Author: Ki McGraw

Those assembled in yesterday morning’s class sang the Beatles song to me when we finished our practice. We had an impromptu birthday party afterwards with healthy treats and tea. This morning, I opened my gifts as part of my meditation.

In these years on the planet, I’ve learned that we have all we need. All we need to do is open up to receive the many gifts of guidance, council, healing, and direction from within. Each year, I am challenged to open up even more to receive the abundance of blessings so that I might be an even better vessel to contain them and allow them to overflow.

What helps you open up to receive your many gifts? How can you best share them from your abundance? Ki to Happiness thanks you all for being alive with me at this time and sharing the yoga path a while.

After teaching my morning classes, we had a surprise visit from our son. He and his dad presented me with birthday flowers. There are so many, each with a special blessing for all of our years together.

 The three of us have always gotten along, as our astrology shows our unique connection. When my husband and I make a composite astrology chart, the result is our son’s birth chart. He’s the beans in our vegan burrito.

How do you celebrate your life? Who surprises you with unexpected visits? Ki to Happiness celebrates with flowers, parading planets, and vegan burritos.

As we look to the sky just after sunset, we may see the parade of planets, all aligned. The spectacle is rarely visible. It’s worth it to allow a moment to view it, with a clear sky.

Hatha Yoga Center will celebrate it with a salutation to the planets in classes. Aligning our chakras like the the planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), will enhance our integration of our multiple levels of consciousness. Yoga Theory states that we have the whole universe within us and today’s alignment may give us a chance to feel body-emotion-will-mind-voice-spirit all tethered to the One in All.

How aligned are you feeling with the One in All? What could facilitate greater integration of your multi leveled awareness? Ki to Happiness salutes the planets and their energy with the chakras.

We shifted our schedule around to accommodate the scheduled door installation only to have it rescheduled. Now we are thinking it will occur, maybe Monday. As tension and stress began to mount over the lack of communication regarding the arrival of the door, I texted the owner of our building and he got right back to me with apologies and action.

He learned that there was a transportation breakdown as well as a communication breakdown and relayed that to us. Our inconvenience was contained to 12 minutes. We breathed through them consciously, then walked off the challenge to continue with our responsibilities so our evening class stayed free from any tension contaminating our beloved students.

How quickly can you contain stress? What helps you return to peace? Ki to Happiness breathes and walks it off.

After 2 1/2 years of dealing with only one functional door, today we are to have the other nonfunctional door replaced. We have adapted to the limitations of only having one for long enough and look forward to having an entrance and an exit for less congestion at our small foyer. This will bring us up to code as we often have 10 or more participants in classes now.

When we moved in, our classes were smaller in keeping with the tail end of the Covid restrictions. The previous owner and property management company didn’t concern themselves with the code, as they were primarily concerned with renting this live-work space. The new owner and property managers are doing everything they can, if slowly, to insure we lease the space for long term and succeed in our business.

How adaptable are you to structural limitations in your environment? Can you patiently and persistently invite improvements without disruption? Ki to Happiness welcomes improvements without disruption.

Many have the idea that yoga increases flexibility. While that is potentially true, some of us need greater stability and strength. Ideally we find a balance between both stability and flexibility so that we can be pain free in our meditation posture. 

One basic principal in meditation is that we are becoming what we attend to. If we are in pain, we become a pain. Finding balance between stability and flexibility lets us attend to our other desires in meditation like alignment with our Higher Self. 

What has been taking your attention in your practices lately? Can you find enough flexibility and stability to hold yourself in right relationship with your higher nature? Ki to Happiness refines practice daily for dynamic functional balance so to attend to Higher Self and its Guidance.

After my morning class, I had a private client, then took a brief rest before heading out to see my chiropractor. I returned and walked with Bob, as he shared with me that the building inspectors showed up outside, but never knocked to come inside. In that moment, I became aware that I had completely forgotten about their potential entrance.

I proceeded on to another private session grateful for our teamwork. I remembered that the property management company had alerted us to the building inspection with little warning, and delegated that completely to Bob as my schedule didn’t allow me to meet with them. At the end of the day, I felt relief and gratitude for all the events of the day and our team.

Do you feel like you have to do everything yourself or do you trust others to help?  Can you let go completely and trust others to do their part? Ki to Happiness counts on her team and does nothing truly alone.

How ever anyone feels about today’s inauguration, we have a national holiday honoring MLK. His dream inspires our nation. I share his dream and am grateful for others who do, too. 

Hatha Yoga gives us tools with which to make that dream a reality. Classes will be held today with the intention of healing our internal divisions so we can integrate our disparate aspects into One. As we do, we become more tolerant and accepting of others, including them in our prayers for peace so all can pursue happiness, liberty and justice.

How will you observe MLK day? Would a safe space and yoga practice help? Ki to Happiness dreams of peace and prays for peace today and everyday.

As our country approaches Inauguration Day, Hatha Yoga Center continues to offer safe and grounding practices. It’s important to find stability within while there’s much instability in the outer world. Change is constant, as is the free will we each have to choose how we react to it.

I choose the breathe deeply with my spine long and neutral today long like everyday. I’ve done so through many outer events, having done all I can to bring about peace and unity. I plan to continue to practice and teach for the duration and “die with my boots on”, contributing to the nobel mission of peace on earth, who ever is in whatever color house.

What grounds you and keeps you stable in the midst of constant change? How can you best use your free will to fulfill your noble mission? Ki to Happiness keeps practicing Yoga.

We presented our newest Yoga Teacher Trainee her certificate after she attended class. Her perseverance and determination have prevailed against many odds to realize this accomplishment.

She started her training with us before Covid. Others in her training group either already graduated or never returned. She slowly did, accommodating the societal constraints, our move, her job change, physical injuries and a relationship break up and now has her own business, a new relationship and health with a deep commitment to the yoga path.

What have you accomplished against many odds? How do you make use of your success? Ki to Happiness celebrates serious determination (Shraddha) and serves from an abundance of this quality.