A Little Work, A Lot of Heart

If I told myself I could not do things, if I told myself that my dreams were stupid, if I told myself it did not matter, I would not be writing this to you. How often do we shut down our dreams and our ambitions before we even get a chance to try them?
My yoga students often tell me that they can’t do a pose and I respond, “You are strong enough and the only thing that is stopping you is you.” I love when they surprise themselves and finally jump into handstand, hold an arm balance or stretch further than they thought possible.
Our lives parallel our yoga practice more than we ever realize. If we tell ourselves we are not strong enough, not capable enough, not determined enough, when we are on our yoga mats, when and where else do we say these same things?
Life will undoubtedly give you obstacles, but you do not need to be one of them. When an obstacle gets in front of me, I look at it like learning an arm balance. It may be hard. It may take awhile to conquer. But, I know I will do it and I know I will become stronger in the process.
When I started college, I took a learning assessment test. The results were a little astonishing. Somehow, I had a vocabulary and grammar level of a freshman in high school, but had the reading comprehension level of a junior in college. So, I could comprehend entire paragraphs, but struggled with things individually. We knew I overcame some learning barriers, but we also knew I had a lot of work to do. I met with writing specialists and my English teachers daily and had others critique everything I ever wrote in college. I eventually fell in love with what caused me so much heartache and changed my major to English Communications.
When I received my first bad grade on a college essay, I could have decided that I was a bad writer and that it was not my strong point. Rather, I decided that anything was possible and that I was not only going to be a great writer, but that others would eventually read what I write. In retrospect, it took a little bit of work and a lot of heart.
Life will give you obstacles, hard days and seemingly impossible yoga poses, but with a little work and a lot of heart, you will overcome them all.
Thank you for reading and being a part of my journey,
With light and love,
XO
L
As promised here are the recipes for Xinalani’s amazing granola!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ingredients Gluten Free Granola:
4 cups of Amaranth
1/2 cup of flaxseed
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of sunflowers seeds
1/2 cup of chia seeds
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of pecan nuts
1/2 cup of ground cacao beans
3/4 cup of agave nectar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of canola oil
Ingredients Regular Granola:
4 cups of oatmeal
1/2 cup of flaxseed
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of chia seeds
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of pecan nuts
3/4 cup of agave nectar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of canola oil
Directions are the same for both:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC, mix everything on a shallow metal pan for oven cooking, keep it in the oven until it’s crispy, approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure to whisk every 8 minutes to prevent clumping mass.