A common theme in my world lately has been the idea and practice of letting go.

Life and yoga have been intersecting quite often for me and I draw a lot of inspiration from my experiences in the studio.

Recently, many of my yoga classes have been focused on the practice of letting go.

I’ve heard it said many times in class and even posted about a similar quote before, but for some reason a couple of weeks ago, when the instructor said, “Let go of the things that no longer serve you,” I was struck by her words and took them to heart.

At the beginning of class when we’re coming into our breath, the teacher asks us to think for a moment about all the things that have been weighing on us throughout the day on an inhale. On an exhale, she tells us to let it go. Sometimes this means letting go of a person; sometimes it’s letting go of a feeling or a thing. 

In life, I find we hold on on to *A LOT* of things.

Mostly unnecessarily so.

We hold on to feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, regret. We hold on to things. We hold on to the idea of things. We hold on to dreams. We hold on to certain ideals. We hold on to people.

And it’s not healthy. Holding on isn’t good for your mind and most importantly, it’s not good for your heart.

So with that, I’m calling BS on the things I’ve been holding onto.

I’m letting go of…

-Doing things the way they’ve always been done.
-Feeling like I need to follow a certain path just because that’s what’s expected of me.
-FOMO. Instead, I’m embracing quiet time and JOMO (joy of missing out).
-The constant need to check my phone whenever I see I have an email, missed call or social media notification.
-Dreams that no longer interest me.
-Feeling that pull to share every experience or moment on social media.
-Following people on social media who make me feel negative when I see their stuff. Bye.
-Anxiety over the future.
-Jealousy.
-People who don’t have the time of day for me.
-Feeling like I’m behind on my “timeline.” In fact, I’m letting go of timelines all together.
-Saying yes to things I’m not interested in.
-Regret.
-Over-scheduling myself. Free time for adventures is key.
-Comparing myself to others.
-Being a slave to my inbox.
-Keeping score.
-Taking on more than I can handle.
-Beating myself up over silly things.
-Hating on my body.
-Striving for perfection.
-Anger.
-Needing to prove myself or my worth.

Whew-it felt good to get these things off my chest. Try it and let me know your thoughts. What are you letting go of?