Style with effort & ease

The other night in yoga class, my teacher talked about the principle of “effort and ease.” Basically, it means that in our yoga practice, we need to find a balance between the effort and intensity that we put into our physical practice, with the calming of our minds as we relax into each pose. To get the most out of our yoga practice, there must be a balance between our minds and our bodies.

It got me thinking (clearly, I have work to do on managing my thoughts during my yoga practice, but that’s a whole other topic) about applying effort & ease to our personal style and self-care.

If you think about it, whenever you take a little more time to put yourself together, selecting the right outfit, adding a little flourish that says “This is me,” well, the result is always feeling better about yourself, being more confident and self-assured as you go about your day. Effort . . . and ease.

I love the idea of applying this principle of effort & ease in all areas of life. You know how sometimes you work so hard to achieve something you think you want – the promotion, the weight loss, the new car/house/vacation. Then when you achieve the dream, it’s not always the answer or satisfaction you thought it might be. That’s when we’re out of balance – too much effort, not enough ease.

So let’s start with small things and begin practicing effort & ease in our daily lives. When you get yourself ready this morning, since you have to put clothes on anyway (effort), why not take a few extra minutes and put something on that makes you feel your best self (ease). You deserve it.

Here’s a little inspiration for style with effort & ease.

So there you go – fashion yoga.

Till next time,

Judy