RE-lease

I've been releasing.  At first it was unintentional.  My new work consumed the majority of my time every day for the past five months.  I dedicated a lot of energy to it.  This dedication took me away . Soon, I found myself letting go of the very things near and dear to me.  I lost priority.  I love my new work.  I don't notice the 12-16 hours days.  I like the feeling of that I am affecting change.  It is a new project for me.  I love the thrill of contributing to stories of success. Unfortunately, along the way, I realize that the more I relished in my new found joy, the more lost I became in my "new" way of life - the very reason I am working so hard in the first place

Losing the Way
When it became clear that I was releasing my day to day touch and connection with my vegan community, no longer having time to create recipes, post pictures, write, or coach others, a few things happened: First, one of my vegan idols reached out to me with an amazing, international offer.  I accepted, adding to my already overloaded basket.  The offer never materialized and was silently withdrawn, presented to someone else.  My idol had released me, seeing what I could not see - that there was no way in which I could truly dedicate any resources and that perhaps a better suited candidate is the way to go.  Second, one of my vegan mentors, with no knowledge of my vegan idol, offered me an incredible opportunity to travel within the states, yet once again I could not partake.  This time, my mentor just let me know the offer will wait for me. Once again, released.  These two things allowed me to look back into the bubble from whence I came  to look with clarity, objectivity, and truth.  I was on the outside looking in. Many had moved on and I lost touch.   I had lost the way.  However, the third occurrence put everything into a perspective.

Finding the Path
My yogic community was the one constant that embraced and supported. It was through this connection that I as able to reconnect with myself. My sisterfriend soulmate  Jen who is forever tapped into my psyche sent me a care package. In it was a mirror with a personal inscription to  reMIND me of who I am, sweet grass to cleanse my environmental BODY, and some music filled with the sounds of gongs to resound balance of SPIRIT.  What a catalyst. the reconnection  of the three key elements of Yoga proved to be.  Yoga for me is the way to my vegan path.  It is who I am.  What an epiphany.  This connection caused me to look again at my "release" with positive instead of negative to change the paradigm of "release"  and instead to see RE-lease.

Establishing Meaning
This experience caused me to examine the prefix "RE".  It means "again".  It is typically a positive prefix.  I pondered how the word "release" became associated with letting go? Perhaps RE-lease is just the opposite.  If to "lease" is to obtain for a period of time, then perhaps RE-lease is to re-establish, to obtain again. Think about it.  Many words that start with the prefix "re" mean just that:  refresh, renovate, re-do, restart, re-engineer, renew, rejuvenate, re-claim, rebound, recalculate, re-animate, regroup, etc.  Of course there are words to the contrary, however this is the  common meaning for RE.  So, I decided to go with the positive.

RE-Leasing
The joy and excitement of returning was exhilarating.  Many of my yogini sisters helped me find the way to my other love - my open, vegan life.  As I coach others and experience in their revelation, I decided to get a coach of my own, someone who can objectively hold the light while I find my way out of the dark.  Fortunately, I was able to sign up with a certified health coach.  With serependity, my new health coach is a yogi.  In just two coaching sessions, she has helped me rework my schedule, prioritize my daily workouts, and design how and when I'll practice yoga, do cardio/aerobic workouts, and  resume my strength/body building training.  I am RE-leasing "me". I have actually begun to  take my days off and work only 5 days a week.  I have shortened my work days to about 10 hours.  I have begun to write again and post pics of my fruits and veggies.

As I return, I do so as a new creature.  Nutritionally, my health coach and I decided I needed a reboot.  I am on a 5 day juice feast to rid my body of the sluggishness I obtained from eating high fat raw vegan such as avocados, nuts, seeds,and almond milk banana smoothies daily.  The detox will get me back on track to low fat raw vegan, energy and vitality - to as she puts it "to give me the energy to do the very things I wish to do".  She helped me to find my balance and for that I am grateful.  It's working.  It's day 2 of my fast.  I am writing, have completed a chakra cleanse, and went outside yesterday and ran for the first time in weeks.

What about you?

Rebooting and Removing:  Juice Feast/Fast

How are things for you?  Do you need to jump start?  I recommend:
Retreat-Yoga, spa, massage
Reboot-Watch movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Rework-routines, re-prioritize
Remove-toxins (mental, physical, and spiritual)

If you don't need to RE-lease, then pay it forward with gratitude, reach out to be a coach to someone else, help them find their way.  Either way, look at any negative and turn it into a positive to know that some times you have to let go in order to gain, that you have to release to find RE-lease

Utthita Hasta Padangustasana -Standing Big Toe Pose

A pose that is grounding, balance, yet REleases to look toward a new direction, allowing you to be present and grounded in the present moment, yet rejoice in the newness of each day and as my dear friend says, to "expand outward"