One of the keys to creating lasting change in our lives is adjusting the container of our physical bodies to be able to sustain it.

Imagine you decide you want to dramatically increase your muscle mass.

You don’t jump from having the thought to looking in the mirror and seeing your arms have grown to twice their normal size.

You start by considering how you’re fueling your body and if you need to make any changes. You add in certain exercises and maybe hire a personal trainer. Your physical body begins to transform over time until one day you can look in the mirror and see the change.

It’s very similar for all the other patterns you want to create in your life. Our physical body and nervous system need to have time to catch up with our rapid mind.

I’ve found that weaving coaching skills and inquiry into my yoga practice has allowed me to create sustainable expansion in all areas of my life.

I work with yoga practitioners who are committed to creating reality from their wildest dreams of what’s possible in relationship, work and life.

A topic that arises with every coaching client, no-matter their financial means, is abundance. How can I have it? How can I sustain it? How can I live my life the way I want if I’m not yet earning the income to match my lifestyle desires?

The first place to look is within.

1. Are you really willing to have it? I found when I started to open up to greater abundance, I came up against friends and family who were jealous. As I opened up to an ecstatic marriage I encountered people who were lonely and disheartened. As I opened up to greater financial ease I encountered pushback from family who still believed I should be working 40 hour plus workweeks to earn an abundant income and that I was crazy to think I could do it in under 20 hours.

It forced me to get honest with myself and see if I was really willing to have abundance beyond what some of my friends and family experienced, and perhaps lose some connection with them because of it. Look for any area you may not be fully willing to have abundance yet and claim it. Say out loud what you are willing to have and what you’re not willing to have, knowing that it is constantly changing and you’re simply speaking what’s true in this moment.

2. What language are you using? Are you saying to want abundance and talking about all the things you can’t afford? Clear out the “can’t” from your vocabulary and start distinguishing between what’s possible and what you’re choosing in this moment. Then, “I can’t afford a car” turns into, “I’m choosing to ride my bike” or “I’m choosing to invest in travel instead of a car.” By claiming what you’re really doing you step out of being a victim and back into your power. This sends a clear message to your whole body, and everyone around you, that you are making empowered choices.

3. Embody the feeling of abundance. Enter into a yoga practice as if you already have all the abundance you desire. How would you move knowing you have plenty of love, health, money or whatever it is you desire to manifest? How would you breathe? What sounds would you make? It doesn’t take a long time to tap into your body’s wisdom.

I’ve created a short video to support the embodiment of abundance and get you started in opening up your nervous system.

As you practice, circulate the question: “What does my body know about cultivating abundance?”

Love elephant and want to go steady?

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Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Used with Permission by Renee Fox Photography