At about 8pm last night I looked around the midrise penthouse of my building and felt a sense of...peace...

People who had never met each other before this evening were happily mingling, eating, drinking, laughing, talking. Groups were forming, changing, embracing, and learning from one another.

One of my partygoers stopped by to hug me. “You’ve put together the most eclectic group of people and yet we all...just...work!” She laughed. “Wow,' she continued, 'you’ve met the most interesting people since you came to Boston.”

I smiled because this group represented only a small fraction of the many many fabulous souls I’ve been grateful to come in contact with since I arrived back in the States last October.

I just started reading Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. In the introduction she discusses being at a crossroads in the early 90s. She had left a corporate job to study social work because the three ideas she cared about most - courage, connection, and meaning - were lacking in traditional business structure. My skin started to tingle because - although I don’t word it quite the same - I changed my life a few years ago for similar reasons.
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On my recent path, I’ve met an almost incredible number of people also making changes to their lives. And while I never claim to have the answers, I’m happy - always - to share that which I’ve learned. So here’s my version of these three ideas and how living by them has changed my life.

It seems like the weather here in Boston can't make up its mind. One minute we have pouring down rain, chilly winds, and clouds so thick you can't see the city skyline, and the next moment I'm lounging at my pool soaking up the sun in the smallest bikini imaginable to get as much Vitamin D as possible. (And to be honest, to minimize tan lines...hey, I'm human.)

The other night I taught a yoga class to my friends and neighbors in my building. As people shuffled in I could feel the low energy. 

"This weather is just gross." said one friend.
"I felt so down and trapped in my office," commented another.

After class, a friend mentioned that he too felt just beyond depressed. Especially since he had also been working with terminally ill patients that day.

"How do I lift myself up so that I don't pass along these feelings to people who need me to be my best and most positive self?" he asked me after class.

Such a great question...read on for my tips on raising yourself up when outside factors have got you feeling down.

Do you ever DREAD getting up and out of bed Monday mornings? Not ready to face the day, hitting snooze one more time and then again and again...If so, you are human! We've all been there.

But recently when talking with my yogis I had realized that it had been a while since I felt that way. That for some time now, 99% of my mornings I wake up with joy and even a little excitement at the start of the new day...

So how did I go from having the Monday blues to leaping out of bed?