Wendy Hassenpflug, owner of Vayu Yoga®, shares how to cultivate intrinsic inspiration, maintain it, and share it with others.

By Wendy Hassenpflug, MS, E-RYT

Everyone can recall moments or events in their lives that have left them with a huge sense of inspiration.  There are people, events, and experiences that have left such an impact that we have been inspired to do something, make something, or be something different.

This leads us to some great soul-searching questions like:

• When have we felt the most inspired in our lives?
• Where did the inspiration start, really start?
• What did the inspiration lead us to doing?

Chances are that the answers to the above questions have something to do with our passion for certain aspects of our lives.  Ultimately, passion is the driving force behind happiness and success, allowing us to live better lives.

When we can tap into our passions in life, and fuel that inner fire, we will be inspired to make better choices.  The choices that we make on a daily basis are impacted by our core beliefs.

In my opinion, there are two types of inspiration: intrinsic and extrinsic, and in my experience, it often takes both types of inspiration to be motivated to do things.  For example, I am currently doing a 90-day body challenge, the extrinsic inspiration involves the goals that I set for myself like improving my body composition and my cardiovascular endurance.

While the extrinsic inspiration may have been what initiated my motivation to participate in the challenge, it is the intrinsic inspiration that is encouraging me to stay in the program and continue to push myself to be better each day.  The fact that I am craving healthier foods and actually setting my alarm to get up at the crack of dawn because I want to ride my bike and I enjoy it are all intrinsic inspiration for me.

Santa Clarita Yoga

I came across a quote that was so eloquently stated and appropriately fit into my thoughts of inspiration.  Pablo Picasso stated: “The meaning of life is to find your gift.  The purpose of life is to give it away”.

Here is my translation of this quote, when we find our passion in life and are inspired by that passion, we share it with others simply be acting upon our inspiration.  The amazing aspect of that is that it creates a ‘cycle of inspiration’ that never stops.  We become inspired, this leads to us having inspiration and acting upon it, which in turn inspires others, and the cycle repeats – Be*Have*Give.

Is it possible to live in the moment, yet be acutely aware of how our current actions could affect our future?  Yoga gives us built-in time within our practice to reflect and ponder life’s moments and the role that we are playing.  Yoga allows for time each day, even just for a few minutes, to check in to our present state of being, increase our awareness, and think about what is really important to us.

This is a common aspect of just about every type of yoga, whether it is a physical practice, mental practice, spiritual practice or combination.  Imagine if you can learn just one thing today that gets you excited and changes your life. How inspiring would that be?  Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ time or a better time, take the step today, right now, to inspire yourself.

What are you going to do today to build inspiration, to inspire yourself, and to inspire others?

About  Santa Clarita Vayu Yoga® Owner Wendy Hassenpflug

Wendy Hassenpflug is an E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), through Yoga Alliance, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Pilates Teacher (Pilates Method Alliance), Certified Personal Trainer (National College of Exercise Professionals).  She holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology and a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, and has over 26 years of experience as an educator in secondary and higher education. 

The Vayu Yoga® instructional team teach private, duet, and small group trainings at our studio Vayu Yoga®, located at 24353 Main Street Newhall, CA 91321.  Click here for more information or to schedule an appointment or book a training. 

Wendy hosts “Vibrant Living with Vayu Yoga®” on AM 1220 KHTS radio in Santa Clarita, CA, Tuesdays from 11:00am till Noon.  Click here to listen to podcasts.