Three Ways to Be a
Better Person Today

By Kristen Dollard

You won’t make it on your mat everyday. If you do you can give us advice about how you find the time, motivation and discipline. The rest of us who want to keep that sense of peace even when life threatens to make us feel like maniacs are looking for tips, but realistic tips. In order to keep the flow going we asked Jean Koerner to explain some of yoga’s simple truths that apply to everyday life. Here are her top three philosophies for today.


What's your vibe?
We are all made up of vibration.  It is my experience that most people in the world are not aware of their “vibe” and therefore not aware of the effect it has on others either.

The Explanation
Yoga is a science, but more than that it is about mindfulness. The way that any of the techniques will work is to experience them directly. We have to do it to feel it. The more we feel it, the more we can change our actions. That does not mean break into downward dog when the grocery line is endless and the cashier is moving at the pace of molasses. We can come back to the breath or use other techniques in the line to bring us back to the present. The more we are in the present and directly experience yoga, the more we notice the way our actions ripple out and the more we can possibly change the way we act before we act in order to change the way others perceive us and in fact, change our vibe. This takes practice and awareness. But what doesn’t?

Modern Day Example
After teaching a yoga workshop of mine, the desk assistant was helping me clean up the studio. As we cleaned up together, he proceeded to tell me what he thought about all of my students who attended the workshop as well as the ones that were not there but that attend group class regularly. These impressions were not based on fact but rather the one minute impression that students made upon him while signing into class and all that it entails: renting a mat, identifying yourself, as well as comments made relating to the class or studio (comments on smells, logistics, others).

The Practice
Whether or not we feel like his opinions are valid or not, this is the way he feels and therefore his truth. It occurred to me that we should be more aware of our vibration. For us we can think more about how we are acting. Are we aware of how we are perceived? Are we aware of our actions but choose to behave this way intentionally? I ask you to be aware of your vibe and remember it is always in flux. Some questions you can ask yourself regularly are:
*Is your vibe something that you can change from one circumstance to the next depending on who you are with?
*Is your vibe strong enough to change the vibe of others around you or do you get sucked into a less character-building vibe?
*If a stronger vibe is present is yours enough to challenge it when necessary?

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