Every day there is a decision you can make that will change the direction of your life.
Mel Robbins
Well, at least that’s what I heard. We can-and do-often hibernate in the shadows of life. We avoid and disregard what’s happening around us, and we roll our eyes over the smallest actions, from holding hands to hitting the snooze button.

And yet, what makes us uncomfortable is something a MUST. We cannot sit around, waiting for the right moment to be inspired, energized, excited, active, and in love. The “moment” just might not come.
NEWS FLASH: there is no better moment than now, in fact now is the time of your life.
Here’s the truth I have wrestled with for years. I ain’t ever going to be ready. Not for anything. The last two years proved that to me over and over again. Two years of just doing, because life needed to get done.
And it hasn’t looked perfect. I became a first-time momma, a fashion designer-turned-yoga studio owner and teacher, and a dog owner (which is bigger than some people think).
I show up. I do the best I can. I rely so very much on friends, teachers, husband, and family as well as whatever the day brings.
I’ve learned that small movements lead to larger ones. The more action I take, the more I am inspired to keep moving forward and to stop complaining about anything and everything, including my 5 AM home practice.
I am currently obsessed with understanding what scientifically causes us to take action. I want to know WHAT promotes habitual changes, both good and bad. Part of my reading has included The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins. Mel teaches that taking action is not as simple as we’d all like it to be. We need action. We need to do what Nike has been telling us to do for years: JUST DO IT.
If it were that simple, we would all have everything we want. There’s something really foundational that has to happen before we can take action, and that is that we must learn to conquer our own feelings.
Knowing what to do will never be enough.
Knowing why you need to do it will never be enough.
So what we need is something that’s going to launch us into a state of action. Because if you’re sitting around waiting for motivation, I’m here to tell you it’s not coming.
-Mel Brooks
The Five Second Rule is “a tool for hyper-intentionality, action, and identifying moments in your life where there is tremendous opportunity and joy.” Once an idea flickers in your head you MUST count backward from five.

5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – JUST DO IT.
As soon as you hit 1, you MOVE. Physically. You do not allow yourself to think about it; you just go. Your physical movement helps create the shift toward excitement. From there, inspiration and energy will come. The best example is the snooze button. If you start thinking about it, you will hit snooze for sure. If you count down from 5 and start moving, the energy will follow.
We start from a very young age with lessons on how not to fail. Think about your first swim lesson. I remember mine – I was encouraged NOT to drown. Or the first time I got behind the wheel of the car. The “goal” was to not crash my parent’s Buick.
Basically, we learn many early and integral things from a place of fear. The fear turns into anxiety, hesitation, procrastination and ultimately an insatiable craving for the impossibility of perfectionism. We hear Voltaire’s words, that “perfection is the enemy of good”, but do we believe it? And with all those exhausting emotions and thoughts swirling, we start asking ourselves, “why ever start doing anything?”
So we come to yoga and OH BOY do we come to yoga. We unroll our mats and we show up. We try to sit with ourselves, which is probably the hardest practice of all, but we don’t exactly shift our thinking to a place of mindfulness.
But maybe we can.

5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – JUST DO IT.
We live in what can only be described as odd times. Most of us have a daily script and we follow it without much thought, propped up by caffeine in the morning and maybe a drink or two in the evening. We go to bed full of stress and we wake up with a mix of fear, worry, anxiety, and dread for the day ahead, or just complacency about what’s to come. And maybe that’s worse. Yes, it sounds a lot like the walking dead. I know it and for a long time, I was it.
Today I am living a life I love. To get here, I left a good job in the city, but I was “working for the man every night and day” and I wasn’t loving any of it. I had to admit that to myself to move on and ever since I did, I haven’t looked back. Not even once. I don’t pretend my new life is “easy.” I have to live mindfully, with awareness. I have used the mantra “Just do it” more than ever before.
But it is worth it. In the end, life resonates and creates for those who choose to live it.
So what or which shadow of yourself are you waking in the wee small hours to do, plan, write and get up for?
Jennifer Vafakos
Through fortuitous events, Jennifer stepped into her first yoga class on the lower east side of NYC at Bhava Community Center more than 10 yrs ago and fell in love with the sweaty and energetic vibe. Not her mother’s yoga or her classical ballet background, she realized it was something so much more… Classes are an offering of healing, laughter, playfulness, fun, and adventure colliding with mindful alignment, dynamic sequencing, breath-work and yogic philosophy.
Ever grateful, Jennifer has completed almost 1,000 hours of training with Laughing Lotus in NYC under the direction of Dana Flynn and the sweet guidance of Sheri Celentano, certifying her at the ERYT 200-hour level with Yoga Alliance. Further, she apprenticed for almost one year with Sheri Celentano specializing in assists and observing techniques for teaching basics level Vinyasa. Jennifer has completed additional Level 1 training with Baron Baptiste, as well as the brilliant Tari Prinster specializing in yoga for Women Cancer Survivors.
She is the manager/owner of Inlet Yoga and co-lead for Inlet’s 200hr RY
Never Miss a Post!
The Top Three Reasons for Joining NJYC
The greatest teachers, studios, classes and communities are in the Garden State.
You are ready to inspire and be inspired.
You believe in living a life you love, supported by a practice that makes you feel amazing