Naked First-Person Shantis

At the end of one of my classes, we
chant shanti, shanti, shanti. Three times. The first is to beam
something wonderful and healing for ourselves. The second is to beam
something wonderful to someone else. The third is to send peace to
the planet.

My goal this week is to share a bit of
that first one, our wishes for ourselves. I figure we can name them,
and then collectively beam them for each other. If yours are
private, just type in @#@#@, and we’ll beam that your private wish
comes true.

Okay. My yoga wishes for myself:

1. I’d like a good body out of
   this. I want good legs, a good bum, strong shoulders and abs, and
   one of those ultra-peaceful foreheads you see on the yoga models.
   I’d like to be one of those yoginis who looks 47 years younger
   than she is. That means I’d look like a two-year-old, but I’m
   okay with that.

2. Because my shallow vanity is exhausting, I’d like to care less about
   everything in #1.

3. I’d like to remember to be
   grateful for my excellent health.

4. I’d like to feel as intoxicated
   by the rest of the day as I do during my practice.

5. I’d like my trip toward a
   peaceful mind to be faster.

6. I’d like to become patient if #5
   doesn’t happen soon.

7. I’d like learn to take excellent
   care of myself consistently, and not in spurts which only partially make up for the times I’m drawn to salt and sugar like a bloodsucker to an open aorta .

8. I’d like to be a walking,
   talking, shining advertisement for the benefits of yoga.

9. I’d love to lean so selflessly into
   capital-L Love that you couldn’t look my way without seeing yourself as the Love you are.(This is a perilously loose paraphrasing of Meister
   Eckhart.) This is the one I care about the most. It’s possible that it is least likely to occur while I give a fig about the others. What can I say. I am a work in progress.

Those are my naked first-person
shantis. I’d love to hear yours. Next time we’ll do our wishes
for another.

Thanks to yoga for making me aware of
who I am, from the tawdry surface to the tenderhearted interior.

Thanks to you, always, for the
conversation,

kristin

Dr.
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (About All
Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on the web,
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