Daily assignments for living the yogi’s life with Kino MacGregor.

To check A Week of Self Reflection, click here. 

To check A Week of Acknowledgements, click here.

To check A Week of Internal Peace, click here.

To check A Week of Contentment, click here.

To check A Week of Healing, click here.

To check A Week of Gentle Action, click here.

To check A Week of Self-care, click here.

To check A Week of Surrender, click here.

To check A Week of Loving Kindness, click here. 

To check A Week of Focus, click here.

To check A Week of Love, click here.

To check A Week of Calm, click here.

1. Destiny.

You have everything you need. You have a valuation contribution to make to this world. You are chosen for a unique purpose. You are an instrument of divine will. All you need is to surrender into your destiny. Today’s yogi assignment is destiny.

I used to wonder why I was here, what I was meant to do, what my purpose in life was. Until I decided to go to India to meet my teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, I had been fumbling along a path that never left me satisfied. I remembered thinking that I just wanted to find the one thing I was put on this Earth to do and then do it with all my heart. There is no way I could have avoided what has been a lifelong spiritual journey for me. Through periods of depression, though manic states of activity, through achievements, solitude, relationships, travel and my daily yoga practice there has always been one goal, whether I consciously knew it or not. My whole life has been a quest for the inner peace that only comes from knowing God directly, beyond the intellectual question of whether or not there is or isn’t a God, beyond the question of what religion is. I have been yearning for the sacred, holy, direct experience of infinite truth, peace and love that can only come from one source, a true wisdom from the direct perception of the spiritual world, to know who I truly am by seeing myself through the eyes of spirit. This is my destiny. What’s yours?
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2. Community.

Life isn’t a race. You’re not in competition with anyone, including yourself. It isn’t any better if you get there in a big rush. In fact, it might just be more fun to savor each step of the journey. In the mad dash for faster, bigger, better and just generally more, we may lose sight of the real reason why we are here. We are here to love each other. When you find yourself running to some self-created goal or judging yourself by some external metric, remember that all that matters is the love you share. What matters is how you treat people, not whether you’re the leader of the pack. If you want to be truly first then learn to serve. If you want people to respect you, then respect them first. If you run someone over on the road to enlightenment that defeats the whole propose of the journey.

Today’s yogi assignment is community. You are not a one-person show. Life is a patchwork of many different people coming together like a symphony. Even if you think you’re destined to be the soloist, what makes it possible for you to shine is the whole orchestra, the stage production crew, the house manager, the audience. And when the show is over what matters more than any fleeting moment of fame is the love you’ve shared along the way. To be humble, to be kind, to lend a helping hand, to speak words of life, to offer blessings, to respect yourself and others. To live is to love. Everything else passes away, but the love you share lasts forever.
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3. Language of love.

We all speak our own individual language of love. Gary Chapman’s five languages of love show that we all speak, express and understand love differently. For one person a small gift carries meaning. For another it’s a kind word that makes a difference. Still others want nothing more than a hug. It could be just spending quality time and being intimate. Some people understand love through devotion, acts of service as small as emptying the dishwasher.

Today’s yogi assignment is the language of love. The first step in loving someone is to know them. If you give someone a gift but what they really want is a hug it won’t make the deepest impact. If you demand quality time from someone who really just needs to hear positive, affirming words it will hit just off center. If you feel unloved by the people in our life you may be reading their actions all wrong. Take time to learn what your language of love is and learn how your friends and family express love. So often when you meet someone who “gets it,” it may just mean that they speak your language of love. Learning to speak the love language of the people you care most about means that you will meet at the spiritual heart more often. My language of love is act of service and my husband’s is physical affection so we meet somewhere in the middle. What’s your love language? 
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4. Obedience.

I’m a fighter, tenacious to a fault. I don’t walk away, back down or quit. I can also be rebellious, willful and stubborn. I thought strength meant sticking to your guns but sometimes walking away is the strongest and bravest thing you can do.

I remember trying some yoga arm balances 15 times in a row, demanding my body get into the pose. People suggested that I stop but I kept going. I never stopped to ask my body how it felt or what it wanted to to. I just ploughed through. Did it serve me? Not really. I got tired, exhausted and left feeling defeated. Then one day it was like another path just started to be revealed. Instead of fighting for the poses I could ease my way into them. All it took was surrender. I had to let go of my attachment to doing the pose that day or any day. Then I had space to listen to the body, wait for guidance and follow the path being presented.

How many times have you heard a voice offering gentle guidance only to turn away from it in favor or your personal preference? How many times have you heard the body ask for mercy but push through only to end in pain? Listening to the inner voice of wisdom also comes with the responsibility to follow the path as it is revealed. Today’s yogi assignment is obedience. Drop the struggle, drop the ego, drop all attachments. Discover the transcendent peace that comes from trusting the divine plan that is specially designed for you. Blinded by ambition, anger or anxiety you will never find your true self. Let it all go so you can become who you already are. You are strong. You are filled with an imperturbable peace.
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5. Discernment.

Today us a brand new day—the sun is shining, everything is a blessing. Even those things that seem like obstacles are actually blessings. There is a divine plan unfolding in your favor. There are powerful forces at work in your life that are fighting for your happiness.

Today’s yogi assignment is discernment. The grand plan of our destiny belongs to our higher power. In order to trust the path ahead and know which way to go you’ll need to distinguish between the truth and untruth, between the eternal and the temporal. If one road closes, its often because a better one is waiting for you. Don’t rush or you might mess up the all the moving parts. You know when it all works out, when like magic things seem to fall effortlessly into place, when all the cards fall in your favor. These moments happen not out of will, but out of surrender. Set your mind to any situation and take no action until you can discern what is the best course. Wait for guidance, listen with your heart, then follow it.
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6. Practice.

After 12 hours of sleep I crawled on my mat today for a very lazy, sleepy primary series. Some days I feel like a hero for even getting on my mat.

Practice doesn’t need to be perfect, you just need to get on your mat. Today’s yogi assignment is practice, Abhyasa. Get on your mat. Even five minutes has the power to change your day, clear out emotions that have been bogging you down and set your intention to live a more peaceful life.
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7. Happiness.

Happiness is not a finite resource to be guarded under lock and key. The more you give the more you have. It spreads, multiplies and grows when you share it. People around you notice it, feel it and are positively effected. What blocks you from happiness are almost always internal obstacles and not external circumstances no matter how tempting it is to blame them.

Happiness is always waiting for you on the other side of anger, judgment or depression. It sits there like a secret prize for you to claim when you’re ready to drop the struggle and surrender. Think about this: how many times have you ruined a day by taking something personably, speaking harshly, being overly critical, unforgiving or just generally sour? What was stopping you from being happy?

Today’s yogi assignment is happiness. The most important thing to understand is that you are responsible for your own happiness. Don’t wait around for someone or something to change before you allow yourself be happy. Feel yourself as whole and completed, powerful and pure. Find the keys to your own happiness in the garden of your heart. Hold no grudge and forgive easily. Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.

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Author: Kino MacGregor

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photo: Tim Feldman/Instagram/Web