Author: Ki McGraw

I have been inspired to consider the strategies of forcing versus inviting. I invite you to similarly consider those strategies. Using power and forcing results in resistance, whereas invitation demonstrates respect.

Asking for cooperation, instead of insisting that things go a particular way may seem like the slow path. Forcing may seem initially like a faster path yet the backlash of resistance likely will prove to be ultimately slowed down with set backs. The Yoga Sutras state that a slow and steady application to a principal is the method by which we move toward gracious peace.

Which strategy appeals more to you in order to bring about the changes you desire? Invitation or Force? Ki to Happiness invites you to apply the wisdom of the Sutras to your circumstances.

As a Reiki master, I am able to attune others to this healing energy. Even as I heal myself, I will offer such services to another today. In this way, I am aware of how no one heals alone.

Healing occurs in conscious rest as our systems rebalance to adapt to the needs for wholeness. Reiki holds the space for conscious resting, requiring the recipient to do nothing but receive. Images may occur spontaneously for the furtherance of healing for both the giver and receiver, uniting us in a team of intention, attention and attunement.

Can you allow for conscious resting for your healing needs to be met? Who is on your team, supporting conscious rest, balance and attunement with the Highest? Ki to Happiness heals and is healed through Grace.

We watched a movie from 2014 last night with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. The Giver portrays a futuristic society of Sameness where the inhabitants forget their history and have feelings biochemically sedated. Their use of Precise Language redefines atrocities as necessities for their survival.

With memory comes feelings. Learning from our past so to create a future of better feelings evolves us. Using words facilitates the process, helping us heal as we feel and remember.

How comfortable are you with differences? Can you use words to express how you feel about your memories or would another medium like art serve your healing better? Ki to Happiness remembers and lets emotions flow ever toward Union with the One and its diverse manifestations.

As many dear readers know, I injured my left wrist a couple of weeks ago when I fell inside the studio as I prepared for class. Since then, I’ve been keeping my yoga practices in the morning as usual, continuing to work privately with clients and abstaining from teaching or attending group classes. I’ve been directing all my physical energy toward my healing.

Yesterday, my guidance encouraged me to experiment with light asana practices during Bob’s class. I stayed back up in our private living space and followed his teaching with modifications. The renewed sense of health and vitality is good for my healing, without any setbacks regarding my wrist.

How willing are you to make modifications to your practices? During times of injury or illness, can you find variations that work? Ki to Happiness modifies and varies practices as guided.

With our day off, we did some deep cleaning of our beloved Hatha Yoga Center. All that remains of our holiday decorations is our blooming Amaryllis. It graces my altar, surrounded by several sacred statues.

It bloomed yesterday with 2024’s arrival. Its spontaneous opening reminds me that things take time. Patience is rewarded by the beauty of natural processes.

Can you let things take all the time they need? What do you learn from observing natural processes? Ki to Happiness learns to be patient and facilitate spontaneity.

Happy new year from Hatha Yoga Center. May this year be filled with wonder, abundance, health, and loving peace. My new year begins, like every day, with yoga practice, so that I align with my truest intentions.

I’ve cleared out most of our decorations, gifted all presents, and enjoyed the last of the festive treats. My crockpot is full of Hoppin Johns for the new year, and in the oven, our nutritious broccoli cheddar pie awaits. Spending one more day in my hermitage of healing, I look forward to sharing the miracles I’ve experienced with you all in the coming year.

How have you begun 2024? What practices will help you align with your desires for this new year? Ki to Happiness begins with gratitude for all the blessings of 2023 and practices yoga to stay in right alignment with Divine Will daily.

Happy New Year’s Eve. As you reflect on 2023, may you see your progress. Recognizing many stressors in our lives on all levels, truly its progress simply to have survived.

Hatha Yoga Center has more than survived, with our growing community spreading the word. The mild weather and full attendance in classes through this holidays, we are experiencing the complete opposite of last year at this time. Truly grateful for all the lessons that come with challenge, we face the new year with optimism, hope and peace.

As you look back on 2023, what will you remember? What changes do you want to instigate to make 2024 even better? Ki to Happiness remembers to reflect with a grateful heart, on all the progress and looks forward to more robust health and prosperity in 2024.

When I was a junior in high school, my best friend suffered a tragic loss. All these years later, she and I still talk about it. With enough support from her family and friends, she was able to survive and heal from the horrific discovery of her boyfriend’s dead body from his self inflicted gun shots.

Working with an honorable client yesterday, that story came in handy. She shared a very similar story with me except that she didn’t have any support at the time. Having gone through the process with my high school BF, I could stay present with my client and companion her as she received some of the support and counsel she needed decades ago.

Coincidence or synchronicity? When someone offers you what you needed years ago, can you let it in, regardless? Ki to Happiness sees Divine Intervention in coincidences and synchronicities and offers timeless support to those who are courageous enough to let it in.

Back in June, I heard my mind say “fast away the old year passes”. Out of season, the lyric from Deck the Halls felt out of sync with the fading spring blossoms and leafing out of the trees. Now with just three days left to 2023, we are all in step with the sentiment of the lyric.

I appreciated the advance warning in June. It gave me a chance to feel the speed of time passing as a perspective. In this moment of eternity, all occurs at once — with freedom to enjoy the cycles, seasons, and perspectives.

How fast has 2023 passed for you? What perspective on time brings you to Joy? Ki to Happiness enjoys the freedom to choose perspective. Fa La La La La La La La La.

These days between holidays grace us with change in our usual habits and schedules. Regular rhythms are disrupted with holiday hours, and travel. This annual disruption gives us a chance to tuneup habits for the new year, some with resolutions.

It’s a liminal space between significant days on the calendar. Like the consciousness between wakefulness and sleep, there is a dreamy quality to it, which reveals our otherwise unconscious material. Worked with, we are emboldened to leave the past behind, and bring lessons learned into the present as we prepare for 2024.

What do these days between holidays reveal to you? How can you best integrate the lessons you are learning about yourself for the new year? Ki to Happiness learns the value of downtime for facilitating healing.