When I find myself in times of trouble and general anxiety I turn to yoga.   Last winter, was a rough one.  Ice instead of snow, a couple of falls that make me scared to walk outside and cranky.  To help power through I added some extra yoga classes.  Yoga outside my comfort zone.  The teacher, the studio and all the young (and fit) participants intimidated me.  My first thought was "I'm sooo old" followed by "and fat!" 

It was a great class- restorative yoga with some sharing and guided meditation.  The first, lying in the dark winter night we were guided on a trip up and down a mountain, into a garden and across the way was your future self, sitting on a bench.

"What message does your future self have for you"

Well, my future self was a little old lady and she was a bit grumpy.  "Why are you here?" she asked.

That's when I started thinking and planning a solo trip to some place warm.  My gut had been telling me for awhile that the long northern winters were taking a toll on my spirit and energy.  But I was afraid to make a change.  My future self gave me the courage to make a plan.  

Today while it is snow and icy rain in Maine I walked the beach barefoot with my dog.  I have goals and plans for filling my days plus time to read and rest.  It's helping me feel more positive and energized about life.  It's making me proud.

I did some research about simple steps to help us trust our instincts.  It's hard to trust our gut because it's so intangible.  Really difficult for people who like to have control and be in charge.  I can think back to times when I didn't trust my gut- my divorce for one.  Looking back, I realize my gut was trying to help me, to save me or at least give me more options but I refused to listen.  I could not give up control.  In the end, I believe this made my journey to recovery so much harder and painful. 

The Chopra Center has five tips for learning to trust your gut-  

1. Welcome your intuition
2. Cultivate intuition with silence 
3. Record your intuition
4. Share your intuition
5. Take action based on your intuition

Trusting yourself is a practice and practice takes practice.