While I love every yoga class that I teach and do my best to bring my all to each one, I spend a lot of time preparing for my weekend classes. They are my “special classes” where I put extra effort towards putting together a new playlist, sharing a reading or a message and having a skill to work on. I don’t think I’ve walked into my Sunday morning class without a message in over two years.
In the last few months I have regularly started sharing the readings and playlists on the blog. Today I’m going to share the reading along with a video tutorial of the skill we worked on…flip dog to full wheel…instead of the playlist. You guys have expressed interest in seeing more yoga tutorials so I’m happy to deliver!
Let’s start with the reading…I LOVE THIS READING! And I hope you do too! Many of my students commented on how much it resonated after class and have requested it so I’m excited to share it. The reading came from part of a larger article that I came across last week called, “You Are Not Broken.” I highly encourage you read the entire article and here is the excerpt that I read in class.
ZERO POWER
Mind your own business.
You have all the power, resources, capabilities and abilities to change anything about yourself that no longer serves you. You have zero power to change another human being, including your own children. This journey of self-awareness is about you and only you—not because you are selfish, but because you understand the need to be whole in order to fully give.
Everything and everyone in your life is a mirror of your inner relationship with yourself. See everything as an opportunity toward self-acceptance. What is it about me that I need to accept today? Note that I am not saying, what is it about me that I need to fix or change? That point of view comes from a perception of lack. There is no lack, there is only acceptance.
You are not broken. This very minute is the most perfect expression of who you are. Whether you choose to evolve into a better person tomorrow is entirely up to you. So think of yourself as if you were on a journey of making something good better, and not fixing yourself because you are broken.
You accept who you are, which means recognizing and acknowledging everything that is good about you, adjusting what no longer serves you and accepting what is not so nice about you as part of who you are that you can tweak accordingly.
It may sound like wordplay, but that’s exactly what it is—it is all in the phrasing. If you speak, think and act in the positive, you will draw the same toward you.
Like will always attract like.
I’ve written about this many times; just remember this law: When you learn how to accept yourself, you will have zero drama in life. That’s a major reason right there. You will also experience love, acceptance, trust and openness like you have never experienced or felt before.
You will easily and effortlessly accept others for who they are, because you have already done this for yourself. You will look through anything or anyone you have ever judged before, including yourself. You become neutral.
This is happiness, when nothing affects you, and when it does, you just adjust because you know now that this is a part of you that you need to address. You just become you—the best version of you.
– “You Are Not Broken” from The Healing Room
And here’s the video tutorial for flip dog to full wheel.
Let me know if you try it, how it goes and if you have any questions!
Great video! I’ve never tried this transition before
I love that passage, especially the last two sentences…
“This is happiness, when nothing affects you, and when it does, you just adjust because you know now that this is a part of you that you need to address. You just become you—the best version of you.”
I often think about this idea of focusing on being your best self and letting everything else fall into place. It’s hard to do sometimes, especially for a control freak like myself. But I find that when I do, I’m a happier more fulfilled person and that positive energy gets passed to those around me.
I share every one of these posts immediately if not sooner when you publish them. I can’t get enough of these messages. Thank you so much for sharing! Getting full wheel from flipped dog was one of the harder transitions I’ve mastered. Awesome tutorial!
I can do it!!! I can do it!!!
Do practice yoga at home? I’m a college student living in an apartment and it’s hard for me to spend the money to practice yoga at a studio when I so many other expenses. If you do practice at yoga, what do you do to create an atmosphere that works for you and your practice?
Thanks for the tutorial! I can get from flip dog into wheel, but I always get stuck trying to get back up to flip dog from wheel…my wrist doesn’t want to flip around! Any suggestions? 🙂
This post was wonderful! The reading was spot on for me! The video is something I’ve been working on and your tips really helped! Thank you! A lot!
Please share more posts like these! As a college student, it’s hard for me to 1.) get to a yoga class with my class schedule and 2.) pay for a membership. I love yoga and these tutorials are very helpful!
great video and message 🙂
Great message 🙂
Thanks, Jen. What a fun tutorial and I really appreciate the passage.
For some of you ladies that were asking about making a yoga practice more accessible/an at home practice, I totally hear you. I just moved and haven’t found a studio yet and am on a super tight budget with the big move, so regular studio classes aren’t an option for me right now. One thing that might be helpful is Yogaglo, it’s an online center of yoga classes. You can do a free 15 day trial and then it’s $18/month. You can find classes by level, style, teacher, and length of class. There’s some really great teachers, too. Some of my girlfriends and yoga teacher friends really love it. It might be worth a look at . While it’s not the same as going to a studio for class, it can be a helpful resource to supplement your practice or stand in when getting to a studio isn’t always feasible 🙂
I love this message. What a great thing to hear this morning. Thanks Jen!
That reading is full of wisdom that took me many years to figure out, and it’s wisdom that I want so badly for some of my close friends to internalize. The missing piece is that you have to be READY to accept responsibility for yourself, I think. It’s so easy to read pieces like this and think, “oh, what lovely advice!” and then decide that you don’t need to think any further about it. The journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance is never ending!
I can now do filp the dog to a wheel. THANKS!