Happy New Year!

Since there are only a few hours left in 2011, and in some part of the world it is already 2012, I want to give some thought to new years resolutions. January 1st is the day of manmade renewal, when we can close the door on the past and look forward to the future. We have the whole year ahead, after all, to improve or even to completely reinvent ourselves. All beginnings start with hope, and it is through the first few weeks of January, when we retain enough enthusiasm and hope about the future of the new year, that we can implement a realistic plan to accomplish our resolutions.
A reoccurring goal for me every year is to become more fit. 2011 was an unusually adventurous and ambitious year in terms of exercise goals. Although I immersed myself in several challenges I did not reach my goals, and when I do not accomplish all I set out to do, it is very easy for me to get discouraged and forget all the progress achieved along the way. It is important not to abandon what you learned in the past 365 days but instead carry that knowledge into the new year.
I will not recap my entire year of fitness ups and downs, but I would like to reference the last exercise filled days of 2011.  Last night I went to a barre class taught by owner and kickass instructor Jane Brodsky at Red Bow Studio on Capitol Hill. http://www.redbowdc.com/index.php
I often have aggrandized ideas about my own physical abilities based solely on the fact that I consider myself a runner (Dare I mention that I've been on one run in the past seven weeks?). It is with these delusions, and an overinflated ego, that I entered what I though would be a studio full of impostor ballerinas and where Jane Brodsky promptly shattered these notions. I left my first barre class knowing how difficult it would be to get out of bed the next day, and like a true masochist, planning my return.
This morning, I hobbled as fast as I could to Meridian Yoga for an intermediate Hatha yoga course taught by the inspirational ray of sunshine that is Joseph Roberson. http://www.meridianyogadc.com/
I almost didn't go, but my sore muscles were in need of the kind of relief that only an hour of stretching can provide. This was an enormous misconception of yoga on my part. Joseph had already sore muscles near collapse and my body and clothes drenched in sweat. Not only did I leave Meridian Yoga feeling rejuvenated after an amazing workout, but I also left with some food for thought.
Joseph started his class asking what contributed to the success or failure of a new years resolution. A lot of answers like determination and consistency were thrown out.  He confessed that he wanted to make his 2012 a year of yeses instead of nos. What stood out especially from his discussion was the definition of the word guru. He described a guru as someone who leads us to light. Before we got up he asked us to close our eyes and look for a resolution that wasn't so obvious. He encouraged us to find something we could resolve to do that lay outside of the influence of the everyday world.
Do you have your resolution yet? I think I have mine.
I hope that you successfully achieve your goals next year and if you find yourself in need of help, that a chance encounter with a guru, big or small, will steer you in the right direction.
Have a happy and healthy 2012!