I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Even yoga and meditation instructors, well at least this one, experience ebbs and flows in the degree to which they are committed to the practices.

The Christmas holiday this year provided me with more joyous moments than I’ve experienced in years. This was wonderful; And, it made for a rather abundantly full calendar. Knowing this, I set the intention at the beginning of December for what I began calling a Concscious Christmas.

I would fully BE with each one of experiences that were to unfold. To fully embrace the wrapping of the presents, until I was fully in the Christmas Eve mass experience, until the next day when I was fully experiencing the drive to my boyfriend’s brother’s house … Throughout each one of these experiences, I must admit that I found my mind wandering. Each time I began to notice that I was able to gently encourage myself back to the present moment through use of the phrase, “Be here now, Josette!”

While I’m not a big New Year’s Resolution kind of gal, I do believe in using the beginning of a new calendar year as an opportunity to assess how I’ve been conducting my life. Through reflection, I became aware of a few notable things. A) I’d been cutting corners in my meditation practice. Not sitting as long in the AM’s. Or, skipping it altogether. Certainly, sleep was what my body needed after a late evening out at a holiday gathering rather than meditation, right?! B.) I’d also been swapping out my daily yoga practice for the spin bike on many occasions. Certainly, that is where my hindquarters – now grossly at risk of expanding due to the increased caloric intake associated with the holidays – needed to be. And, there just didn’t seem to be enough time for both spinning AND yoga in any given day, right?!

Well, maybe not so much. I was taking liberties. I’d been falling into not so great habits. As a result, I was slowly, over time, becoming less present. I began to notice that I was having to catch myself more and more. I found myself gently drawing back to the phrase, “Be here now, Josette!” Despite the best of intentions, I came to realize that it was high time to re-commit. To move from a month of Conscious Christmas onward into 2017 with a new intention: to proceed with presence.

So, throughout January I’ve been embracing this experience. Research suggests that it takes three weeks, or 21 days, to make or break a habit. With 21 days now under my belt of having re-committed to sitting in daily meditation, as well as connecting through breath to mindful movement most days/week, I can soundly say that I’ve been experiencing that which one of my favorite authors, Marianne Williamson, teaches: “Once everything falls into place, I’ll feel peace. Spirit says, ‘Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.’”

I invite you to join me through presence. Join me in BE-ing here now!