January 2021 Newsletter - Ringing in a New Year - Codeword: JOY

Dear Yogi/Yogini Friends of One Yoga,

 

We did it! We navigated through 2020 and have moved into a new year. Let me begin by sending unlimited blessings to you for 2021 - may this be the year that you land in your true positions on this great earth, finding your heart's desires and living in fulfillment of your Highest Self's purpose. Tall order? Nah! If the past year has taught us anything, it is that anything and everything is possible. Why not work with this new landscape to create the world we want to have - one filled with love, abundance, unity and Oneness? I'm all in. Can a hear you say, "Aho!" "Amen." - ?

 

January's Code Word:

JOY

Remember the good ole days when we used to set goals, lineup dates, and have monthly themes? Well, so much has changed. I begin planning the months and then sometimes midway energy shifts so drastically that I need to surrender and flow with it. I couldn't wrap my head around monthly themes due to this, so I decided instead to offer a monthly code word! Think of this as a positive energy to invoke and work with each month. For January, I would love for you to work with the energy of Joy. I decided about a week ago that this was the perfect energy to work with and then I saw many of my mentors and other light workers that I am connected with all start to mention this word in posts. It feels right and true to me to honor space for this energy for January and moving into the new year!

 

The lessons of 2020 continue to become known. One of the big ones was to truly honor the important people and things in your life, because nothing is guaranteed. Life can be challenging, difficult and even painful, but it can also be wonderful, effortless and blissful. The traumatic way that 2020 shifted our lives caused a rift that brought too much focus on the difficulties. It is extremely important to move into 2021 with a different attitude and energy alignment. We need to focus on the joyful qualities of life - the effortless blissful ways in which we enjoy our lives and the world. We need to get back to living, and back to living in joy.

 

Yoga teaches us not to look outside of ourselves to find peace and contentment. True joy is found when we focus razor-sharp attention to being at happy in each moment - with whatever life has brought us. The NiyamaSantosha, means contentment, and it is the key principle to being joyful.

 

“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing? (136-137)”
― Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras

 

In every moment we have a choice to make - how are we going to be? We can be happy, angry, sad, etc. If we can choose how to be - regardless of what is happening - then why not choose to be joyful? Certainly there are times to be sad and angry, and I am certainly not telling you to shove your emotions down and hide them away. I want you to feel all the feelings that life has to offer. What I am suggesting here is that you consider this month to focus on the quality of Joy in your life, and to surround yourself with that energy in any and every way that you possibly can. If dancing makes you happy, then dance. If talking to a dear friend makes you smile, then talk to him or her. Whatever it is, do it. Because life is short, and in the end all that will matter is how well you lived and loved. Nobody will remember how you suffered. But they will remember your smile or how you made them smile. And they will most definitely never forget your full, real laughter. Joy is contagious - and that is the kind of contagion that we need most in our world. 

 

I'm in. Are you?

In love, service and wisdom

Rev. Dr. T




More Fun in '21

Remember to focus on joy everyday. Maybe create a Joy Journal and write about anything that made you smile or feel good that day. Take time to reach out to those who are special in your life through letters, video chats or any other way possible. As we continue to ride the waves of energy flowing in, we have learned how to surf and are better prepared for the coming year. 

 

Unlimited Blessings are Coming In...

Make room for them.

Love,
Tracey

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