“And so it is!” A phrase so simple but carries so much power. It is a definite yes and serves as a gentle reminder to anyone who speaks it.

As I get older, I have discovered how much I love community.

I have been practicing yoga for four years! I still feel like a beginner, but I have enough experience that I feel comfortable to practice at home. However, I prefer to practice yoga in class with a community.

Nothing beats the beginning ritual of settling into the body and centering your breath. Nothing beats the parables of areas of your practice and life in which to be more mindful. And finally, while we are all on our own individual yoga journey, we are still on that journey in community.

Each morning I wake up or intend to wake up with enough time to meditate for 20-40 minutes a day. I have been meditating on and off for about eight years, but have only practiced it consistently for about four years. Like yoga, meditation is an individual practice, and also like yoga I have started to meditate and enjoy mediating in community.

When we  meditate we set intentions for our time together. We share parts of ourselves and our lives in three specific areas.

We talk about:

• Where we are in life (usually focused more towards our current struggles/ lessons)
• What we want to release that no longer serves us
• What intentions we are setting for the next few weeks

In some of these groups we speak out our intention/ goals for the next few weeks or months. Or we write down our intentions/ goals. In both cases we end with the phrase “and so it is.”

And so it is brings power to the words that you say because it follows the law of attraction principle that what you say will manifest for you in time.

Overtime, the more you say “and so it is” the more empowering it feels.

To the skeptical, this phrase serves, as a reminder to be mindful of our words. So often we speak ill of others and ourselves, we focus our words and our attention on the negative without trying to create new positive habits and thought patterns.

“And so it is” is a reminder to speak only with intention. Say only what you mean. If you say anything more, you are speaking what you say into your reality. More often we tend to speak into our lives negativity, pain, suffering and roadblocks.

Today and everyday, may you speak only words of love towards yourself and others. May you focus on only the good in your life and speak words life giving words to yourself and others. May you always be mindful of your beauty, know your part in the life you are living, and know or begin the journey to believe just how powerful you are in this moment…And so it is!