Funny thing about time – is how it moves so fast and yet freezes in our minds.  Those of you who are children born to the 60’s and 70’s, grew up watching nostalgia shows about the 1950’s with “Happy Days” and the 1960’s with the “Wonder Years” suddenly find that television has moved past the nostalgia of the 70’s into the 80’s and we have become our parents’ age if not parents ourselves.  Officially, if you were a child in the late 70’s early 80’s your toys have become vintage.  The definition of vintage being; any object associated with a specific decade and older than 20 years old.  In my mind 1990 was just yesterday, except if you do the math technically the 90’s is vintage and in five years they will have nostalgia shows about the 1990’s in which we all started having cell phones, discover the fax machine, use answering machines and voice mail, popularize cd players and late into the 90’s begin e-mailing and using this thing called the internet.  All of this will seem archaic in the minds of our text addicted, “Skyping”, TV streaming, youth who will never understand the phrase “you sound like a broken record,” “here’s a dime call someone who cares’” or even get the reference to “snail mail.”  What is my point, while time may seem an eternity long when wading through the daily struggles, it seems as if a year, even a decade flies by in an instant.

So, this year while you find yourself making, keeping and breaking resolutions – I have something for you to ponder.  Am I in control of my time or is time controlling me?  Do you have moments of joy in your day?  At the end of the day before you drift off to sleep can you name three things that made you smile and brought you joy?  Can you name three things you did that brought joy to those around you?  Did you take a moment in your day to breath from your belly and notice your surroundings?  Did you taste something, see something or hear something that brought a smile to your lips?  Did you laugh with someone today?  Did you tell someone you love them or appreciate them today?  Did you do something for yourself that replenishes you – stokes your inner fire?  Did you stop the onslaught of external noise of the world to listen to the small inner voice within?

For the next 30 days, before you go to bed pause a moment and be thankful for three things in your day.  Much like your Yoga practice, if you can stick to it for 30 days and train your mind and body – I think you will be amazed at the transformation.  Everything on earth has a vibration to it.  When we express anger, fear, depression, etc. we have low vibration.  When we express joy, laughter, positive thinking we express higher vibration.  And it is said we draw like vibration. Or as another famous quote put it, “You reap what you sow.”  So, if you want to experience a brighter world, make the world around you brighter.  This is how you change the world one person at a time; if not the world, at least change your world.   Perhaps while you are softening the gaze in yoga letting all your thoughts drift away, just before taking final savasana take a moment and be thankful for three things that day.

I appreciate all of you have returned to our studio for the winter, begun your practice for the first time and have continued your practice throughout the year.   This is our busy time of year when classes get a little more crowded.  Please help our new students feel at home in our studio by welcoming them into our collective practice.  And this is a collective practice, so remember to show up on time, be quiet in the room and be respectful to your teacher following the practice as we are all doing the practice together, and finally listening to your inner wisdom to know when you need a break and how much to push yourself.  Yoga is not about pain, it is about growth and working to our edge.  We work as an individual on our own mat, yet we move as a group, a collective energy.  Please let instructors know if you have injuries and need adaptations.  Please plan to stay the entire class, and let us know if there is a conflict that requires you to leave a few minutes early.  And don’t make showing up late or leaving early a habit.  You do have a choice to be on time and stay: it is part of the discipline; it is part of the practice.

This is the time of year the studio needs to be busy to make the revenue that helps us get through the lean summer months when many of you turn to outdoor activities.  So you will see that we add classes at this time of year to give you more options as to what kind of class and what time you can attend.  Please help us make 2014 our best year by spreading the word to everyone you know that this is a great place to work out physically and mentally.  Having changed locations we are an established studio that is once again facing some of the same challenges as a new studio trying to rebuild our student base to make up for those who did not follow us to the new location.  So once again, I thank all of you who have spread the word and continue to do so and I ask all of you to keep spreading the word.  Because as one of my students recently said, Yoga Fix Studio has ” the best hot yoga room floor in town, great heat and the cleanest studio I have ever been to.”  Not to mention our wonderful staff who greet you and instructors who help you deepen your practice.   I encourage all of you to practice often and bring a buddy and let’s make this our best year ever!  This is your studio as much as it is mine, so please give us feedback on our new classes and times.  We will continue our expanded schedule for as long as you support that schedule with attendance.  We have also been doing workshops to help expand your knowledge and practice.  Please let us know if there are topics you would like to see us cover.  Your feedback and participation is important in determining the direction of the studio.  And of course what speaks loudest is your attendance.  I can have the best instructors sharing a great practice and what we think is the right time and if the students don’t attend that class on a regular basis it won’t matter.  So please show your support of those instructors and classes you love with a regular, ongoing practice.  Nothing says we appreciate the studio and your class like the presence of your bright shiny faces.