Last year, I took a leap and stepped away from the comfort of a salaried managerial position to pursue my passion as a yoga teacher and coach. It took me months of living in the world of "what if" for me to finally take the leap. I feared for my financial stability. I worried that I would be leaving a career path that I had put 5 years of commitment and dedication into that had the potential of a challenging and rewarding future. I kept thinking that I was betraying my husband by thinking of my wants and needs in my career, and that I wouldn't pull my weight for our family. I was scared as hell that I would fail. Stories from my past as an actress kept coming up telling me that I once again was starting over and that I wasn't good enough in a very saturated market. I was miserable, depressed, fearful, and plateaued.

Does all of this sound familiar?

And then I did something. I decided to trust myself. I came back to my core values of love, family, balance, nourishment, creativity, and connection. I envisioned the life that I desired living to these values. Though comfortable, stable, and content in my manager role, I knew that by living my higher purpose, connecting with people on a deeper level, stimulating my creativity, and practicing love in my new path, that I would be happier and fulfilling my dreams. I recognized that I already had everything I needed to succeed and find contentment.  

So, I flipped my 'what if' story for a hard work ethic and passion for serving others. The universe listened. In 24 hours of leaving my transitional job, I had 13 yoga classes, a part-time job, and enrolled in my coaching training. I immediately felt present, joyful, excited, nervous, and positive about what was happening. By allowing myself to let go of craving for more and living in the future, the universe gave me exactly what I needed to continue in the present and learn from its teachings.

When you don't truly desire something, focus on the past, and fuel negativity, the universe can feel your energy.

I have seen this happen countless times to coworkers, friends, and family. When you let go of expectation, turn away doubt, and trust in the universe, abundance will flow. Many of us (including myself) have moments where we are living from a place scarcity, jealousy, and fear. There is so much suffering in this world, and it's easy to forget the amount that we already have.  

Abundance is defined: A large quantity of something. We have the chance to offer abundance in our love, money, career opportunities, talents, and so much more if we just put our minds in the right place. 

When fear, anxiety, jealousy, and frustration takes over, what can you do to practice abundance?

• Write down everything that you have that brings you joy.
  • Are you focusing your energy on things that bring you anxiety? Do you want to practice abundance in order to gain more in the material world? Work to lead from a place of joy and love. Will the outcome of a challenge bring you more joy or more conflict? If it brings you joy, begin to create a mindset that manifests an end result full of joy, love, and gratitude. If you visualize and only see conflict, try to readjust your goals, intentions, and perspective.
• Intentional Thoughts lead to Inspired Action
  • If your thoughts are consistently judgmental, doubtful, negative, and full of self-pity, your actions and results will only develop from the latter. If your thoughts are from a place of lacking, so will your solutions and results. When you focus in on what you CAN change, and what you already have to create abundance, the universe will provide.  Focus on shifting perspective through positive, intentional, and mindful thoughts.
• Practice non-attachment
  • Aparigraha (Non-attachment) is the last Yama (ethical rules of the 8 Limbed Path of the Yoga Sutras). It asks us to practice presence and decide what we truly need. When we cling to what we want, we close ourselves off to the openness of receiving. This can be applied not only to material objects, but the things in your life that do not serve you. This may be a toxic relationship, energetic depletion of an activity, material possessions, food, and more. 
• Embrace the obstacle
  • If it doesn't scare you, it's not big enough. Choose to shift your perspective to love the sticky mud, challenging times, and conflicting moments knowing that they will lead you to a lighter, clearer path. Without darkness, we would not be able to appreciate the light. Through challenge, we have the opportunity to lead from a place of abundance rather than desperation. 
• Weed your garden
  • What allows you to flourish, and what is a weed in your garden? What energetic barrier do you need to break down in order to allow abundance in? This can be a toxic relationship, gossip, old stories, fears, addictions, you name it! Weed, trim, and allow your inner flowers to receive the nectar of what is to come. Surround yourself with people who manifest abundance and give positivity energy to you. This will inspire you to do the same. So out with the old, and in with the new