“You don’t have to force anything,” – Alex Holliday, Yoga Teacher

When I received the initial email about the workshop “Tending the Inner Flame for Vitality” led by Alex, my first reaction was. “No. It’s across town, and I would have to take the bus. It would be a real hassle to get there.”

Then I realized how stupid I sounded.

I used to take Yoga classes at the studio that Alex owned here in San Francisco. It never reopened after COVID, and I was sad. I found the classes incredibly grounding, and I liked that the teachers were all different. I always enjoyed Alex’s classes tremendously.

I stayed on her email list and enjoyed her observations and musings. I was particularly struck by one of her emails about life’s transitions, challenges, and changes. I wrote her back to share my appreciation for her thoughts.

My affirmations for January included being vibrant and exuding vitality. The workshop was reigniting the inner flame for vitality. Why on earth would I say no to this opportunity? I would say no because that is what I have gotten used to doing. It’s no wonder my life was so boring because I was always saying no to opportunities, and even worse, I was saying no to opportunities that were in alignment with my life.

I took the bus and was a couple of minutes late because I forgot to leave 90 minutes before the start time. I have been out of practice for so long that I have forgotten these basic rules.

From the moment I walked in, I was so glad that I attended. The look of joy on Alex’s face and acknowledgment reinforced my belief that it’s the people who have been missing from my environment.

During the class, I was trying to get into the right position for the Triangle pose, and Alex came to adjust me and said, “You don’t have to force anything.”

This is the message of my life right now.

Life is happening quickly, and the people that I truly love, enjoy, and who energize me are all converging in my life at the same time, which is no accident.

Hunger

We were invited to journal during the workshop, and one of the questions was, What am I hungry for?

I’m hungry for vitality, vibrancy, connection with people I enjoy, and adventure.

Alex talked about how our society teaches us to suppress our hunger. This is certainly what I have been doing, and when we suppress too much, eventually we break down and start bingeing. This is why I have been so intentional about praying for wisdom. If you’ve ever been on a restrictive diet, then you know that you’re hungry. When it’s time for the diet to be over, you are eating anything and everything because you have been deprived for so long.

I have to be careful this season of my life as I begin to satiate my hunger because I have been deprived and hungry for so long that I could start doing stupid things. I have been praying for wisdom, discernment, and good judgment so that I don’t make impulsive and bad decisions.

Spark into a Flame

“What do you want within the next six months?” I asked myself

For this spark to become a flame and then allow those chosen few to help me fan the flame within.

How will you know this flickering spark has become a fire?

There will be a complete energy shift

It will be alignment and it will flow

Nothing will be forced

There will be peace

Six months from now is my birthday month, and I believe my life will be completely different from what it is now, and it’s not about the “things.” Prior to this, I was focusing on changing the external circumstances I needed: a new job, a new work environment, new peers, a way to get around people I enjoy again, etc.

This was all true, but that wasn’t the main problem. The main problems were my mindset and energy. Those were still stuck in the wilderness, focused on scarcity, lack, settling, and discouragement. I had to realize that the time had come to an end, and it’s time to step into the next.

My time in the wilderness has come to an end, and now we move on with a mindset of stepping into new opportunities, using the skills I acquired in my wilderness season, such as grit, resilience, and clarity about who I am and what I truly desire in my life.

Yes, there will be a definite change in my circumstances and my environment, but that is all a result of the shift in mindset and energy.

Bruce Springsteen’s song “Dancing in the Dark” captures my energy perfectly. We’re going from bored and frustrated to dancing in the dark.

You can’t start a fire
Sitting ’round crying over a broken heart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
You can’t start a fire
Worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark 

Yes to shifting my professional priorities

At the beginning of the year, I felt a nudge to shift my professional priorities. I am shifting my vision to the future and where I want to go. I wrote a blog post about how I don’t have any concrete career goals at the moment, and while that is true, I do have some concepts of which path I would like to take.

This month, I completed a course in Public Relations writing, and I felt it was a great introduction to the Field and to how to function in that space. I have another class coming up in March, and all of these classes are strengthening my writing skills, which is my primary objective.

I have been training for 20 years, and moving forward, I see it more as supplemental income.  Truthfully, I am ready to move on and take on new opportunities and challenges that will be more intellectually, socially, and financially rewarding.

Double Yes to changing my work environment

This month, I said a Double YES to changing my work environment.  I made a move in my work environment, and it has done wonders. The atmosphere is so much better, and the amenities are, too. Energy is real.  Being in a low-energy space saps energy and drains creativity.

This has the best move of the year.

After one month, I realized I had taken my work environment for granted in the past. I had trained at gyms and studios with great equipment, engaging co-workers, and I was even able to tap into professional development outside of work. That all ended for the most part during the COVID pandemic, and it has been a slow rebuild.  Next month will mark six years since the world shut down, and I think we are just beginning to come out of our holes and understand the impact that time had on our mental and emotional health. The loss of social connection did not just affect young people. It affected adults as well, and we are just now beginning to understand what was lost.

Eight weeks of 2026 have been better than the last six years put together!

This is not an exaggeration. The last six years have been the literal pits. It was drier than the Sahara professionally and personally. There has been terrible loss and grief. It has been dreadful.

The first eight weeks of 2026 have seen the return of so many people that I enjoy and a significant upgrade to my environment.

My energy has also changed.

I am coming back to myself, and this time it is even more authentic. In the past six years, especially, I settled for the short stick and said No way too much, but now I am back to being curious and saying Yes.

I’ll be candid and say that I haven’t said YES to anything scary or challenging yet. I am just getting started and learning to manage my energy again. I went from not having anything going on to having something happening most weekends. I also have to set ground rules for myself to keep from drifting off into crazy town.

Let’s keep the big MO(mentum) going!

More YES to come