Today was my third yoga class at Vinyasa Yoga Center in Emerald Avenue. I smiled when I saw a brown paperclip inside the shala, along the wall where I parked my bag and water bottle. I guess it's a small sign for me to keep going, no matter how difficult. But, hey! I felt much more flexible today than I did in my first two classes. Yoga is part of my 100-day project to look fabulous for my upcoming 30th birthday! Eeeep... you can do it, Nikki!
There are some pretty cool poses: Upward Dog, Downward Dog, Cobra, Warrior 1 and 2, Boat, Bow, Pigeon, and more. I wonder if there's a Paperclip pose...? Hee-hee. Well, I just Googled "paperclip yoga" and here's what I found on this site:
Yamas-Abstensions: The first limb of yoga is the Yamas, or abstentions, and the first Yama is non-violence. We can practice this abstension from violence with ourselves by abstaining from negative self-talk, which is an act violence to wards the self. By utilizing this simple "Paperclip Exercise" we can explore the amazing power of positive thinking, and begin to understand how we can destroy ourselves, sabotage our goals, and crush our spirits through negative thinking. Just for today, fill your left pocket with paperclips, and whenever you make a verbal or mental negative statement about yourself, this is a demeaning, judging, analyzing, criticizing or labeling statement, you transfer a paperclip from the left pocket to the right. When you run out of paperclips, just begin moving them from right to left. At the end of the day, take some time to reflect on what areas of your life, your beliefs and your behaviors seem to be in conflict. Set an intent to begin to make supporting, motivating and encouraging statements to yourself instead-just as you would a child, student or friend. This exercise will help you to find a way to use the power of positive thinking when addressing, assessing or coaching yourself.
How's that for great yoga-paperclip positive philosophy?
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