Last year at this very moment I was teaching my Sunday morning hot yoga class on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I remember trying to prepare for the class the night before and ending up in tears because nothing that I could do or say would be enough to honor and remember those who lost their lives and those who served. Today I will take and teach yoga and dedicate my practice and my class to the memory of those people and focus on gratitude for my freedom, friends, family and all the blessings in my life.
This is a tough week for me. I have a lot going on personally and a family member who is very sick. It’s easy for me to get sucked into the sadness about everything that is happening but one thing that I have been actively working on is allowing myself to be happy in the moment. For example, I added a deep stretch class to the schedule at Metro CrossFit. I taught my first class to the CrossFitters last night and had a great turnout and response. It was a huge reminder of why I love to teach and the happiness that helping people feel better brings to me.
This post popped up in my Facebook news feed this morning from Abraham-Hicks…
All the resources you will ever want or need are at your fingertips. All you have to do is identify what you want to do with it, and then practice the feeling-place of what it will feel like when that happens. There is nothing you cannot be or do or have. You are blessed Beings; you have come forth into this physical environment to create. There is nothing holding you back, other than your own contradictory thought. And your emotion tells you you’re doing that. Life is supposed to be fun—it is supposed to feel good! You are powerful Creators and right on schedule. Savor more; fix less. Laugh more; cry less. Anticipate positively more; anticipate negatively less. Nothing is more important than that you feel good. Just practice that and watch what happens. There is great love here for you. We are complete.
The statement about anticipating positive more than negative was especially powerful for me given all that I have on my mind and the whole thing reminded me of the importance of living a passionate existence and of the importance of following the things that make you feel good. I hope that some part of this resonates for you today too.
And here is a look at Monday meals…
Breakfast – plain Greek yogurt, bananas, granola, figs and maple almond butter.
Lunch at Brixx. Salad to start.
Split the Bronx Bomber with my lunch date – spicy italian sausage, prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese, tomato sauce and fresh oregano.
Dinner – quinoa and green lentils with goat cheese, broiled wild Alaskan salmon and sauteed Lacinto kale.
Wishing you gratitude, happiness and peace. Allow yourself to be happy and feel complete in the moment.
I really love that quote–thank you!
Thank you for the quote. Thinking of you and sending healing thoughts and comfort. Take good care of yourself!! xoxo
thank you pamela. i appreciate the kind words!
Even when you’re struggling through a tough week, just remember that your help all of us readers find peace and happiness. Thank you for doing what you do!
thank you lindsay, that is so kind!
Yes, this post is timely for me. Especially needed to hear (and repeat to myself) ‘All the resources you will ever want or need are at your fingertips. All you have to do is identify what you want to do with it, and then practice the feeling-place of what it will feel like when that happens. There is nothing you cannot be or do or have.’ Am miserable at my workplace of 8 years and have been job hunting for about 18 months with no luck yet – I’m always trying to be mindful that it will happen when it’s meant to and the only thing standing in my way is myself when I get discouraged – so thank you for this further thought reinforcement!
P.S. A deep stretch class sounds aaaaaamazing! 🙂
hey suze – i am glad to hear that this was good for you to read today. wishing you luck and positive energy with your job search. keep at it and the right thing will eventually surface.
my heart goes out to you and your family member this week.. i hope everything is ok!
all of your food looks delicious as usual 🙂
thank you, julianna!
Take care Jen.
Jen,
Since you only bought two bananas for the whole week, do you just have a small amount each morning?
i am slightly neurotic about banana use…i like firm/no brown spot bananas for eating/toast/yogurt and mushy ripe bananas for oatmeal. so i only buy a few at a time so that they don’t get overly ripe before i can eat them. i already had a few brown bananas left from last week to use in oatmeal so that’s why i only got the two. and usually i only use half of a banana on pb toast or in yogurt/overnight oats. does that make sense?
I do the exact same thing! (So I don’t think it’s weird at all.)
Hi Jen! Random question – I really want to try figs (my Whole Foods also has them on sale right now!) but not sure how to use them. Do you eat them raw? Cook them? Peel them? Please help 🙂
Your food looks tasty, as usual 🙂 But more importantly, I am glad that you are trying to be happy in the moment rather than be sad about the big picture things. I know that can be hard, but I feel that you have a great support system! Hang in there!!!
thank you tara. i appreciate the encouragement!
Thank you for sharing that quote today. I hope that things improve for your loved one. Thinking of you this week!
thank you laura! i am glad you enjoyed the quote.
The beginning of your post was very thoughtful, but how can you put something as trivial as what you ate for breakfast in the same post where you are remembering 9/11. It just comes off insensitive and tacky.
i am sorry that you feel that way.
Thank you for the continued encouragement and inspiration on your blog…sending some of that right back at you, haha 🙂 Praying that you feel peace and comfort in these tough times.
I’m so sorry you have some personal struggles going on right now. WIth everything you have going on your blog continues to inspire, encourage and motivate others. Living in the moment is something I struggle with everyday, but your post makes me realize how important it is.
The quote in your post really resonated with me and was a great source of reflection today. I have been finding through my YTT that setting an intention to be grateful has been really helpful and is another way to reframe things in the positive. I also wanted to add that I personally appreciated that you included your daily “eats” as you always do. I think sharing your meals helps your readers (like me!) and I hope that is something you can find positivity and happiness in…even just in the moment!
LOVE the quote, thank you for sharing.
One of my favorite sayings is “this too shall pass.” Sending positive thoughts your way, hang in there!
Have you considered an open-ended sabbatical from your blog? You have inspired countless people through it but truly in 5, 10, 20, 50 years, we aren’t the ones that really matter. Your first posts mentioned your supportive husband. He is the one that vows have been made with and that you (and him to you) have committed your life to. You two created a new family. That is the relationship with the greatest potential. I also remember a post you did months ago about lots of friends starting to look ahead at adding children to their family. If that has been in your thoughts, those decisions are so personal, so wonderful to discuss with your spouse. And in terms of blogging about meals, those first few weeks of pregnancy will bring days when you feel like eating nothing, or junk food all day, or you end up throwing everything up. It’s a beautiful time when the world doesn’t know your news yet but you can share it with your husband. My only reason in sharing all this is that documenting every meal of your life, every workout, etc. doesn’t seem to leave room for that most important relationship. If you took a break from the blog, we would all support you. Go out to dinner with your husband, enjoy the meal without needing to tell us about it or taking a picture of it. Have a getaway weekend with the person you promised your life to, without telling us details. We are already inspired by you and taking a stand in that way for your marriage would be even more inspiring. Wishing you all the best-you are an amazing lady!
Thinking of you and your loved one – hope things will get better quickly! Thank you for continuing to challenge us to think about our blessings -how wonderful to read this blog and be challenged on so many levels – from thinking about how fortunate we are to have our freedom, choosing happiness, to creating nutritious meals and pushing our bodies to all sorts of limits. Your content is so applicable to our lives and real-life struggles, yet you keep the bar high so that we are always inspired to be better – thank you!
I love Abraham Hicks and saw Ester Hicks (Abraham) earlier this year. So much positive energy to tap into we just have to align ourselves up with it.
Love the notion of living a passionate existence. That’s definitely something I try to be mindful of, especially when I lose sight of what’s really important in this life.
What a great quote. Really puts things into perspective when you are going through the hard stuff (which seems never ending for me now).
Great quote!! Thanks for sharing- I shared it too 🙂
Hey Jen
You are doing all the right things to stay healthy – exercising, eating really well, reaching out for support. Life just gets difficult sometimes. We got thru what for us in the midwest was a hellish summer – days hotter than I have ever expected, drought. It felt so good to get thru it, and then other stuff comes falling down, things that I can do nothing about. Your blog is a real source of enjoyment for me. I find it very inspiring.
thank you, trish. your comment means so much to me.
You are right on Trish. Glad Jen is doing all the right things to stay healthy. I also find inspiration here. Thank you Jen!