“Acknowledging the good you have already in your life is the foundation for all abundance” ~ Eckhart Tolle
An other personal story of mine. There is a saying I heard about 20 years ago for the first time: “If you think you are enlightened, pay your family a visit” I always felt like it is spot on.
I don’t know if you ever had a close person, like boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife, tell you about some of your character trades that are irritating to them or bothering them? If you are like me, you hear it and somewhat understand what he/she is saying, but then it is really hard to catch yourself and change it.
Well, I had an enlightening moment when my sister was visiting me recently. I think it is ages ago since I have spend a whole week only with my sister. This one-on-one time made me realize that we really grew up with the same parents (lol). Some things seem to be ingrained in us and for me it was like looking into a mirror. Finally I could see clearly what the close person in my life meant all this time! What can I say, experiencing the same behavior by my sister, made me now super aware and I will be able to change for sure 🙂 As shocking as it was for me at first, I am very grateful for this learning experience!
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I read this one recently and thought it is a good one for New Year Celebration.
“Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.” ~ Rumi
this the holiday season is about love. So much is written, sung and done in the name of love and at the same time so complex and often misunderstood.
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“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~ Buddha
“The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love.” ~ Henry Miller
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu
“Love does not dominate; it cultivates.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” ~ Helen Keller
“Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your prospective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality.” ~ unknown
Monday 19.12. Happy Hips Flow
Wednesday 21.12. Open Heart – Relaxed Brain Organ Flow
I was looking for a variety of Love and Gratitude quotes. Hoping that each one of you will be able to find at least one that is inspiring to you or you can connect with.
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
“It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s the gratitude that brings us happiness.” ~ Jeremiah Say
“Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.” ~ Wayne Dyer
“The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much and forgetting that you are special too.” ~ Ernest Hemmingway
“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.” ~ Toni Robbins
“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” ~ Lionel Hampton
“Let us be grateful to the people that make us happy; they are charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~ Marcel Proust
Monday 12.12. Grounding – feet, legs, pelvis Flow
Wednesday 14.12. Mobility – pelvis, spine, head Flow
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love” ~ Marcus Aurelius
For most of us the month of December presents itself as a time where we feel and want to express our love and gratitude to our loved ones. It is the time to make peace with the people around us. But what if you are not able to express it due to unresolved or not solvable issues in a relationship?
For my part I believe that if you can make peace within yourself about a situation with a person, one can still extend gratitude to him/her on an energetic level (thought and feeling) without needing to express it verbally.
Here a very personal story. Very early on in life I realized already that it doesn’t have to be your own family that unconditionally loves you and you feel love for. After being emotionally hurt over and over again, there is still that feeling of gratitude for my existence that nevertheless will remain and will be cherished by me. Communication never has been fruitful with my parents and extended times of silence between us are also not uncommon. Sending that heartfelt energy out and be at peace with what is, is all that I can do. It has been a long process, but well worth it to move beyond trying, bending backwards, guilt and struggle.
I don’t know if you have people in your life where you feel like you at the ropes end with communication and trying to change things. There is no need to suffer, because of it. I think it is important to find clarity within oneself, send the “good vibes” out there, and maybe in time and space something will shift inside that other person.
This month I decided to share different thoughts and inspiration of love and gratitude on my blog.
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie
Monday 05.12. Find the greatest love of all Slow Flow
I know a lot of us are carrying so much weight on our shoulders. A lot of stress and too many things to complete by the holidays and end of year. Maybe it’s a good time to reset. To let go of some that heaviness and get some energy and clarity.
“Consciousness is the new sexy
Inner Peace is the new success
Kindness is the new beautiful”
~ Themindunleashed.com
Whatever it is that helps you to find moments of peace and clarity: – journaling helps you to set your goals and track your habits – conscious breathing and meditation helps to center yourself and find some inner peace – practicing to feel gratitude helps you to connect to your heart, elevates your state of being and find clarity
All of these are great tools and can be practiced in just a few minutes and are easily integrated in your daily schedule. Taking more time out of your day to practice yoga will allow you to move stagnant energy and tension. Most of the day we are living in our heads. Your yoga practice brings you back into your body and connects you on a deeper level with your essence while including the tools above in your practice.
Monday 28.11. Stirring up the Energy Flow
Wednesday 30.11. Full Consciousness Slow Flow
Thursday 01.12. Open Theme Yogis Choice
Friday 02.12. Clear Intention Flow
I am sure you know all this, but sometimes we just need a little reminder 🙂
I got beautiful and encouraging feedback for my blog about “Trust & Control”, because it was very personal. This is another recent personal experience and I found this article addressing some of the issues. Here a few excerpts out of it.
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“Man’s freedom doesn’t lie in being able to do what he wants, but in not having to do what he doesn’t want to do.” ~ Jean-Jaques Rousseau
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“If you love me and my development is important to you, you will not forbid my NO or take it away. Not even with quiet pressure. And if I love you, I won’t blame you for the fact that sometimes the only way you can be true to yourself is to say NO to me. When the word NO is honest between the two of us, we manage to stay free.” ~ Ulrich Schaffer
“Self-care means that we say goodbye to everything that is not good for us. And that works by consistently saying NO to everything that doesn’t suit us. By daring to set boundaries, we show that we have the courage to love ourselves at the risk of disappointing others. However, many of us lost a sense of healthy boundaries in early childhood, leaving us stuck in disproportionate adaptive behavior. And that makes it extremely difficult to lead a self-sufficient, self-determined life. But: We can develop this authentic, autonomous self. Can learn to take good care of ourselves. In fact, that is our mission in life. It is the task, the fulfillment of which makes our soul shine. …
This ability to set boundaries requires courage, strength, perseverance and a willingness to deal with conflict. But it is precisely these skills that we need in order to develop a stable, self-determined ego. …
The path to inner peace and true strength is therefore to take good care of ourselves. That means we need to be clear about our own needs, interests, and goals, define them for ourselves, live by them, and commit oneself to it. …
Too often, however, we expect others to know when they’re going too far. But each of us has very individual limits. So we have to be very clear about what is tolerable for us and what is not.” ~ Christiane Schönemann
When I grew up I was raised to please people and that my needs are not as important as other’s. Taking care of everybody around me became second nature and if you feel needed or appreciated, it felt almost equal to being loved. It was so easy and I became like a chameleon. I needed less and less which doesn’t sound that bad. But I didn’t even know anymore what I want or need myself and had no idea where my boundaries are or where to set them.
I have been questioning all of my behaviors already quite a few years, but change doesn’t come easily when you practiced these trades so well for more than half a life time.
Covid arrived and I felt like not only life changed a lot, but relation/friendships as well. At that time I also had to let go of my beloved dog and soul mate. Almost a year later I adopted an other dog. As many of you know she is challenging me since almost 2 years now and I finally got it – I have to change! This beautiful soul had me set boundaries; what a painful process. In the last couple months I was able to do this also in other parts of my life. Changes concerning family dynamics and old friends are not easy and equally painful, but at the same time freeing and empowering. 🙂 I know these are the first steps in the right direction and by staying aware I will be able to stay on the path.
Monday 21.11. Energizing the Center for Strength Flow
Wednesday 23.11. Full-Hearted Yes or No Flow
Friday 25.11. Put that Love on Yourself Slow Flow
You may not be able to relate to any of what I am writing, but there is always a bit more care we can give to ourselves in this fast paced life!
If you look humility up in the dictionary, it sounds rather degrading and negative, but if you have a deeper look into it you will find that it is actually a strong and not weak character trade. A virtue that sounds to most people old fashioned and seems almost forgotten about.
In different religions it is a necessity; also writers and C. G. Jung writing about it.
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“Humility is the ability to view yourself accurately as an individual with talents as well as flaws while being void of arrogance and low self-esteem. Some believe that humility is having low opinions of yourself, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence. It is in fact the opposite, humility is having the self-esteem to understand that even though you are doing well, you do not have to brag or gloat about it.
It is important to stay humble because having humility not only helps you develop a more kind approach to interacting with others but it also influences how you perceive yourself and the world around you. Humility helps one extend more compassion and empathy to others.
Most would consider humility the antonym of pride and may associate pride as being a bad trait to possess. Pride is the appreciation of yourself and your beliefs, it is having confidence and assurance that you are an important and relevant contribution to this world. However, if pride becomes extreme that is when humility is absent and a person may exhibit selfish or narcissistic behaviors.” ~ Tiara Blain
“Humility is the courage to go beyond one’s limits – it is what lifts us, makes us grow and expands our hearts. And it is only through it that we learn to truly love…
We can’t learn, practice or study humility – we must mature in life itself before we have the opportunity to truly develop it. Mindfulness, self-love, letting go, honesty, devotion, gratitude – all of these will ultimately lead to humility.” ~ Dorothee Teves
“Humility is the courage to descend into one’s depth and darkness.” ” Humility is not a goal, but a constant touchstone on this path – it asks and questions again and again: who are you – why do you do what you do?” ~ Benedictine Father Anselm Grün
“The attitude of humility frees us from false prestige; At the same time, however, it requires a healthy dose of self-confidence, because it is often harder than you think to see and accept yourself as you are and not as you would like to be.” ~ Cistercians of the Abbey Seligenthal
“Humility is a virtue of the second half of life, in which it is about letting go of the outward orientation, the striving for recognition and prestige; turning inward to listen to those voices of the unconscious that challenge the standards of the conscious.” ~ C. G. Jung
Monday 14.11. Letting go within the structure Slow Flow
Wednesday 16.11. Open Heart Gratitude Flow
Thursday 17.11. Open Theme Yogis Choice
Friday 18.11. Self-Acceptance & -Love Flow
I can’t think of more wonderful people to walk the path together with than all of you!
These definitions and meanings I found in the net about trust: ‘Belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. … Trust, assurance, confidence imply a feeling of security. trust implies instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something, …’
about control: ‘In psychology, control is a person’s ability or perception of their ability to affect themselves, others, their conditions, their environment or some other circumstance.’
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I don’t know about you, but I find it more and more difficult to trust humanity and feel the circle of trustworthy people has been shrinking in my life. At the same time a life without trust brings so much unsettling feelings with. So much in this world is about trying to control or being controlled. Trust is becoming foreign. As you know only if we are aware of things, we can change them.
Here is a little collection of different inspirational quotes I would like to share with you.
“Life without trust is a life in turmoil.” M. K. Soni
“Trust is what we do each day, when we get out of our bed and put our clothes on. It is the thing that makes it possible for us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Iyanla Vanzant, Trust: Mastering the Four Essential Trusts
“Without self-trust, we can never become wise because we will continue to look outside ourselves for the answer. M. J. Ryan, Trusting Yourself
“Trust can be gained or lost in the small things as well as in the big areas of life.” Tony DiLorenzo, The Trust Factor
As some of you know the blogs are mostly about things that occupy my mind at that particular time. I would like to share with you a little life story of mine.
I grew up in a rather strict household. Leaving Germany in my late teens I thought I left quite a bit of it behind me. Till recently when I discovered that the german saying “trust is good, but control is better” was pretty much ingrained in me.
I have been struggling with my young rescued dog for quite some time, trying to getting her under control especially when it comes to our walks. Because of her being a hunter, I haven’t been able to let her of the leash ever. I managed to teach her to not pull that much anymore while on the leash and lately I have been doing exercises with her to develop a stronger bond between us. I didn’t trust her in almost all areas – other dogs, people, walking on the leash; it was exhausting and made me feel sad, helpless, stuck and at moments having anxiety.
Two days ago on my walk with her I was thinking, I want her to trust me, so I need to start to trust her as well. And just like you probably wouldn’t let your kids take your car on a vacation trip right after receiving their license, I decided to let her off the leash only for a short period in an area with the least amount of distraction. She stayed close by and came back to me at times to get a treat. I hardly can put it into words what I felt – such a heartwarming and rewarding experience! To see a glimpse of what our “companionship” could be like brought such joy and hope back to me. Today she was more than half of the walk without the leash, I played the edge as well and once won, once lost, but still in the end I had her back by my side. I know that there will be times where I will be there waiting or looking for her, but something inside me shifted after feeling a spark of freedom for the both of us.
Now I am looking at trust like a muscle that needs to be trained. There will be moments where you see you were not strong enough to do a certain thing yet, but with great awareness, joy, patience and a light heart you will built a strong lasting muscle. I think it is time to transfer this experience to other areas in my life. Like they say, you always get the dog/animal you need to grow in your life. Her first lessons were about setting boundaries and becoming a stronger person and she was not holding back to teach me already the next lesson about trust and control 🙂
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Of course we are all different. Are you more trusting or controlling? Are you overly trusting or controlling? Or are you lacking trust or control? I believe to find a balance in all of this takes a lot of conscious awareness and the willingness to inquire within.
How does that affect our yoga practice on the mat? We control our movements to our best of knowledge, but then there is the time to trust the body and body memory, enjoying the ride. Sensing, feeling, becoming aware will lead our practice from control to trust to freedom inside and out.
Monday 07.11. Balance Trust & Control Continues Flow
Wednesday 09.11. Trust Blind Flow
Thursday 10.11. Open Theme Yogis Choice
Friday 11.11. Transition & Balance Flow
Thank you for your trust in me – see you on the mat!
The last Niyama is called Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God): “Do the best that you can (abhyasa) without concern for the result (vairagya). Understand that you do not control everything, but that there is an underlying Universal Force that directs you. Remember your link to that Big Self; you are not limited, you are unbound and free. ~ Alan Finger (How to expand the little self to merge into the big self)
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Yoga in no way forces the idea of God or religion upon anyone, but as you might have noticed by listening to the things your yoga teacher may say; there is an underlying idea that something bigger, more profound and pure exists other than ourselves. …
…we’ve all heard many times before – we are in fact all one. In the Upanishads, the word Isvara means ‘a state of collective consciousness’, which tells us – in this sense – that there isn’t a Godlike figure we are supposed to worship or devote our actions to at all, rather ‘God’ represents this collective consciousness, and therefore represents all of us too.
Isvara Pranidhana in your asana practice
Surrender and rest: … Knowing when we need to rest shows a huge amount of understanding of ourselves, respect for our bodies, and allows our practice to support us for a lifetime.
Surrender to the posture: Sometimes asana practice is about finding comfort within discomfort, leaning into our boundaries and learning ways in which to deal with difficult situations… The idea of ‘surrendering’ can also be applied to the intention we set at the beginning of practice; Isvara Pranidhana can be thought of as ‘offering up the results of one’s actions to the divine’, or perhaps to humanity. In this way, our asana practice becomes less about what it can do for us, but how we can help ourselves stay healthy enough to help the world around us.
Isvara Pranidhaha in your day-to-day life
In our daily life off the mat, Isvara Pranishanacan be seen as less of a devotional dedication or a surrendering, and more of an ‘opening up to what is’, and instead of fighting against life’s twists and turns, remaining open to experiencing life as it unfolds… ~ Emma Newlyn
Like applying the yamas, when trying to put the niyamas into practice, remember to do what is possible for you at this time. Since the yamas and niyamas may uncover some well-practiced patterns in your being, it is important to learn to recognize if these practices are generating pain or if they are making you more aware of discomfort that you have learned to live with or ignore. Confusing these two outcomes can keep you from applying the yamas and niyamas in beneficial ways. Like with any other practice, you are in charge of monitoring that you are doing what you think you are doing and that what you are doing is moving you towards greater clarity and integrated harmony.
One more way of practicing ishvara pranidhana is by using the mantra, I SURRENDER MY ILLUSION OF CONTROL. ~ Simple Yoga
Friday 28.10 Intention Flow
Monday 31.10. Boundaries & Comfort Flow
Wednesday 02.11. Clarity & Harmony Flow
Thursday 03.11. Open Theme Yogis Choice
Friday 04.11. Surrender Slow Flow
By creating coherence in our energy body and awareness of our attitude, we influence the outcomes in our life 🙂
The fourth Niyama is called Svadhyaha (Self-study, self-understanding):
“The little self needs a road map to guide it to the Big Self, so knowledge is necessary to inspire and direct one. However, one cannot experience the destination by reading a map, one must go on the journey. Study the Big Self to experience the underlying reason for living.” ~ Alan Finger (How to expand the little self to merge into the big self)
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Knowing yourself, knowing your tendencies and patterns is essential in order to recognize how those patterns influence the quality of your participation in your life. Without knowing your ways of being you are at the mercy of those patterns without really understanding why some obstacles keep appearing along your path. Similarly, it may be difficult to harness useful ways of being to enhance your experience…
Engaging in self-inquiry, that is, when you explore yourself with genuine curiosity, you come to recognize that you have never been in a vacuum. You have never been isolated from the world around you. In fact, you eventually realize that everything that you can perceive is connected to you either directly or indirectly, because you are deeply embedded in the universe…
Svadhyaya means cultivating a healthy curiosity about yourself so that you can see clearly how your habit patterns and tendencies may influence your thoughts, moods, motivations, breath, posture, movement, and actions. Keep in mind that some patterns may be useful in one context and unhelpful in another context. This healthy curiosity includes studying and trying to put into practice true wisdom. ~ Simple Yoga
When we get to know our small self – the self of our personality, our ego, and our identity – we learn the many habits, behaviors, and ways of relating to the world that have been conditioned by our experiences. We may begin to study a particular chapter in our lives. Maybe a transformation happens with a deeper practice.
In order to transform, we need to get really intimate with these habits, behaviors, and perceptions so that we can identify where they’re ultimately not serving us. This awareness can bring great change, while also getting us in touch with our larger Soul Self, our true nature.
5 WAYS TO DEEPEN YOUR PRACTICE OF SELF-STUDY Meditate Study the wisdom teachings Journal Practice Yoga Spend alone time in nature ~ Robyn Cohen
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” ~ LAO-TZU
Monday 10.10. Tendencies & Habits Flow
Wednesday 12.10. Lighthearted Observation Flow
Thursday 13.10. Open Theme Yogis Choice
Monday 17.10. Movements of the Spine Flow
Wednesday 19.10. One more Layer Slow Flow
Thursday 20.10. Open Theme Yogis Choice
In each yoga practice you get to know yourself a little better 🙂
Love,
Nicole
2026 copyright nicoleohme
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