december intentions 2020
December 10, 2020.
As we enter the month of December, the last month of 2020, this time of year usually opens the door to start reflecting on all that has happened this past year. And just wow. 2020 was a lot-- individually and as an entire global community.
As I start my personal processing and reflections on 2020, the word that continues to pop into my headspace is the word alchemize.
al·chem·ize (v.) to transform
The word alchemize in this context reminds me of an ideology that actually stems from improv comedy,"Yes, and", which is known as the acceptance principle. So in an improv comedy show when someone on stage says something, you automatically accept it as truth-- the yes. The and piece of this principle is how you then build on the reality that is set.
2020, to me, feels like "Yes, and".
Because this year yes we have had to accept really challenging & harsh realities and we have had the duality of the moments of life & growth that we've leaned into this year.
Ultimately, it is said that life transforms and influences us and that we transform and influence life. Yes, 2020 was extremely difficult and somehow we have individually and collectively grown so much because of it.
A lot of extremes exist in the dichotomies of this year. I am always wary of what can sometimes feel like toxic positivity (which can feel like a frustrating and invalidating downplay of the struggle that exists) and this intention setting for me is actually meant to be quite the opposite. Because some things that happened throughout this year have just been horrific and sad and impossibly frustrating. I whole heartedly believe that those really negative experiences need our respect and acknowledgement in order for us to eventually be able to grow and move through them.
This is where the alchemizing happens. Only once we reckon with the challenging pieces of life can we then eventually move into recognizing any way that we have progressed out of the hurt or acknowledge any threads of growth or love that can be found in those experiences. And then we can let both exist in their duality. Yes, and.
So this month on my mat space, I am working to find a way for discomfort and challenge to exist in my physical practice while also, somehow, dually embracing the sweetness of the space that is created afterwards (I'm lookin at you, my tight tight hips). By practicing embracing and honoring these "yes, and" moments in our physical practice, we then can let it seep into our emotional, mental, spiritual corners of our life as we work on the absolute complexity of reflecting on this past year.
This month on our mats we will work to process and reflect on 2020 & prepare to move forward into 2021 together, carrying all the dichotomies that this year gave us and letting it influence how we move forward in life.
As always, take what serves you and leave what doesn't from my brainwave of this December Intention... and either way I would love to share some ~virtual space~ with you at some point this month. While I realize virtual isn't always ideal, I am also reminded over and over again how important any opportunity for true human connection can be. Allll people are welcomed with love & I deeply appreciate seeing your faces throughout the month.... it gives me all the feels to see how this virtual yogi quaran-team is continuing to grow together despite being in different relationships with yoga and a few different states and time zones.
Use the calendar tab on this site to check out what's coming up this month! Every week we will have a power yoga flow (leave feeling strong & still stretchy) and a restore yoga flow (leave feeling extremely zen-ed out) and you can catch a few more Small Business Saturday classes where we will spotlight some of my true favorite creative small businesses out there.
If you made it this far, thank you and I love you and let me know any questions/thoughts/feedback/or whatever pops into your head and heart because I am here for it.
Genuinely sending you all of the appreciation and love and wishing you safety, health, peace, and fulfillment for the rest of 2020 and into this new year. <3
PS below is my playlist for the month of December....might be my fav of the whole year because wow the variety in artists... but somehow it works & we love to see it.
