of the last round where I told myself to just be present, and I finally was.. It was really a powerful lesson in forgiveness and self love in such a seemingly small way.

I shouldn’t be surprised that today’s reading was so relevant to my day, because I’ve learned from Dani to be open to the signs that are all around us. My calendar is completely open today (aside from yoga and meditation) so the message about being productive without worrying about productivity is spot on for me. Today I am challenging myself to be open and to embrace the openness of an unscheduled day. I also challenged myself to be more present during meditation which is still a work in progress! My mantra for today is I am open.

It is so fitting that the first line in today’s reading spoke of feeling pleasure, joy, and guilt, because I have been feeling all of those things all day. Today I was fortunate enough to get the COVID vaccine and while I am full of joy for so many reasons, I also feel guilt that I was able to get it while others who “deserve it” more than me have not gotten it yet. Those feelings informed my mantra for today which is “I am grateful.” I am so grateful to have gotten my first dose of the vaccine and for the possibility that it holds for me, the people I love, and for the world. I am grateful to have come home and moved my body through today’s flow and to have worked on quieting my mind for meditation (I know you’re talking to me Dani when you say “you might want to get up and walk away” 😉. I’m grateful for the practice of yoga and the time and space to tune into my body and my mind.

For this first day, I embraced the anchor theme with the message to myself that I am grounded. Throughout the day I was conscious of and grateful for the knowledge that the ground is beneath my feet to keep me steady and safe even when things feel anything but that. This mantra was extra useful during the yoga practice when the mic dropped out towards the end of the final round while I was facing away from my screen. I could see and I could barely hear, but I focused on being present and grounded to get through to the final tadasana. Thank you Dani for the inspiration and the beautiful flow and meditation. I’m looking forward to these 8 days 🙏