Madi Cooper Yoga

I LOVE arm balances 💕

But I remember (not so long ago) when I hadn’t unlocked them yet, thinking how impossible they seemed.

I felt like I wasn’t a good enough yoga teacher if I couldn’t do “the fancy stuff”

It wasn’t until I began practicing arm balances that I realized how wrong I was.

Being able to balance on your hands, to get into full splits, heck, to touch your toes means nothing.

Because, in the end, it’s not about the shapes - it’s not even about our bodies. It’s about what we learn while we’re on our mat.

The physical practice of yoga exists so that we can go inward and learn about our Self.

So the next time you feel down on yourself for not practicing xyz, remember this 💕

I am sooo guilty of this.

A few bad (or annoying or inconvenient) things happen in a day and I wanna just throw in the towel. Give up altogether.

But one day is just that - one day!!

Let tomorrow be a fresh start ✨

My body has been desperately telling me to slow down.

But my mind had a much harder time doing this…

taking long walks when I “should” have been running,

reading fiction in a cozy place when I “should” have been reading something “productive,”

spending 45 minutes cooking an elaborate, delicious dinner with my husband when I “should” have thrown something together so that I could get back to working.

Those “shoulds” have me second guessing everything.

They make me feel like I’m “wasting” my time.

Like if I am not using every moment to get myself closer to my goals, then those moments are actually doing me harm.

…When in reality, aren’t these the moments that make that work worth it?

What is the point of only living for what we can get done today - what we have to do tomorrow?

Let yourself do things that bring you joy.

Let yourself enjoy each moment.

Let yourself LIVE your life.

What a dream 🥰

May 30th 2023 🍾

We eloped to Napa Valley, CA and did a private vow exchange at Armstrong Redwoods Nature Reserve and our ceremony at Goat Rock Beach on the Sonoma Coast.

I couldn’t have asked for a more special, beautiful, intimate day 🥹

We’ll be celebrating later in the year with our families and I honestly can’t wait to put my dress back on 😍

Enormous thanks to our photographer and our wonderful officiant

Is there anything you are holding tight to that isn’t serving you?

Why are you keeping it around?

What would happen if you created space for something better?

I saw this text post from .bs.therapist the other day that described exactly how I’ve been feeling lately - this is what it said:

“Working on your job while working on your mental health while working on your relationships while working on your physical health while working on your family while working on sleep habits while working on self-care while working on exercise while working on personal goals while working”

😮‍💨🫠😶

Life can be a lot.

Even if all the things you’re working on are going well, there’s still a lot to do just to keep the world spinning 😅

When I get overwhelmed by all of the things I feel I need to “work on,” I always come back to the same thing:

Presence.

Being present in each moment is what allows us to stay grounded 🪷

So the next time you feel overwhelmed or burnt out, come back to the here and the now ✨

and then go from there 💕

Does this resonate with you? What are some things you’re currently juggling in life?

A lot of you have asked about my experience training to be a yoga teacher in Rishikesh, India, so I thought I’d share🇮🇳

To be perfectly honest, one of the main reasons I chose to go to India was because it was cheaper than any in-person training I could find near me…

YES, that includes the flights, lodging, food, AND the training 😅

I also wanted to be IMMERSED and to learn from people native to the birthplace of yoga - to honor yoga’s roots and to give credit where credit is due.

I’m so grateful I made that decision.
And I would do it again in a heartbeat 💕

BUT I want to be very transparent with you and share some of my thoughts about the overall experience:

It was EXHAUSTING. We met for our pranayama class at 5:30am every morning and finished with our final meditation class around 9:30pm. Each day, we had at least two 2 hour asana classes. Sometimes more 🫠

The language barrier was hard. Frankly, it made talking about complicated philosophical ideas and anatomy difficult. I still learned A TON, though, don’t get me wrong.

The food was incredible. I’m only bummed that I didn’t learn more names of the dishes because 🤤 I probably ate my weight in chapati at least 5 different times 😂

In Rishikesh, I felt relatively safe traveling as a woman. But I think the standard safety rules apply any place you go in the world (i.e. don’t be alone at night, have prearranged travel plans, etc). This is not exhaustive advice for India as a whole, just my experience in Rishikesh.

Waking up every morning with a view of the Ganga river and the Himalayan mountains never got old. I still dream of that peace 🕊️🪷

Honestly, I could go on and on about my experience, so I’ll wrap it up.

I have so much reverence for the time I spent in India 🙏

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to DM me and I will do my best to answer them!

Quick disclaimer: this was MY experience. There are a bajillion and a half places in India that you can go to to study yoga, so there are a bajillion and a half different experiences you could have.

I won’t lie to you - I get stuck in the comparison game too 😕

things in my life that I thought were totally fine suddenly become a HUGE source of anxiety or dread…

…all because I started comparing myself to someone on the internet 🤦‍♀️

don’t get caught in the trap!!

remind yourself every day that the world is so, so lucky to have you and that the only thing you have to be is your truest, most authentic self 💕

sending you so so much love, light, and joy ✨

How are your thoughts and emotions shaping your reality?

Don’t let your thoughts run the show.

Start getting used to dialoguing with your negative thoughts.

Run through this list and you’ll be surprised how much you might learn about yourself.

post inspired by .e.l.e.n.m.a.r.i.e 💕