 My yoga practice saved my life...
No but seriously it did. Who I was 3 years ago wouldn’t recognize the woman I am today. She was so so lost. Consumed with consumerism, alcohol and drug consumption, excessive dating. She was constantly moving, not towards anything special on the horizon but away from everything — her demons, her past, her present. Before yoga I was alone. Constantly surrounded by others but always feeling isolated. I was trying to fill my void(s) with everything and anything outside of myself. Then, I found yoga. I selfishly began practicing yoga because I thought my long-distance running for exercise was “making me fat.” So I bought an intro offer at a local hot yoga studio back home in NY. I had no idea how spiritual yoga was, what spirituality even was, and definitely could not have told you what the hell a “savasana” was. My first class I nearly fainted from heat and I stepped outside. My teacher followed me out of the room later on when students were holding a pose. She looked at me and said “you need to stay in the room, even if you feel faint. It’s important for you to stay with the energy in the room. Don’t hide yourself.” Right then I knew I had found something really special. And so, my yoga practice began. I began practicing practically every day, staying-in Friday nights to go to a 7pm class and rest for the 6am on Saturday. I started researching crystals, then chakras, then meditations. And of course it was pretty freaking messy at first. My body took time to adjust to me loving it. I remember one class in particular I was SLIDING all over my mat because I was so sweaty. So I stepped off my class then SLID almost into a split during a wide-legged forward fold (my teacher had to cue me specifically out of it in front of the whole class. Lol. ) When I moved to San Diego, before I did anything else I signed up for a yoga studio down the street from my house, where I ended up doing my Yoga Teacher Training. There, again, I practiced pretty much every day or whenever I could. And of course “life got in the way” again, I took a long break (longest was six months) and found myself back in that space ready to learn more, and teach others. Yoga is like your twin flame, your soulmate. — You think you’re done with it. You focus on other things. And then one morning (like today) it hits you — you roll out your mat and start again. I always think back to who I was back then, before my yoga practice. I sometimes wonder if I would’ve ever made it — if I would’ve recovered from an eating disorder (my yoga practice helped me reconnect to my body, and encouraged me to find help and treatment), if I would’ve ever committed to MYSELF and taken a year off from dating of any kind, if I would’ve found my spiritual practice, if I would’ve moved to San Diego, if I would’ve ever unpeeled those layers of my being that weren’t me. Every single time I chose yoga over drugs, meditation over alcohol, faith over fear and unconditional love and compassion for myself over hatred and self-sabotage I heal not only myself but those around me. And it feels really freaking good. Lately I’ve been focusing on my biz, school and teaching so much so I’ve neglected my personal practice. Yesterday I left an audition at a new studio so grounded and so peaceful. This morning I woke up with a headache and my instinct was to take some medication and drink coffee like I might’ve in the past. But this time, I’m stronger. Now, I‘m wiser. And so I followed my intuition and wrote this, and next I will turn on some funky-jams and allow myself to practice.
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 I used to always ask myself this question and today badass spiritual babe Stephanie asked me something similar. She said that she was nervous to get into “influencing” because she doesn’t want to be self-centered or fake. She, like us all, have definitely met people who are entirely different in-person versus on social media. I get it. We all know that person. And it’s not really his/her/their fault — it’s the paradigm of thought which pressures us with Instagram marketing rubbish and tells us if we don’t have thousands of followers or likes, our voice isn’t important. So people have to adapt to that, right? That’s where the disconnect lies. I believe we’re all waking up though. I saw an amazing post by Chelsea Lauren yesterday with her sweatpants and coffee showing us her hustle and what it REALLY looks like. I sent a few coaching videos in my Ultravioletly Aligned Badass Spiritual Babe group chat this morning still in my bed in my PJs because that’s how I began my day. So is it narcissistic to post about yourself on social media? The quick answer is NO. The longer answer is...no. Not if you post WHAT’S AUTHENTIC TO YOU & WHO YOU REALLY ARE — instead of a false persona of you. Does that mean you can’t get professional photos done, check your spelling and grammar and maybe tag some local businesses or influencers in your posts? No... But, your words, your captions, your blogs — honey those need to come FROM YOUR HEART not your wallet. We can smell a salesperson from a mile away, we can taste fake and false personas. My advice: post whatever photo you want, bonus points if it’s unedited and natural, in a natural setting, of you BEING YOU. As far as captions go, this is where you should be AS AUTHENTIC AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. If God/the universe blessed you with good genes (cmon guys you know what I’m talkin about) or a good photographer, or a good eye then heck yea use that to your advantage to grab people’s attention so they will read your words. Your voice is what really matters. Photo by Ashley Kaplan #spiritual #love #spirituality #meditation #spiritualawakening #healing #yoga #spirit #life #consciousness #energy #Ultraviolet #peace #awakening #soul #inspiration #wisdom #crystals #UltravioletlyAligned #enlightenment #selflove #mindfulness #quotes #art #UltravioletThoughts #thirdeye #nature #chakras #lightworker #JessWinans  IT'S TIME TO CONNECT!
Be yourself love, embody your spirituality. It’s beautiful. You are who you are for a reason. If there’s something you’re thinking, an idea or a perspective or just something you want to say but are too scared to — SAY IT! Chances are someone on the other end needs to hear it. I woke up this morning with so much gratitude in my heart for all of the deep, meaningful soul connections I have in my life. I remember when I first started my spiritual journey I was so scared I was alone. Scared I was the only person who saw the universe the way I did — the only person who saw we were all one, the only person who saw divine guidance and energy, who felt how others felt just by being near them. I was so scared that when I told my friends about chakras, the energy body, or the moon cycles, or sacred geometry, or the pain body, or manifestation, or yoga, or meditation that they’d think I was completely crazy. That they’d leave me. Because who wants to chat about the universe at a bar? I thought to myself. So for a long time I completely isolated myself, besides a couple of really close friends. At the time I was working three jobs so I would keep busy working and then hiking alone. I would come home from a long day and journal for hours alone, scared to connect. Then one day I decided to change the narrative. I decided my spirituality was a blessing meant to be shared. I started looking up, making eye contact with people around me, I started making friends, I started smiling again, laughing again. The best part? When I started letting that spirituality “slip out” in conversations, I realized I wasn’t alone — a lot of people actually felt the same way, and the ones who didn’t respected what I had to say. It’s been too long, stop hiding your voice, stop dimming your light. We all need to see and hear your magic. ULTRAVIOLET CHANGE SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX AND SERVICE CHALLENGE: This week I brought applesauce for my friend who sits outside in liberty station. Every Sunday he sits and sells jewelry, and I noticed most people walk right past him and don’t notice him. I remember speaking with him a few weeks ago about how he was hungry, but had no teeth because he lost his dentures. When I gave him the applesauce we chatted and he said he felt like people didn’t see him, and he just wanted $5 for lunch. I felt bad, as I told him I really had no cash but I was happy to buy him the applesauce. Sure enough, a little girl went up to his jar and put $6 in right after. It was honestly such a beautiful moment and I’m so thankful for his beautiful soul and the beautiful light in that little girl. Ready to join the challenge? Post a photo with the hashtag UltravioletChange about how you will serve someone else this week, and I’ll share your post on my page! |