Hello Yogis, 

I hope this finds you well and you are having peace in your life this Holiday Season.

I've been a bit behind on my writings due to a promotion, divorce, and new found single motherhood. Though my life has thrown me some curve balls and I have dropped them a few times I am so very thankful to have the philosophy of the Yama's and NiYama's to guide me as well as my faith. To me faith is something that is so precious and personal it can be hard to put into meaningful words. The yogic philosophy is faith in action. These are a guide for anyone, believer or non believer, religious or non religious. There is no deity in these words only goodness and kindness. As his holiness the Dalai Lama said "My religion in loving kindness". I would like to add that I personally believe all religion or humanity should manifest itself in "loving kindness". 

Brahmacharya:

Brahmacharya is how we use our life force, our energy, to 
be balanced or unbalanced.  When we are out of sorts our life usually reflects this. Things start to look messy literally and figuratively. For myself and the transitions in my life I have worked very hard to keep a clean house, semi clean car and keep the yard tidy. However on the other side of that I have had to let some things go and walk out of the house with it a little messy or let my kids eat frozen lasagna in order to get my work done. Life will hand you opportunities for practicing balance and moderation, as my dear friend and sister soul mate Stacey said to me the other day "We spend our life chasing balance." Yes we do. The most dedicated, honest, and good people will become off balance.This is where we start to practice moderation, moderation in our actions: Not eating to much, drinking to much, getting yourself into unhealthy relations with others, being mindful of your exercise  and sleep. Moderation is good but there is also another powerful tool you can add and that we read about earlier: The practice of Ahimsa or "Kindness" kindness to self,  kindness to others, thinking of what others need and what you need is a powerful way to bring balance into your life.  So if your life throws you a curve ball find ways, even as small as they are to be kind to yourself and forgiving of yourself. Do the special things in your life to counter the stress and you will find yourself returning to that place we all desire as yogi's to be "The present moment, the oneness with the universe and the oneness with the divine we all hold in our heart."