New Year New You.
It’s a tough time of year. It’s a tough thing to hear. New year. New you. Like every 12 months you should change who you are. I worry about being offensive, but I prefer New Year, F**K the Noise. This idea when manufactured in our minds and carried out by our habits means that at best there are a few months a year when we are actively looking outside for who we are. My teachers Scott and Ida at Ghosh Yoga didn’t frame it in the context of the New Year, but they lay it out beautifully simply saying The True Self is Lost.
The new is not you. The new a mechanism for overlooking your true nature. For many of us yoga is a tool for change, and if the expected change never materializes we have a decision to make. Keep looking for our idea of change using another method (switch disciplines or give up) or CHANGE (consider that the change that’s meant to happen will in time if we can quiet the parameters our mind has associated it with)
Personally, this is a rabbit hole I am jumping down with every other thought. AND as a leader of a yoga community, I am tasked every 12 months with avoiding this seemingly essential narration. Which is maybe a personal vendetta designed to protect the community from this place of guilt, shame, and mistaken identity.
Also, being personally pragmatic, I’m asking, “Where is the practical part of all of this?” “Show me the asana, what’s the mantra, who is the teacher?” So what can we practice in the new year? Here are some ideas.
NOTHING. HA! A seinfeld-y concept maybe. Continue to live your life while only going deeper into your knowledge of things you already know. Like an anti-resolution of sorts, commit to nothing new.
Practice during life. In your day to day, take a conscious breath, practice an asana. This can be as simple as not taking your phone with you when you go to sit on the toilet. HA!
If you’re reading this, you probably have a regular asana practice already. So, after each class, ask the teacher one question. Then consider that in your next class.
Help someone with their ”New Year task” You can encourage them, support them, or ask, “how can I help?” Starting a practice of service to someone else can be a good tool for putting aside the noise in your own mind.
Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help with anything.
Wes Bozeman was Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork in 2009 and is a Florida Licensed Massage Therapist. MA58298 He began his massage practice after the birth of his daughter, when substandard maternity care cast a light on the value of bodily knowledge and wellness for his whole family. He began his yoga training in 2010 at Evolation Yoga in Tampa. Since then he has studied with Ida Jo and Scott Lamps at Ghosh Yoga, and countless other mentors along the way. He owns Gaze Hot Yoga in Tampa Heights where he teaches students, and teachers, and is happy to be their student too. Wes’ only goal for his practice is to empower his clients to be aware of their bodies, and facilitate healing.
