The day I realized I’ve been working my ass off to glorify myself, not working to glorify God.

 

My heart hurt when I had this epiphany on a quiet morning drive to my yoga studio!

 

I thought …what if I took the passion I have for doing what I love and gave it all to God.

 

Would things look different?

 

All this time I’ve been stressing to keep my yoga business running.

 

I’ve kept God out of my yoga business while asking for his help at the same time.

 

That doesn’t make sense, right?!

 

Yoga is an ancient practice of breath, asana, and meditation. It’s not a religion. Period.

 

Why was I afraid to include faith in my yoga business?

 

I thought I could give God half of my hard work, my tears, my joy, my pride, and my sacrifice. That this would be more than enough.

 

Within a few seconds of this epiphany, I heard the whisper…a clear sense of knowing that God can never be glorified when we only give Him half of our attention.

 

God is our Father and doesn’t want to be separated from us in any way. He wants to be our full container of love, trust, and the one true source of our peace and strength.

 

How would I feel if He only gave me half?

 

What if God gave me just half of his forgiveness, half of his blessings, and only half of his love?

 

Hmm …I thought honestly.

 

I really don’t like to do anything half-assed, so why was I?

 

My true nature is usually to go all-in on something when truly believe in it.

 

I’ve done this with my yoga practice and my business. I’ve gone all in!

 

Why was my faith different?

 

I’ve have lived my life by this mantra: “When my head and my heart are in alignment, things are always right for me”

 

I’m aligned on most every big decision, but realizing my faith and yoga business were misaligned was a humbling, honest truth.

 

In order keep my body in alignment, I make the effort - I get on my mat, I do the practices, I work through discomfort, and often time constraints to make it happen.

 

In business I work hard daily, I teach the classes, I manage the studio operations, the program, the teachers' schedules, and relations with our students each and every day.

 

So when it came to my faith this year…I decided to ask Jesus for his forgiveness and go all in with Him.

 

It was a very natural feeling to say those words out loud and shed tears from holding back so long.

 

I was asking for God's forgiveness for having only one foot in my relationship with him.

 

When I stopped to think it made perfect sense.

 

There aren’t any good relationships that I know of when two people commit to one another, but only one person puts forth half the effort.

 

I’ve ended this type of half in, half out, personal relationship a time or two myself.

 

I’ve had to learn the hard way more than I’d like to admit!

 

My ego and my thinking were always too self-assured.

 

I thought I could control my life, and keep my relationship with God separate.

 

I would unconsciously rely on Him as needed and more when trouble came knocking at my door.

 

This year I asked him to please toss me back in the holy water and allow me to restart my relationship with Him.

 

This time around I’ll put both feet in.

 

I’m grateful he didn’t drown me! :)

 

I asked him to help me put all my attention on Him first, my husband and my family second, and my yoga business last. This looks easy on paper, doesn’t it?!

 

I asked to surrender to his will instead of mine, especially when the things I feel need to happen don’t work out exactly like I planned.

 

I asked him to redirect me and remove any obstacles keeping me from focusing on Him.

 

The most important thing I asked for was to help me love more people without judgment, especially my neighbors.

I asked to be brave in declaring my faith and living it better too.

 

I’m proud to finally declare my Love for a man named Jesus that lived and died for all of us on the cross.

 

We all have a different cross to bear in this life. His was for us.

 

I’m sharing my faith here with you openly because it’s been reignited in a way that finally feels authentic.

 

Just like yoga, you can’t rush the process on your spiritual journey. I feel happy to share what’s real for me at this moment in time on my life path.

 

Maybe someone will read this and feel something.

 

For the past 6 years, I have shared my passion and purpose of bringing yoga to the people.

 

Before I opened YLC, I spent years traveling to multiple studios, teaching and training while immersing in all things yoga.

 

YogaLifeCenter is more than a place to take a class. It's a special community of dedicated students and teachers that love learning about themselves through the traditional yoga methods and meditation we offer.

 

I’ve discovered that the practices we teach and my love for Jesus can dwell harmoniously together side by side.

 

My faith is no longer part time, it’s a continuous, steady practice just like yoga, and it requires my effort.

 

Yoga is a practice.

Religion is practice.

Surrendering to God is a practice.

Following Jesus is a personal choice.

It’s that simple.

 

Our yoga practice is designed to strengthen our body, but most of its fruit is found in subtle aspects of the practice.

 

A calm mind and a peaceful spirit are what many students experience with consistent practice.

 

This is what keeps them returning to their favorite yoga classes.

 

This is also what made me first realize yoga is medicine.

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Ancient yoga text speaks to this.

 

When we take final rest at the end of our yoga practice (“Savasana”), we are encouraged to surrender to a higher power within.

 

This is God.

This is spirit.

 

What or who you surrender to is personal.

 

Is it God?

 

Is it spirit?

 

It is One.

 

This is no one’s business.

 

Whatever you call it …it will always belong to you.

 

I said yes to Jesus forever and made the personal decision to go all in.

 

I’ve never been so sure about a decision I’ve made before like this one, including opening a yoga business.

 

I have a different sense of calm now that I can’t explain.

 

There is a new peace in my life even while in the midst of my life struggles, chaos, and business uncertainty that I’ve learned will forever come and go.

 

This peace is tangible, like a warm hug from a loved one or a gentle reassurance in conversation with a good friend.

 

Having a life insurance policy in place…just in case things go sideways, is a good analogy for faith.

 

Yoga is my healthcare plan so this actually makes sense to me.

 

I’ve often wondered if God tests our faith?

 

Yes, I think so.

 

He never stops searching for his lost sheep.

 

Switching gears a bit…

 

There definitely is a palpable shift in the spiritual world right now when it comes to God. I feel it.

 

Especially with the younger generation, I’ve noticed it myself when attending Catholic mass at my church.

 

People are returning back to prayer.

 

I see families attending church together like never before.

 

We are consciously making the decision to turn back toward God’s promise.

 

I’ve tried life without God, and it doesn’t go well for me. I rely on having God’s foundation.

 

He promises to love us, heal us, to forgive us, strengthen our spirit, and heal the deepest parts of our soul.

 

Placing our attention on Him instead of ourselves and not becoming consumed by world demands, noise, and material distraction feels kind of liberating.

 

I've seen Jesus trending on social media the past year. Following Jesus seems to be pretty cool again!

 

This is an amazing time for all of us, my dear brothers and sisters, in spite of the many circumstances weighing on our hearts and minds.

 

Remember God is good and you are good.

 

His promise is to use all of our pain, suffering, and trouble for good - nothing shall be wasted.

 

Knowing anyone can have a relationship with Him, comforts me.

 

I ask for his mercy daily.

 

I will continue to send out prayers for peace and love in the world to all beings.

 

Lastly…

 

I’ve learned from my own experience, God’s voice is a soft whisper you may not always pay attention to.

 

Other times his voice is a firm knock on your door (trouble) - something that gets louder…when he knows you are not listening.

 

Why wait until he breaks the door off the hinges to slow down and to listen to His gentle whispers.

 

Keep the faith and keep practicing with all your heart.

 

Namaste,

Victoria✌🏼🩵🙏