May is the month we celebrate some of the most wonderful women in our lives. We love our moms - and all of those other ‘moms’ that have loved us through life. I remember my sweet, first grade teacher who made me feel special and smart. I remember all of the wonderful Sunday school teachers who taught me to memorize scripture and prayed for me daily. Lots of wonderful women who took me under their wings at special moments through all of my schooling and college and as a newlywed and a new mom. The list is so long, I'm not sure there's enough space to share every name of the women that have been such an amazing pillar of strength for me. I’m don't know how my life would have turned out if I didn’t have these wonderful women to love and care for me. Their love is special and unique, and they're still blessing me everyday.
As we think about all of the special women in our lives this month, I want to share just a few of the wonderful women I've been blessed with in my life.
(Mildred, MaryJane, Clarissa and Kyley)
This is a four generation picture of the first born women on my mom's side. My grandmother, Mildred, was a pillar of strength. She raised 3 children, went to church every time the doors opened, held gatherings in her very small home, sewed her own clothes, tended her garden where she grew most of her food, mowed her own lawn until she was 92 and created an amazing example for the world around her. I still have people come to me and tell me how special she made them feel and blessed their lives as their mother figure.
My mom, Mary Jane, is celebrating one year of being free from breast cancer treatments as well as continuing to be cancer free. She spent many years taking care of my father as he slipped away with dementia. After his passing, she was able to find another special relationship and remarried and has been enjoying a new chapter in life pursuing some of the adventures on her bucket list - including traveling around blessing others as part of the Sojourner organization. Even though I don't see her as often as I used to, I still cherish her love for me each day.
It can be daunting to try to live up to a legacy of wonderful women who find strength when it seems impossible. Being raised with a strong faith has taught me to seek God and the Spirit to guide me during all times of life. I hope I have shared that enough with my two daughters to help them endure life's struggles and to shine their strength to the world around them. Last year for mother's day, my youngest daughter made a jar of notes for me to look at throughout the year sharing "reasons why she loves me." This is one of those notes. I am extremely proud of both of my daughters and their strong spirits.
My youngest daughter, Kymber, is amazingly talented. She was a competitive gymnast for many years, a beautiful dancer and now she is excelling in theatre in High School. She has been a part of the fall musical, winter play, junior varsity one-act play, varsity one-act play and received a strong role in the spring musical - as well as advancing in prose in several tournaments. Along with her fun in theatre, she has developed a strong group of friends who share a sweet spirit with the world around them - giving each other encouragement and light through all the craziness of high school. Also, several years ago, this sweet child brought a beautiful puppy into our lives - giving love to the whole family and everyone sweet Bella meets.
My oldest daughter, Kyley, is graduating from high school this month. She is extremely blessed with an amazing musical gift. From the time she was very young, she was able to make a beat and melody on her musical toys, leading us to get her started with drum lessons. Those lessons started an incredible music journey that is just beginning. She's excelled through Junior High and High School, making all region every year she tried out. She's taught herself to play guitar and keyboard - and excels on the Marimba, Vibe, Congas, Timpani and Drum set. Being a percussionist means playing just about anything that makes sound - and she is able to find the perfect pitch and rhythm. She's written many songs and loves to sing and has had fun in choir this year. Her musical talent has earned her a full scholarship to McMurry University. We are extremely excited to see how she progresses as a musician and continues to share her love of music with others.
As I continue to draw from the strength of my mother and grandmother, and the Wonderful Women who continue to shine in my life, I try to feed that strength into my children. As a yoga instructor and practitioner, I've found a lot of empowerment through yoga. The trial and error of figuring out how my body maneuvers in a variety of poses - feeling strong when successful - feeling encouraged with small successes and feeling determined in failures. I'm definitely not perfect in any aspect of yoga as a practitioner or instructor - and I'm definitely not a perfect daughter, mom, wife, friend, aunt, cousin... Finding empowerment isn't about finding perfection, it's about being ok when we fail - but not defeated! Continuing each day to be a better version of ourselves - myself. I'm reminded often of my failures - an occasionally of my successes - as is most of the world. We are always quick to find short comings, but aren't always as quick with blessings and encouragement. So, take a moment to cherish the beauty around us each day and share that beauty with others.
As a young child, most of the girls around me were inspired by Wonder Woman. A woman that uses good to fight evil in the world. Using our strength and determination, we find success in our goals in life. Below is a yoga flow video of some empowering yoga poses. They are poses that seek strength, flexibility, focus and determination.
A list of the poses - Mountain, Standing Bound Dancer, Warrior 2, Side Angle, Pigeon variations, Staff, DragonFly, Baby Grasshopper, Lotus into Scale, and relaxing with Savasana - because even super heroes need rest. Beautiful Bella puppy even joined me in some fun with her Wonder Woman outfit.
I couldn't help but feel more empowered in my Wonder Woman leggings and shirt. Just imaging myself eradicating the bad guys by drawing on the power of the Love in the world is a great image to draw upon everyday. Love wins! You are loved. You are special. You are amazing! Find your talent and SHINE! Be sure to share your empowerment poses with me @clarissapyeattyoga on facebook or instagram.