Visualize

To VISUALIZE is to imagine. Visualize your perfect life. Let yourself dream...no restrictions, all of the possibilities. What does it look like? Maybe you have always wanted to live in the mountains, on the coast or in the desert. Maybe you want to pursue your art more extensively. Perhaps you have always wanted to travel, but never have. What is holding you back? Recapture the feeling of wonder and possibility you had as a child. Focus your energy on identifying your true purpose and start to create the life of your dreams. First, take time to discover what inspires you to guide you to your destiny. Then, start small, and do one thing every day to move you closer to that perfect life. Relish the moments of change and discovery along the way. Celebrate each step as you create your perfect life.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Or maybe, just maybe, you are already living your perfect life!

Cathedral Gorge State Park, Panaca, Nevada

" I reach for the sky to visualize my perfect life."

Yoga Pose: Extended Side Angle Pose Utthita Parsvakonasana

An intense pose that allows you to lengthen and stretch to your limit.

Foundation. Start in Tadasana - Mountain Pose. Set your intention.

Stance. Step your feet about 4 feet apart. Turn your left foot out 90 degrees. Turn your back toes slightly to the left. Press your outer right heel firmly to the ground. Bend your left knee to a 90 degree angle, keep the shin perpendicular to the ground so the knee does not extend past the toes. Make sure your left knee presses away from the mid-line.

Arms. Lift and expand your arms to shoulder height. Palms down.

Torso. Exhale and extend your torso to the left directly over the left leg, bending from the left hip, not your waist. Anchor this movement by strengthening your right leg. Rotate your torso to the right, keeping the two sides of your torso equally long. Lengthen your tailbone toward the back heel. Set your left forearm on your left thigh with your palm up. Do not allow your weight to drop into your left arm, but have your core hold the pose. Stretch your right arm toward the sky and then to a 45 degree angle to the left, to create a long line from your heel to your fingertips.

Gaze. Soften your jaw and eyes. Keep your head in a neutral position or turn it to look at your right hand. Smile softly.

Timing. Stay in this pose for several breaths. Inhale to come up, strongly pressing your back heel into the earth and reaching your top arm to the sky. Return to Tadasana.

B R E A T H E

[Repeat on the other side]

Lost Creek Beach, South Beach Area, Newport, Oregon