New Year, New You!....

You were born with the right to be happy. You were born with the right to love, to enjoy and to share your love. You are alive, so take your life and enjoy it. Don't resist life passing through you.” -Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

With the start of the new year, I have seen the phrase “New Year, New You” quite a bit, and found myself thinking, “I don't want a new me!” My desire for the new year is not to find a “new me,” but to continue to come into greater alignment with my most authentic self.  Through the past 15 years that I have been consciously and actively practicing yoga, I have been on a journey of continually evolving into my most authentic self.  

The path of yoga has taught me that we are all perfect as we are and that all of the gifts that we need are already within us.  Over the course of many lifetimes, we have built up conditioned patterns and habits called Samskaras.  These samskaras, such as fear, anxiety, or stress, can be so deeply ingrained that we don’t even realize their hold over us!  The consistent practices of yoga, meditation, and breathwork can help us uncover and begin to shed those layers of patterns.  As our awareness of our samskaras build and we are able to shine light on them through acceptance and love, our true nature begins to reveal itself.  Sometimes as this process unfolds, it can feel like a “new you,” but it isn't. Rather, it's just your most true, authentic self arising.  

And so, my desire for all of us this new year is this:  
May we all continue to evolve our consciousness.  May each day of the new year bring us more fully into our most authentic self where unconditional love, infinite joy, and peace reside.  

Love and blessings in the New year,
Namaste!!