Poem - I Will Live

I was inspired to write this poem after reading Dawna Markova’s book: I Will not Die an Unlived Life. The poem is a culmination of all of who I am, my life, and my experiences up to this moment in time.  It took four months (February-June) to finalize it from the initial draft penned in my journal.  That's a very tiny fraction of time considering that the poem has been over 51 years in the making since the day I was born. Today, I nervously shared it publicly for the first time with my yoga students at the end of class.  It is no longer my own hidden jewel; it now also belongs to others who touch my life and whose lives I touch.  From my heart to yours, my fellow traveler on this journey of life.

I Will Live

by MaryAnn Broussard

I will live

a passionately embraced life,

savoring every day as if

it is my first and my last.

I will be

graceful and confident,

believing I am worthy and valuable;

that what I have to offer is

more than enough.

The Ocean in One Drop

“So many of us are afraid of meeting ourselves, alone, without distraction.  

We have been taught to fashion an image of 

who we think we are supposed to be and show that to the world.”  

--Dawna Markova in I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, pg 22

We avoid ourselves at our own peril and to the detriment of a life well-lived with utmost fulfillment and healthier relationships.  Our constant states of distraction with the world and the people around us on social media, television, and computer screens drain and rob us of awareness, presence, and wholehearted satisfaction. 

Instead of creating our own inspiring, heroic life stories, we try to wear the stories of others and dress in ill-fitting garments which do not accurately represent who we are now and are still meant to be.  Little by little, we become strangers to the very personal essence of “who I am” and even come to develop fear and phobia of finding ourselves alone with our own company.

If You Can Be Aware of Your Breath, You Can Do Yoga

I like to say to people who doubt their ability to "do" yoga: 
"If you can breathe, you can do yoga."

Being aware of the flow of your breath alone is "doing" yoga.

The video below by Dianne Bondy Yoga is so inspiring! This yoga student may be missing complete use of his legs and feet, but that is not stopping him from living life fully or from enjoying a fulfilling yoga practice.

Bolsters, blocks, blankets, straps, and chairs are helpful and practical yoga tools!

YOUR body, YOUR yoga! 
YOUR attitude, YOUR yoga! 

Live with Creative Intention

It's that time of the year when making new year's resolutions seems to be the thing to do. However, for more uplifting and long-term results, I compassionately encourage the making of *intentions* rather than resolutions.

At the beginning of every one of my yoga classes, I invite my students to create a seed of intention (Sankalpa) for their time on the mat and to plant that beautiful seed deep within the heart to be nurtured and grown. This intention provides focus and direction in how they approach and think about their practice during that hour on the mat.

Intentions set our sights toward the life we want to live. They are powerful seeds which yield abundant results along the journey of life. They have a wider scope of uplifting effects and do not hold hands with failure, as resolutions typically tend to do.

Intentions offer a lifestyle flowing with possibility, creativity and positivity, whereas resolutions are demands from a hard task-master which yell: "get this done or you are a failure!"

There are a number of helpful articles on the internet talking about the differences between resolutions and intentions. Here are excerpts from some of those articles with the titles hyperlinked to the original posts.