I Can't Do Yoga: Start with You

Are you working on transformation? I feel like I am. Each morning, during my meditation, I consider my actions and thoughts. My focus is on becoming kinder and more loving to myself and those around me. Transformation can be spontaneous or happen over a longer period. Most of my transformation has happened during difficult times and through my consistent Yoga practice. Have you ever heard of a mantra? A mantra is a slogan or statement that you can use to remind you of what’s important to you or maybe what you want to achieve. When I went through my year in review of my life choices, I realized my mantra was, “I make Shit happen”. I say it with a chuckle because that can be a good or bad thing. The basic premise is that when I get an idea of something I want to achieve, I do what needs to be done to accomplish the goal. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. What helps me to make shit happen is that I’m not a perfectionist. Accomplishment doesn’t mean perfection to me. Because of that mindset, I do not let setbacks stop me. But if a goal isn’t aligned with who we are or what we believe, it can lead to a dead end. I have reached several “end-of-the-journey” moments in my life. 
Ancient Yoga gives us guidelines for a path to what we want, ending suffering and experiencing love and joy. The yamas and niyamas are the yoga guidelines for thoughts and actions. The yamas include non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, self-restraint, and non-grasping (Yoga International, 2025). The niyamas include cleanliness, contentment, accepting intensity as purification, self-study, and surrender to a higher power (Yoga International, 2025). The topic of the yamas and niyamas takes more in-depth discussion, but briefly, you can see that Yoga could align with most religious ideals. We can use the guidelines to examine our goals and decide if what we think we want is what we want. The guidelines also promote compassion, something we could all have more of today. While our world is in turmoil, we can be at peace with more compassion for ourselves and others. 
Let us start with non-violence. I like to think of the basics, so let’s use self-talk as the topic. Self-talk is that continuous inner discussion we have silently. If you think of a picture of a person with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder whispering in each ear, that could describe self-talk. Or maybe self-talk happens when you look in the mirror, make a mistake, or at the beginning of a project. If we apply the yama of non-violence, we must turn negative talk into positive. I like Mel Robbins’ Five technique to start the day off right. Every morning, when you first look at yourself in the mirror, notice that you are your greatest fan and give yourself a high five. This action helps to rewire your brain and promote self-love. Mel has a podcast episode on her discovery. Listen to it and let me know what you think!