It's been a while since my last post. I've been taking lots of time out this Holiday season to go within. Yes, during the holidays, our attention is often drawn outwards. We're bombarded with messages about buying, consuming, socializing, and giving to others. I'm all about giving to others, but I always like to start inside with myself before I go outside. When I do, my offerings to others are richer. 

Giving to myself (giving myself time, space, longer Yoga practices, love, attention) means giving up things as well. It means saying no to the book calling my name, to the social commitment that will drain rather than nourish, to the relationship that isn't working for me, to the overstuffed inbox demanding my attention, to the time wasting activities I engage in when trying to avoid getting quiet and simply being with myself. This past month I've given up blogging so that I can give to myself and be more resourced as I give to others this holiday. 

I'm so enjoying this time of year and the quiet time that I take during Christmas and New Years. Before I hunker down deeper into my holiday Savasana, I wanted to share a few things that you might enjoy in your holiday downtime:

• David Nichtern and Krishna Das did a Nerdist podcast together entitled You Made it Weird. Yes, it's an intriguing title. One of my favorite takeaways was the concept sympathetic joy -- if you're happy, then I'm happy. This podcast made me happy, and I hope it makes you happy as well.
• If you're feeling stressed this holiday season, check out this brief video, The Science Behind Yoga and Stress. You'll learn how yoga helps the brain on stress. I love the reminder of the essence of yoga [hint: it's not about flexibility and looking good in the postures]
• Do you think that injury is inevitable in yoga? I am horrified by how often I've heard people say that it's not a matter of if we eventually injure ourselves in our yoga practice but when. This wonderful article reminds us that injury and yoga do NOT go hand in hand. 
• Thanksgiving may be over but that doesn't mean that we should forget about gratitude. This free 30-day yoga and gratitude challenge offers 30 days of yoga practices that will cultivate balance, flexibility, and joy and amp up your gratitude. 

Namaste!