By Alexis Martin of Alfa Life Coaching

Alexis here.  In my last blog post “Falling in Love” I mentioned that one of the things I began doing to experience more self love was to practice yoga.

I recently attended a yoga class that was far more challenging than I had previously experienced.  I found myself getting bogged down with all the things that I simply could not do.  I feared that the yoga instructor was going to think that I was not trying. I feared others would be distracted by me.  I was flustered and felt confused and out of place and distracted.  I felt caught in the middle of a downward spiral of self doubt and unrealistic expectations.   I was feeling quite the opposite of in love with myself.  Have you ever felt that way as you stepped out of your comfort zone?

I have come to learn (although I often need to remind myself) that when I am in the middle of that vortex of negative thought, it is because my mind is working over time.  When we give all the power to our thoughts, and forget about the wisdom of our hearts and the power of our body, overwhelm sets in.

When I remembered the purpose of my yoga practice (to rest my mind and strengthen my body) I was able to quietmy thoughts and accomplish exactly what I set out to do.  My body took over and eased itself into the exact version of each pose  it is capable of. I did not need to decide if it was “good enough”.  The truth is, it was better than my mind could have ever created it being.  No, I did not miraculously develop the ability to stand on my head, but the deeper connection to the experience of yoga that unfolded felt like nothing short of a miracle.

So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed or out of place or flustered or confused – take a moment to get out of your head and into your heart. My guess is that there you will find out what you know to be true and what you want to create.  And if your mind still wants to run the show, here are some powerful questions to steer it in the right direction : What was my intention in taking on this challenge?  How can I be more in alignment with that purpose? What am I learning RIGHT NOW? Isn’t life wonderful?

And SPEAKING OF YOGA!!!!!  Join Aisha & I for Power of Movement – Sunday March 4 – a yoga event to raise funds for arthritis research!  A perfect place to practice quieting your mind and empowering your body with like-minded people – for a great cause!  What more could you ask for!?  Join our team, or if you are unable to attend the event, but would like to make a contribution  click here.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Alexis Martin is a professional coach trained at The Coaches Training Institute in Co-Active Coaching.  She is an intuitive and positive coach, specializing in co-active coaching, positive psychology and getting to the “heart” of things. Her coaching passion is to “ignite your love affair with your life” To book an intro session with Alexis contact her at coaching@alfalifecoaching.ca

By Aisha Alfa of Alfa Life Coaching

www.alfalifecoaching.ca

When I was a child my parents instilled in me that manners were an important way to show respect, appreciation and gratitude. I remember always saying my “Please” and “Thank You’s” even as a young tot and people truly loved it!

Recently I’ve realized that manners are a lost art to some extent and especially when it comes to ourselves. When was the last time you thanked yourself? It may sound silly at first, but think about this: we strive to show the people around us how much we appreciate them so they will be loving, loyal, kind and joyous. Where are we in that equation? When do we make the effort to ensure that we feel appreciated, loved and joyous?

No one responds well to negativity. You can imagine how hard it would be to love someone who was constantly saying meana things to you, under-valuing you and chipping away at your self-esteem. Well newsflash: we do this to ourselves all the time!

Did you know that 97% of our self talk is NEGATIVE!?!? Isn’t that an insane stat? When I heard it I was skeptical, as I’m a pretty positive person, so I decided to keep track one day. What I noticed was that when I had thoughts about other people they tended to be extremely positive, but when I had thoughts about myself they almost always had a turn to the negative.

I would doubt my ability, criticize my choices, regret and over think my decisions! It was like an abusive relationship with myself! So I made a conscious effort to infuse my self-talk with positivity and gratitude. I started thanking myself for having the courage to try new things, for being so forgiving of myself and others, for having such unique and fun personality characteristics and you know what?! I started to find an even deeper self love that has supported me through challenging times and helped me celebrate great times even more.

Suddenly I realized just how a simple a “Thank You” can be on the inside! So take a minute to spread some internal love today! Identify how you are grateful to yourself and say “Thanks! Merci! Arigato! Gracias!” to your best friend, supporter and truest love—yourself!

Aisha Alfa, BA (Psych), CPC

Comedian-Host-Speaker-Coach

www.alfalifecoaching.ca

www.aishaalfa.com