January 2025 Week 3

How are you doing with our intention (The Stillness We Seek Comes From Within) which is asking us to seek stillness from our own inside space?

In class this week I read 2 powerful meditations from Melody Beattie that I think are worth repeating here.

-Let Go of The Blocks:
I wandered into the bookstore in a small Southern California town, browsed for a while, then began chatting with the clerk. “Times are different now,” I said. “Changing fast. Turning into something so new, so different many of us can’t imagine.” “Yes”, she replied quietly and prophetically. “Things are going to be easier. Unless there is something you’re still hanging onto.”
Is the something you’re still hanging onto? A remnant from the past that blockage you from stepping into the future? From stepping into today?
Look into your heart. The answer is there. Perhaps its a behavior, a person, a belief. Is there an issue from the past that’s blocking your ability to love yourself, to connect with God, life, others? Ask yourself if there’s something you’re hanging onto that has outworn its purpose. Old chains can tie us to the past, to past pain, to a path we’ve already trodden, a place we have already been.
Now is the time to let go. Gently, quietly, let go. Allow yourself a few looks back and as many tears as needed. Where you’ve been has been important. It has helped shape who you are. But have faith that where you’re going is important and wonderful, too.
Gently let go. Be free to step into your future of joy.

So fun to think of this new year as being “easier”, however as the meditation goes it is up to us to identify if there is anything holding us back, anything we are hanging onto that is blocking our ability to find this ease. This is where our intention comes in. Rather than rushing into the new year and expecting major change and resolutions, lets take this month to truly connect in stillness within with our selves and see if there is anything holding us back. Fears, concerns, worn our patterns or behaviors. And from there we can set clear intentions and resolutions for our best year ever and a year of ease!

To further help us lean into the stillness of this month, this is one of my favorite meditations as I absolutely love the winter in the cold at the beach out in the bright sun with the wind, cold dipping, walking, seeing sunrises, sunsets and moon rises too!

-Honor Winter’s lessons:
“See the pine trees and learn their lesson,” a friend once said. “Pine trees are nature’s reminder that growth continues even in the winter.” Winter is an important season in our lives. It is more than a time of coldness and snow. It’s a time of going within. A time to rest from the work that’s been done, a time to prepare for the lessons ahead. Long for the sun on your shoulders, but let the frost and cold come. The ground has been left fallow in preparation for nourishing the seeds of new life.
Honor winter’s lesson. Despite this time of lifelessness and inactivity, this is still a season of growth. Trust what’s being worked out in your soul. The snow will melt. The sun will shine again. The time will come to remove your heavy garb and return to the activity of life.
Cherish the winter. Cherish quietness, the time of going within to rest and heal. Cherish this time of preparation that must come before new life. Cherish the hope that lies beneath the snow.



I Also wanted to add a couple of interesting factual reasons for yoga and meditation!

A study found the average brain mass in 40-50-year-old meditators corresponded to the average brain mass of 20-30-year-old non-meditators. Meditation is an important part of yoga.

But research has actually shown meditation can indeed increase brain mass causally – and rather quickly. In a study with participants who were not experienced in meditation, one group took part in a four month meditation course while the other group did not. After four months, brain mass increased significantly in the meditation group. Once again, this particularly affected the hippocampus. Overall, the data suggests meditation – and yoga – is associated with a younger brain age.
Studies have also looked at so-called “fluid intelligence” – the ability to solve new, unknown problems, learn new things and recognise patterns and connections. This ability tends to decline with old age. But research shows middle-aged people who have done yoga or meditation for many years have better fluid intelligence compared to people of the same age who did not do either activity.

And yoga…….
https://theconversation.com/yoga-has-many-health-benefits-as-you-age-but-is-it-also-the-secret-to-longevity-245808