41
november/december 2017yogajournal.com.auFill up your Love Tank
Love Tank is a term I use a lot in my
teachings to help my clients understand
how full or depleted they are, and how
to fill themselves back up without
accompanying feelings of guilt.
LOVE TANK QUIZ
(rate out of 5: 5 being a lot,
and 0 being not at all)
Home: How much do you
love being in your home?
Health and fitness: How
content are you with the amount
of time you allocate to fitness?
Business/Careers: How content
are you with your career/
business right now?
Relationships: How content are
you with the current time you
make for connection with
family and friends?
Personal development:
How well do you deal with
challenging situations?
Contribution/Community:
How content are you with your
contribution to your community?
Spirituality: How connected
to yourself do you feel?^
How did you score? What areas of your
life did you score less than three in?
What does this tell you about yourself
and the parts of your life where you may
be lacking passion and enthusiasm?
Discovering your passions
Ask yourself these questions:
If money wasn’t an issue, what would
I be doing differently right now?
When was the last time time I stood
still? What was I doing?
Unveiling your dharma
(life purpose)
So, how do you know? Well, you can
start with yoga. I truly believe that the
power of yoga practice assists every
person to connect with his or her true
sense of purpose. How do you connect
to what you should be doing while
you’re in a Downward Dog perspiring
Lauren Veronais a
passionate businesswoman,
yoga teacher and single
mum. She has created
and grown four thriving
yoga communities across
Australia and recently
an online yoga studio
including live classes. She is also a
motivational speaker and hosts her own
seminars and workshops at her Buddina
and Noosa Zenko studios. For more
about Lauren, see http://www.laurenverona.com
http://www.aliveyogi.com and
http://www.zenkoyoga.com.auand wondering what’s for dinner, you
ask? Well, treating your yoga practice as
it has been designed (as a self-study tool)
can help you to tune into your true
passions. You notice those ‘dinner’
thoughts, then notice the very fact
you are having the thought. Insert
mindfulness here and, over time, you
are able to steer the thoughts, control
them, and ultimately choose them.
Then the juicy bit follows — you
begin to ask yourself what thoughts
serve you — and that’s where the
learning takes place.
When we learn to simply observe and
tame the busy, monkey mind, we start to
operate differently. No longer do we play
the victim in our own story, but we start
to connect to a higher source and unveil
what fills up our love tank. We begin
to love and appreciate ourselves so
much that we emanate positive energy,
in turn attracting positivity. We attract
abundance, like-minded friends, and
begin to see that nothing happens by
chance – the universe is delivering based
on what you are putting out there.
When we understand this, we attract
more of this abundance into our lives,
giving us more energy and zest for life.
Step one: Practice yoga with
intention. Step two: Discover within
your practice, beneath the layers of
thought, what you are truly passionate
about. Step three: Do more of that. It’s
as simple as that. The rest will flow
effortlessly.Connecting with purpose
I remember exactly where I was when
I connected with mine. I was in the
middle of filming my first yoga DVD
and it just hit me — I was completely
present. I felt whole, and although I’d
been teaching yoga for over five years,
the thought of sharing the practice
with viewers around the world filled
me with immense joy and emotion.
If you haven’t discovered your dharma
yet, don’t despair. Firstly remember
that dharma comes in many forms,
and while you may not feel completely
fulfilled in one area of your life, it’s
possible to express your dharma in
other areas. Perhaps you don’t feel
thrilled about your day job, but you have
a creative outlet that fills you with joy.
Be patient, have gratitude and continue
your yoga. It’s just like K. Pattabhi Jois
said, “Do your practice and all is
coming.”MEDITATION TO DISCOVER
YOUR PURPOSE
Find a comfortable seat and close your
eyes. Begin to concentrate on your
breath. If the monkey mind wanders,
gently encourage it back to the present
moment — keeping your attention
on the rise and fall of your belly, or
the sensation of air at your nostrils.
Visualise yourself 10 years from today.
Imagine the scenery around you.
Tune into the sounds. Are you eating
something? See if you can tune into
the taste. Take in the smells around
you. Where are you and what are
you doing? Is it day or night? Are you
engaged in an activity? Imagine what
plans you might have for the rest of
the day, or what you have been doing
earlier. Imagine feeling whole. How
does that feel in your physical body?
What is it about your life that creates
that feeling of completeness? Now,
slowly take your mind back through the
past 10 years. What are the steps that
you’ve taken to land here? What have
you needed to let go of? Take as long
as you like in this meditation (a minimum
of 15 minutes is recommended).
To complete, come back to the
present moment, maintaining a gentle
awareness of your breath. Once you
have opened your eyes, allow yourself
to marinate in the feeling of whole-ness.
Remember, you are what you feel.
You are complete in this moment and
everything is exactly as it should be.
Remember to enjoy the journey.