January's Theme: COMPASSION

January 2018's Theme: 

COMPASSION

COMPASSION is one of the highest vibrational qualities that a person can possess. To be compassionate, we must be able to be there for another with a full and open heart as well as for ourself. To be compassionate there is no judgement. To be compassionate there is no end game or interest in receiving anything back. To be compassionate, you just need to be loving and willing.

Creator of the Indigo Angel cards, Doreen Virtue says, "The answer to your question involves treating those around you in the same way you wish to be treated. This card reminds you that how you act affects everything and everyone in your life. This is a time to show the higher part of yourself. To move forward, you must exude higher energy, because what you give out is what you receive. So check in with yourself and take inventory to ensure that you are treating others with fairness and compassion." 

In our haste to get on with the day, we can sometimes cut off our loved ones. We can be consumed by work, social media, or issues that we may be having in our own life and not allow ourselves to connect in a true way with those around us. We can also be very judgmental. Ask yourself if you snap to an opinion about something or someone without really knowing them or understanding the entirety of the issue? There is a quote, "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes." How else can we know, really? It has been said that everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. So let's assume that anyone who cuts you off, talks over you, or is rude or ignorant, is having a problem and needs a little love and compassion sent their way. It may not always be easy, but in the end it will be carry you to higher places than you can imagine. 

Through cultivation of friendliness, compassion, joy and indifference to pleasure and pain, virtue and vice respectively, the conciseness becomes favorably disposed, serene and benevolent. - Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.33

For the month of January, consider how you can construct a life filled with compassion. Here are some helpful yogic tools:

Chant:

OM MANI PADME HUM. This Tibetan chant is associated with the bodhisattva of compassion. It translates roughly to "the jewel in the lotus flower." 

Mudra: Lotus. Bring your hands in front of your heart and touch the base of the palms together, thumbs touching and pinkie fingers touching. Soften the fingers and allow them to fold open like lotus petals. 

Breath: Breath of Joy. CLICK HERE TO SEE TRACEY TEACH THE BREATH OF JOY

Postures: Those that open your heart-center like yoga mudra, Hare, Eagle-arms, Cow-Face, Camel, Bow, and even the Warrior II series where the arms are reaching out.

Alter: Add a statue or picture of the goddess Kuan Yin or Mother Mary, both of whom help invoke energy of compassion for all beings to your alter this month. Make offerings of fresh roses flowers or rose scented incense or oils.

Discussion/Meditation: CLICK HERE FOR DALAI LAMA TALK ON COMPASSION AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

If you want to explore some of these helpful tools for opening to compassion in a particular class this month, just let us know!

In Love, Service & Wisdom, Tracey and the One Yoga Center Teachers!

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Special Message from Tracey for January 2018

Its 2018 and another opportunity to begin anew. January always feels like an energetic, hopeful month for me. I usually take some time to evaluate my past year prior to the Winter Solstice so that I am clear what I am bringing in with the new year. 

There were many good things that came with 2017. I love to travel and had the opportunity to co-lead a yoga retreat to Bali, Indonesia in March. In April I took a bucket-list trip to to one of the most remote and misunderstood places on the planet: Easter Island. I was blessed to travel with one of my very closest friends and we couldn't have had a better, more magical, spiritual trip. And then in October I also hit another bucket travel list: I stepped onto the continent of Africa when I took a trip for myself to Morocco! Personally, I was able to spend more time with family and some friends that I hadn't seen in a while as I found myself drawn to reconnecting with many people in my life. And professionally I was blessed to be able to finally work with some of my favorite people on this planet: the athletes of Special Olympics NJ. I am donating my time to working with these athletes and their caregivers in a unified program with SONJ and have been asked to develop a larger program for them too. I am finishing up a new book that has a yogic bend to it and cannot wait to publish it this year. And let's not forget my work with Gwen R. and Yoga4Sobriety, where I get to share my knowledge of yoga for those in and for teachers and therapists who are helping those in ongoing recovery. Wow! Looking back, I am overwhelmed by the amount of positive energy and abundance that I had in my life for 2017!

Of course, where there is light, there is also dark. 2017 started off a little rough for me with my accident. I learned that a head trauma is no joke. And this issue hung around with me throughout the year, providing me with humbling opportunities in which to learn the value of slowing down, simplicity and what is truly important in life. I also had a few other health scares - the least of which is not my latest bought of salmonella poisoning that my body worked through without any medications. Health in 2017 was certainly not the best. But, I look at this all as a sort of cleansing and purification process preparing for 2018.

The biggest challenges for me this past year came from a spiritual conundrum of sorts. As a small business owner, I work a lot of hours that people do not see on the computer, with billing and marketing, answering phone calls, emails and texts from students and more. Taking time off for my health, having a slow summer at the yoga studio and having to cancel events ushered in an anxiety that I never had before. When revenue slows down, I have to figure out new ways to generate income...and this usually means working more. But the universe put things in place to slow me down and put me out of commission. I often found my ego and spirit in an intense game of tug-of-war! I love what I do and I do what I love. So I'm still figuring out how to balance it all: to nurture myself and take care of my health while still owning thriving businesses that help change lives for the better.

There are no surprises in life. January's card is COMPASSION. I find that I have so much compassion for others and helping people find their purpose and work through their journey, but I have little compassion for myself or taking time to work through my own things. This energy goes deep for me - this is past life stuff, karmic stuff, and archetypal stuff. These are some of my deep-seeded spiritual issues, and it is, of course, with perfect timing that the universe has me working through it now.

Ah, but there is hope! 2018 has sprung and a new year has begun. Hard work does pay off. But I have a feeling that what the future holds is not always going to be "business as usual." And this is goes for many of us. I find some key words for me for 2018 are mentoring and ministering. I still plan on teaching yoga and offering trainings and workshops at One Yoga Center - as long as you show up for them! So if you have been "meaning to" get back to your practice - now is the time! 

I'll end by offering you some questions in which to ponder for this year:

What energy does your spirit want for you for 2018? An how can you bring more compassion into your life? 

With Love & Compassion,

Tracey L. Ulshafer, Founder, One Yoga & Wellness Center LLC, Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher 500 hours (E-RYT500), RYS, CMT, Energy Worker, 11:11 True One.

PS If you want to learn some "key words" for yourself for 2018, schedule an 11:11 card reading with me today! It's a great way to start the year with perfectly clear intentions.