Treat yourself as you treat others!

HOW DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF?  THIS IS AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS

I never really thought of it this way- if I put myself last, I am showing you that is how I prefer things. I don’t mean that I cruelly or narcissisticaly demand to be considered first and foremost - only that I deserve consideration.  I considerately act on everyone’s well-being including my own.  In this way I remember that I, too, am worthy of respect. The respect I show myself I ALSO show others.  Then, they too, have a method to follow. - Kyczy

Being Who You Are

“WE TEACH other people how to treat us - by the way that we treat ourselves. It's magic.  And here's the thing - if you have people in your life who are not okay with you being your authentic self and living truly from your heart and honoring and cherishing your empowerment, it's best to Love those folks from afar. Don't hold on to people because there is a small pay off of affection and attention because you are afraid nothing better is going to come along! NO! Let them go. If you've never actually BEEN yourself, if you've never actually stepped into your authentic shoes, if you've never actually acted on the true Love that you have for yourself, then of course you won't think the world will bring you anything better - because you never allowed it to in the first place. “

-  Mastin Kip

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200, RTY500 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path" .

In The Rooms  sponsors an online Yoga and Recovery meeting Sunday 7am PST.  Log in and join her there.

She leads two Y12SR, yoga of twelve step recovery, classes a week for the public at Willow Glen Yoga in San Jose. Kyczy is the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) intructing teachers about the unique needs of the recovery population. This certification training now available in an ONLINE study course.  http://www.yogarecovery.com/SOAR__tm__Cert_all.html 

Check out her ONLINE RECOVERY INFUSED YOGA CLASSES: 

http://yogarecovery.studiolivetv.com/MemberRegistrationYR.aspx

Freedom As The Result of Boundaries

When saying NO means saying YES

I am learning to have more boundaries.  I know, kind of late in the game to be acquiring this skill; better late than never.

Part of saying NO (thank you) is being able to weather the sting of turning someone down.  I have a wonderful, replete life filled with people I love, care about, and want to spend time with.  Some of the saying NO means I am choosing to be away from them.  This doesn't feel good, and I learn to live with the discomfort.  I am choosing to say "no" to one thing to say YES to another.  This feels selfish.  It is. I am learning to be SELF-ish.


I urge others to take time for themselves, to hold themselves sacred and dear.  I truly mean these words. In fact I have self care routines that can ground and prepare me for each day.  What I have been neglecting is to play.  To take classes myself, to do something where I don't have a specific defined outcome or productive result. Many things I do have an outcome: a meal, tidiness, a newsletter, an accounting report,  a class taught or a class given, a project completed.  I was craving NOTHING; meaning nothing productive, useful, or goal specific.

I needed clay.  I had to decline some wonderful friendship opportunities this past weekend. I had to say no to some otherwise really fun stuff.   I had to do this so I could sit down at the wheel with a few pounds of mud and make something for no reason.  I made pieces that I crunched up and put back into the clay bag, I made pieces that started out as one thing and became another.  I allowed myself to be a newcomer, a neophyte, a beginner and that took the (self induced) pressure off.  And the next day I needed to follow up; trim and decorate.  First time at the wheel in over a year.  I needed to do this just for myself and not for sale, a gift or to explain or teach.

Well,  I also needed a yoga class, particularly after that first day of throwing; my body was out of whack.  And rather than DO IT MYSELF; I was determined, in the name of self care, to lay down my mat in front of another teacher and to be cared for.  It was perfect.

By creating boundaries in my life I was able to find freedom: freedom to play, freedom to create and freedom to be a human BEing - rather than a human doing.  As the result of saying no AND saying yes I am refreshed.

The courage to change: from being an active addict and codependent to being a woman in recovery.  The courage to change: from a driven woman to one who can let go of the steering wheel: I wish each and everyone one of you the strength to say NO in order to say YES.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200, RTY500 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path", a leader of Y12SR classes, and the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse); a teacher certification training that she holds with her good friend Kent Bond E-RYT500. Find out more about her, her classes and the training at yogarecovery.com

Yoga Service Council - Many Ways to Give

June 7 to 9 2013 - a weekend of amazing grace, companionship, networking and growth. Graced to be a scholarship recipient, and humble to be among such phenomenal people. This will be a series of what I heard, what I learned, and what it meant to me and the trajectory of my mission.

I found myself taking notes constantly. I knew my mind could not hold it all: the wisdom, the knowledge, the understanding and the passion. Every presentation was meaty and full of ah ha moments, and times when I was reassured ("I do that!", "I have felt that way." and "I am inspired; I know I am going in the right direction!"). There are times when my mind exploded with the realities that were being shared. And we had opportunities to walk and talk with one another - debriefing and knitting together our community. We had moments to be alone and contemplate.

Beryl Binder Birch started us off with a "lovely" talk. Weaving together the duties of a benevolent social activist with the meaning of true compassion, she set the tone for the whole weekend.

Nikki Myers led the morning practice, exposing many to recovery infused yoga for the first time . Slow, definitive movement performed contemplatively prepared us for the day. She also presented a workshop "The Issues Live in the Tissues: Addiction Recovery, Trauma Healing and Yoga." She has phenomenal command of the information. She has touched so many with her work, and here at the conference it was no different. I am proud to have her as a friend.

The schedule from the 2013 Yoga Service Council conference will show you everything that was available. The breakout sessions, the group presentations and the panel discussion were phenomenal. There was room for questions, room for discussions and room for true dialoge - with differences of opinions thoughtfully and skillfully expressed. This was a conference of true learning and knowledge exchange.
Scientific data, both from experiencially based research as well as from brain imaging studies validated what we knew to be true. Yoga changes lives. Yoga changes your body, it changes your emotions, your energy, it can have an impact on your spiritual life AND it changes your MIND.
I tell you that to tell you this: it is all in your head. Not in the way you might think - but it is all in your head.

I will explain this in my next entry.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path", a leader of Y12SR classes, and the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) a teacher certification training she holds with her good friend Kent Bond E-RYT500. Find out more about her, her classes and the training at www.yogarecovery.com

First 164: How about a real review?

Here is a great post from one of my favorite blogs: First 164: How about a real review? 

Here is a simple plan to re-aligning yourself with your daily recovery practice.  Evaluate how you are doing energetically, physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Then take a moment to check in with your peeps.  This can get you back in synch with your true self, your recovering / ed self and you can find contentment. Surrender to peace.


Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is a yoga instructor specializing in teaching yoga to people in recovery and the creator of the SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) certification program for yoga teachers. She is also the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path".

If you are a yoga teacher ready to take your calling and service to a new level you can find out more about Kyczy and the SOAR(tm) program at http://www.yogarecovery.com/SOAR_Certification.html

Learning how to receive

Over this holiday I received a gift of money. I was astounded, surprised and very grateful. This was un-budgeted, unexpected cash. Over the last several years my "wanting" has decreased. We live close to the bone, within our means and it suits me. I have no pressing need for any material goods. I am of an age where I have collected all I want and have all I need. My kitchen has pots and pans, my closet has clothes that fit, and I have ceased craving the next new design or color for my towels and sheets. I have it all! I am totally grateful and aware, deeply aware, that not all people can say even a fraction of that.
But this was a surprise and it opened up the door on wanting, the revisiting of craving. Was I going to toss this money into the "bill" maw and allow it to be part of the PGE, the water, the insatiable gas needs of my truck? It could certainly go there. It could provide some measure of security, some "prepaid" assurance against some unforeseen need like tires, or a house repair. But I didn't want to do that with all of this bounty. I did feel like I needed to practice receiving. This was a gift to me, an opportunity to do or have for myself something that I wouldn't permit myself otherwise. I don't often see the gray, but this time I did. What if I used some for myself and some against a rainy day?
So I did. I registered for on online course on intention and self care. I am taking: Living on Purpose; Group Coaching on Deliberate Creation - with Rolf Gates. I have been thinking for a while that I would like some time for self development: development that has, at its end purpose, my own self care. I have a habit, an unfortunate focus of intent, of signing up to learn things SO I can teach. Take a sculpture class so I can better explain it to others, take a training so I can lead and so on. It is important that I be in service; but just now, while I face a lot of new and unknown things I need to, I want to, take care of myself. So this wonderful gift of surprise money allowed me to take advantage of this idea I had; taking care of myself, without having to purloin funds from the family fund.
First step in self care... learning how to receive. I guess that is the second part of the present.