Positive course and things you can do to motivate yourself

I am taking a positive thinking course this month at a local yoga centre.  Not that I am not positive but to see if I can learn new things to share with my clients.  The other reason is what I tell others, you do have to make the effort to remind your self that you have a choice on how you view things that happen in your life.  

It is based on 5 points of yoga:

1.  Proper Exercise

2.  Proper Breathing

3.  Proper Relaxation

4.  Proper Diet

5.  Positive thinking and mediation.

We also learned about the 3 Gunas.  This I knew a lot about, but not the way it related to yoga.  So, to share if you are not aware of them:

Sativa - This is where you want to be.  This is your life in balance.  This is happiness. This is peace and harmony.  This is the goal.

Rajas - This is when you are living your life with too much stress and anxiety.

Tamas - This is heavy, like depression. You feel lethargic and don't want to face the changes you need to make.  

The real trouble is that when you are in Rajas and Tamas, it takes a lot of action to get out of it.  So the best thing is to set a challenge to make your self do it for 30 days.  Then once you are started, the momentum begins to take over as you feel better and better.  So start immediately!

The first two classes where really interesting.  We were given "homework" to do after each class.  The first was to work on bringing meditation and affirmations into your daily life.  I do use affirmations when I am out walking the dog, but I didn't do enough mediation.  I decided to work it into a mediation/self hypnosis.  It really lifts your spirits, and rejuvenates your mind and body.  ~Try it and you will see for yourself.  

The next homework assignment was to try not to complain about others.  OMG, that is really amazing.  I was shocked how many times I complain about others during a normal day.  I am not talking about hate, just little annoyances about people I know and didn't know.  For example, on the bus ride to Kingston, I found myself annoyed by someone talking too loud, and someone who wanted to cut in front of us to get on the bus first.  It was little things like that I found were going through my mind during the day.  It all adds up by the end of the day to be a lot.  So when I catch myself doing it, I am now saying a positive affirmation to reduce the negative thoughts.

I already feel more blessed to have learned these two simple but effective techniques to pass on to others.