Thanks for the extra day

Its time to break the mold- and  figure it out on my own terms

So here it is, February 29th, the glorious extra day that we get every four years. What will you do with this extra day? Its been since novegebr since i've written a blog, and in December i had planned to start 2016 with a whole new me,  a person who is dedicated to consistency and ritual and a person who follows through on their goals. So far, it has been quite a fail. One of my goals was to have a better idea of what this space should look like and blog at least twice a month and yet its taken me two months to actually get started.

Lately I feel a little guilty, I've been lazy and I have allowed my self to come down harder on me than anyone ever has. This transition to adulthood has been a difficult experience. Its like someone flipped a switch and life instantly became a little more serious and a little bit harder. I am thankful for the fact that I was aware of how lucky I was to be floating in the land of non-seriousness for so long and I really made the most of it. But now I am at a crossroads- do I completely surrender immaturity in exchange for a smoother adult life? The older we get the more there is behind us, which leaves us so much room to pass judgement on our selves or others. Why has it taken me so long to start journaling again, how did I gain 20lbs and not notice and why can't I get motivated to work it off, why does my job seem so demanding, when will I start living the lifestyle that serves my well being the best, and it goes on and on. It seems i've come back my old aggressively negative nature, that I am sure is tied to stress and anxiety- but I keep on sending low vibrations and wondering why I feel so crappy.

How do we balance the things we want and the things we need? This is the ever lasting question that plagues me daily. How do I have fun, while still taking care of my self and the other things that need my attention to be a successful adult?

For the next year my plan is to answer this and many other questions, and my goal is to stream line this blog in to something that is consistent and one that provides readers with the results of my own research, and the lessons of my own struggles to get "it" together without losing my self in the process. A how-to manifesto of sorts! How can we use visualization/manifestation and the law of attraction to guide us to our happiness? How can daily meditation and yoga transform the way we see our selves and how we treat others? And how to get the hang of "adult-ing"? During this process I hope that I can find a way to let go of the past, let go of the judgement and use all of that extra space in my brain to flourish and be creative to find my highest calling.

So I am starting with today, one more chance- in fact and extra opportunity to start the rituals and the habits that will create enough structure in my daily life to give my brain a break and some freedom to explore the endless possibilities that the universe provides everyday. So it took me the month of January and 29 days of February to finally get started on this tarable adventure in 2016, I can't wait to see whats in store, once I shift from fear to love and start allowing my intuition to guide my path- knowing full and well that everything will be ok if I let it.

What will you do with your extra day for this year?

What would you like to read about here? Post a comment and let me know!

The (last) day in the life of a yogi in Training: Onward we go

We named our tribe The Ganapati Tribe, after the elephant god Ganesha- the mover and placer of obstacles. It seemed as if destiny brought us together, somehow in the perfect place at the perfect time. It's no wonder we might believe  in something  larger than ourselves. On our first day we were so shy and timid and anxious to find out which rabbit hole we'd jumped into to. How lucky we were to have landed where we did at Happy-U with a team of teachers that is incredibly talented and compassionate. Its funny that Ganesha is the placer of obstacles, as our group seemed to have plenty of them. It all seemed as if each of us was going through a transition or some kind of struggle but the beauty of this process proved to me that we are not alone in the great struggle that is life. As much as we want it to be all happy shining rainbows all the time, it is not and yoga helps us to see that its only temporary and it, like the good moments too, will pass and make room for more experiences.

When you have that many people in the midst of transformation spending every Friday, Saturday and Sunday together, you get close. You get closer than close...you become family. Its been a long journey, and I cannot lie and say that I am not elated to think about the fact that I have my weekends back but today is our graduation day. Its bittersweet because it is the end, but as our theme for our final class notes, the end is only the beginning of something more incredible than we could ever imagine.  I could not be more proud of the hard work my tribe mates have put into the countless hours studying asana, reading textbooks and sitting on a hard floor for hours. (If we didn't know how to sit up straight, cross legged, we sure do now).  We all did this while balancing real life, we didn't get to go away to a retreat in some tropical island where we are bothered with nothing but yoga, healthy food prepared for us, and uninterrupted meditation. No, we had school, work, some lost their jobs, some changed their jobs, we had mom's with kids, wives with husbands on deployment, and some who had no family close at all after just having moved here before training. We did this 200 hour certification in the midst of chaos and thanks to our friend Ganesha, we had plenty of opportunities to prove to our selves that we were strong enough to survive it.

Through this experiences I have learned many things, I wish I could say that I learned to be happy all the time or that I some how managed to become void of reaction to my daily strife and that I could solve my problems by contorting myself into a pretzel ball. But what I did learn is that we are all uniquely beautiful, everyone of us on this planet walks our own path and along that path we hit crossroads and bumps in the road but if we stay dedicated to our practice and to our true self we can overcome any obstacle and come out of it better than we were before. I also learned that this is a life long PRACTICE! It will never be a final performance, we grow and learn every day through yoga and we can never truly say that we are a master of it all. I think it's pretty neat that we have room to grow. But more importantly- to the best of my ability I will no longer judge myself for being unable to do certain poses- I just can't do them yet, I will no longer think something is impossible (Paulina pointed out to me that that word simply says "I'm Possible" so the word itself is a contradiction), I will no longer strive to be the "perfect yogi" because that doesn't exist. We are imperfectly perfect and being human is what makes us wonderful. I learned to love myself, unconditionally.

We grew stronger together, and learned that when you lift up others, you lift up yourself. Through this 10 weeks I have been to hell and back- my life outside yoga decided to through me for a loop. The mover and placer of obstacles seemed to be playing a practical joke on me. I felt like Shiva, balancing on one foot while trying to juggle all of life as one thing came after another. I thought to myself, "I'm in yoga training, I should be less stressed and I seem to be more stressed." But through out this process I found out that I was not the only one. On our last Friday night together we had a bonfire, we were supposed to throw something in the fire to represent something we wanted to let go of or leave behind. On a piece of paper I wrote "I am letting go of the idea that I am alone in my struggle". I tossed it in the flames and watched it burn. Following this, we did the most incredible activity. We did a "trust walk" with our eyes close down a "soul train" type aisle and as we walked each person on the side would whisper something about how that person has impacted them through this process. My eyes were welled up with tears by the middle of line from sharing inside jokes, stories and the most beautiful compliments I could ask for. When I was feeling low, the universe sent me 21 angles to wrap their wings around me. Talk about a boost in confidence. I am eternally grateful for my experience in the last 10 weeks, even the tough stuff because it made me stronger.

To my teachers, Karson, Mitch, Tierney, Nam, & Jan: there is not enough space on one page to explain how grateful I am, how grateful we all are, that you were the ones to lead us down this path. You believed in us 100%, never doubting what we could become. You offered us an authentic experience that not only taught us about yoga but about life and how to really kick ass at it. To Josie, Julia, Carrie, Stephanie,  and other's from the Anahata tribe- we thank you for your guidance. To all of our amazing mentors at Happy-U; Thank you for your guiding light, we are so blessed. You are about to send 16 incredible, compassionate, talented teachers out into the world- so the world thanks you too.

So here we go Ganapati. After today, we enter a world of endless possibilities and who knows where we will go from here. Remember these last 10 weeks, remember the mala- each bead on the string of "happiness", as you add more beads (new friends, students, mentors, and teachers), remember the first 21 beads; that is where it all began, with us, and the idea that we could change the world.

Om Gam Ganapateye Namaha

Let us take our first step on our next adventure 

Namaste

Day in the life of a yogi in training: Day 1

Tonight is the eve of my first night of yoga teacher training at Happy-U. There is a mixture of ecstatic joy and sheer terror that accompanies my steady feeling of certainty knowing that my time has finally come. I have been dreaming of going through a teacher training for the last 5 years, but up until now I had been so unsure of my self and unwilling to commit to something so deeply. For years I floated in and out the yoga world, being deeply interested and holding the genuine desire to improve, yet my focus remained untethered and I had not settled into the idea that maybe I could actually teach  a yoga class someday.
I had always admired my instructors gentle tone and happy demeanor while in the same breath I'd wonder how long they could keep up the act. As with anything that you may seek a deeper understanding on, you find your self in a predicament in which you either chronically question what they're throwing down without experiencing it first  or you trust it and buy in to it.  There is a fine line between what I believe to be untrue and what I have yet to understand. I be decided to "drink the koolaide" so to speak and I signed my self up for a 200-hour yoga teacher certification course. There is no doubt in my mind tha yoga has transformed me; mind body and spirt completely. Doing yoga has massively elevated my wellbeing, I have reaped the benefits many times over and enjoyed an amazing path of transformation that lead me here and I cannot wait to uncover more about who that beautiful goddess is inside of me.

Here I find strength. Integrity. Self-love. Grace. Acceptance. The best of what I've got....

With an open mind and curiosity of the this amazing practice I have decided to dig a little deeper and uncover new ideas, feelings and emotions. I am so excited to be learning about something I love so much, it's like being given the opportunity to take a college elective course on candy making :)
I am a little nervous to be in a room full of people I don't know but even more concerned about being a subject of focus for people I do know (aka happy-u staff who all rock my world).  No matter how nervous I am though I know it's all going to work out great and I am going to have the time of my life.

Here's to taking chances!

Ever grateful,
T

The End of an Era: A month of transition

The following was written the day before I started my new job as a study center teacher back in late July:

As we grow older, it is only natural that our lives will change dramatically several times throughout the process but when those times are expected and even anticipated it can still be quite a big scare. Reaching thirty has been on the back of my mind lately, in fact I'll even say that when I turned twenty-nine the ticking time bomb was activated. Now I don't have the typical concerns of turning thirty; most people assume it means that you're old or have reached the peak and are only climbing down the hill towards senility or they suggest that your entire life should be put together as if you spent all of your twenties arranging everything in a nice package that screams "I'm an adult!" Dare I say that I am embracing thirty, now being a bit wiser to the ways of the world and finding myself still full of ambition makes be believe there is still an entire life time a head of me.

That being said I am hitting a different crossroads in my life and many people I know in "the industry" (AKA restaurant/service industry) should understand the daunting feeling of coming to grips with what it is that your doing with your life. I began this journey in the biz to simply get me through college, to provide me with the flexible schedule and fast cash that every student needs to balance both work and school. Yet they don't tell you when you start that yes, you too will become that crotchety old bartender with that jaded look on her face if you don't remember that time continues to march on even though your job seems like the never ending ground hog day of fun busy shifts and making cash on the spot. I will never discount the many bartenders I have worked with, called my friends, or even just enjoyed as a guest; for some, they have it made and are living the exact life that they intended. But I can't help but recall the many times I've wondered to myself, "how long can I put up with this game?" "How many more times can I handle someone calling me sweetheart, baby, miss, mam, waiter, anything but my own name?" "At what point is my body going to say, 'ok your getting a little too old to be working until 4AM every night'?

There is a certain charm to the bar life, you have a flexible schedule and if you play your cards right you can work it any way you want it. You can work everyday and makes tons of money or you can give all your shifts away and take a vacation. Last minute bachelorette party invite? No worries, someone is dying to pick up your friday night shift to make that cash!  For the most part, you can set your schedule. Oh and how about that forty hour work week? Oh wait! It is likely that you can make the money you need in three or four shifts that usually last between four and six hours. Plus, it is fun. No lie, most of the time bar tending is a blast and you get to restart your day every time a new person comes in with a clean slate to make it or break it. You can schmooze and play sweet and increase your sales and tip with a good attitude or some silly gimmicks that work almost every time. Being smart or clever can make all the difference and can give you the edge to take them for all they've got. You make great friends, some who stick around in your life forever, because you're together so much you feel like family and your rely on each other when the work gets hectic so you learn to find
camaraderie to get you through it. To make the monotony fade, some places will mix it up and let you get dressed up for holidays or theme parties, so you end up bar tending dressed as a unicorn-whose to
say you won't enjoy it? And lastly my absolute favorite part of the job is making friends with the people who come to your bar. Whether they be fleeting or long lasting friends your rolodex will be full of friends and acquaintances that may end up helping you someday down the road. They may even end up your new roommate, or they might hire you as a photographer for their wedding, or they might tell all their friends to come in just to see you and will increase your clientele ten-fold.  There are so many benefits in making real connections with people in your everyday life, you will be so surprised at how much richer your day to day experiences can be. But there comes a point, when you have to ask your self if it is still fulfilling your need to be challenged. If the answer is no, then it's time to make a game plan and bust out of it.

I have had such a blast during my bar career, I have learned so many things from the greats who came before me who taught me how to work the crowd and actually give good bar service.  When I truly ask myself what I want to put out in the world, my legendary mark, it is not whispering back "pissssttt....get people drunk". So over the past 6 months, I"ve been busting my butt to put my degree to work. Through many hoops and obstacles I've leapt and filled out more forms that I care to count and I am finally able to walk through the first door to a career in education. Starting this big girl job means a lot of things to a lot of people, my parents are so proud and I'm sure finally feel like Im taking adulthood more seriously and my husband couldn't be prouder and is ecstatic to have me on a regular schedule with him so we can spend more time together. This is such a blessing and I am finally feeling the fruits of my labor over all these years. But I am still terrified. Terrified of the complete overhaul to my schedule and my job actually requiring me to continue developing my skills rather than the stagnant day to day repetition of making drinks. We shall see if I can hang....

Update:

Well it's been a month at my new job and boy has it been an interesting transition. It's hard to wrap my head around how much is changing and how quickly it all happened. Since mid-July I have been working both my teaching job as well as my bartending job, its been exhausting, challenging and at some times it seemed that I was bound to crack but here I am in my last week as a bartender. Saturday marks my very last day behind the bar after a very long and fabulous tenure. Both feelings of joy and sadness overwhelm me as I say good bye to an entire chapter of my life. For weeks I have been flipping back and forth on my stance, "this is a good thing" vs "oh my god, my life is over and Ill never have fun again". It sounds dramatic, but going from one extreme to the other is quite the shock. There are times when my eyes are so heavy and my body begs for sleep and I look at the clock and its response is frightening, "ten o'clock?! " What a loser! But I am trying to remind my self that one, its ok to go to bed early when your tired and two, eventually I am going to get the hang of this schedule. It will be much easier to adjust when I don't have random nights at work  that keep me out until one in the morning on a week night. So in this regard, for my health, I can gladly say a sweet goodbye to the long nights and aching feet.

Over the last 6 weeks I have proven to my self that I am capable of doing much more than I give myself credit for, I am helping students with math and science when I had zero confidence in either subject. I completed all of my paper work and the many layers of leg work and learned the true meaning of bureaucracy in finalizing the process to get my California teaching credential and I couldn't be more relieved. A friend reminded me last night, that in May I wasn't sure I could pass my equivalency exam, which I needed to do just to get the process started and now here starting a career that I have been planning for since high school.  I managed to not only face that fear but now I am in this position because I finally got the courage to start my life. I've been avoiding it for some time, always second guessing myself and not believing that I could do it. But I can do it, and I can only grow from here. I know that my heart is in it, I love working with my students and every day I get better at knowing what to say and how to deliver a little nugget of knowledge.

Taking the CBEST has been a catalyst for change in my life, I faced my fear and it gave me the confidence to try a little harder and do a little more. Life is just going to keep changing for this point, I will begin my journey to becoming a certified yoga teacher in just 16 days at my Happy-U- my shala, my temple for self discovery. It is here where the transformation really began, building my confidence, my clarity, and my understanding of how the universe provides. Its funny how the more grateful I am, the more I have to be grateful for. The law of attraction continually brings  beautiful things into my life. I've worked super hard to save extra money to pay for my training sacrificing a lot of fun things/shows/trips etc. But I know that it will all be worth it in the end. Deepening my practice and my connection to my self can only help me grow stronger in every way.

It's like I was riding a merri-go-round, lots of different characters to see, a continuously changing view and surely entertaining for a time but now I am ready to get on a roller coaster with ups and downs, twists and turns and surprises around every corner. Roller coasters can be scary, but they are also a heck of a lot of fun.

And, as most of you know because I've mentioned it in my last few posts, in November I am crossing over to the dark side- also known as turning thirty. Quite a beautiful way to wrap up my twenties, with a new job and good prospects on the horizon. I am proud to say that I have accomplished much of what I wanted to before the big 3-0, and I look forward to many more accomplishments and blessings after.

Looking forward to every precious moment
Namaste
T

If I could list them all I would, but there is only so much room. Here is just a chunk of those who I have met because I was bartender, who have remained in my life for one reason or another
 Every time I "look back" at my photos on face book I count my many blessings, for every single event led to another and through the connections I made I've created such a beautiful rich collection of wonderful people. You never know if the person across from you at your bar could end up being next best friend or your new roommate who then introduces you to more friends, who introduce you to their friends and so on and so on. And this is how you network and build meaningful relationships that last.

* As you can see as you filter, there are a million excuses to wear a costume

* As you can see, there are a million excuses to wear a costume

Happiness is an inside job

 Every day we seek to grow and learn from life's daily lessons as we continue on our path to becoming our "best self". Sometimes reaching our goals is easier than others, maybe they come so naturally that you barely noticed the effort involved. Then there are the days when reaching your goals seems impossible, as we get hit with one obstacle after another our effort wavers and at times we may even feel like giving up and we feel too many negative emotions. We need to remember that life happens all around us, every day there are millions of people doing their thing alongside one another and sometimes we allow this to get into our headspace and it becomes a road block in our own personal path.

There is a brewery opening next-door to my yoga studio and while the idea of having another fun place to mingle and enjoy craft beers is appealing, the construction and noise factor can be quite a distraction while we are seeking inner peace and quiet through our mellow hatha practice. With a sense of grace and humor my instructor, Tierney, prompted us to merely view the bellows of Mick Jagger on the radio as an additional challenge to over come while we focus on our breath and stillness. The loud banging on the wall directly behind us at first struck a nerve for me, trying to calm my mind by breathing deeply in and out wasn't quite doing the trick. My instructor reminded us that life doesn't stop because we want to do yoga. To hold resentment or anger about it wouldn't do us any good, so we did our best to embrace it and of course have a little laugh about it after class.

This is what life is all about. Life happens, regardless of your own personal plans. We can choose to be attached to this situations and harbor feelings of anger, jealousy, irritation or we can choose to remain unattached and realize that we have the power to react any way we choose. How we respond to adversity can greatly change our overall feelings to be either positive or negative. When a lady cut in front of me in the line at target, I was furious. A busy sunday of course meant long lines in every direction and to my delight I took my one item to the express lane that was just about to open up as a woman quick cruised across the aisles to cut me in line and prompt her husband to bring his basket full of items all the way across the area just as it was their turn. I held on to this for about an hour after it happened, still being frustrated about how rude it was for her to do that. My husband sighed and said " I don't know why your still hanging on to it, do you think she's still thinking about it? Probably not. Do you think she even thought about it on her way out the door? Unlikely" and he continued to explain that I was the only one who was upset and was basically choosing to stay that way. This is also a lesson in understanding, compassion and patience. I needed to reach the understanding that people are not out looking to make me suffer, just simply out living their own life and having their own experiences.

We are often so caught up in the "how this effects me " state of mind, we need to remember that we are all human and we all make mistakes and almost always they are not of malicious intent. We also should try to keep in mind the simplistic idea that we cannot control other peoples actions but we have all the power to control our reactions and we should do our best to keep those reactions positive. You can create your own suffering but choosing remain negative and that will only radiate outward and give negative energy to others around you continuing the cycle that comes right back to you.

This symbol is called the Hamsa Hand. There are many meanings of this symbols in different cultures but the one that resonates with me is deflecting negative energy. We give power to symbols by believing in their power which in turn keeps us conscious of our own energy. I often wear my hamsa symbols to work, not only to "block" unwanted negative energy but to remind me to send out positive energy if thats what I wish to receive in return.

If we approach every day, every person and every moment as a moment to send out positive vibes and react with care we will never suffer. If you don't allow others to make you feel negative emotions then you should always be happy right? We have this ability to cultivate happiness and love every minute of every day, and though sometimes people test our patience we can be a beacon of constant light and joy.  We only have to look to ourself to find happiness.

Try to send out a little more light today, extend a smile to a stranger, choose to forgive someone who may have wronged you, be compassionate to those who test you and live a little brighter.

Namaste
T

Finding Happiness and Joy in Every Moment: NItya Karma

In my path to finding myself, yoga has become the epicenter of it all. In seeking peace and positivity I leapt into the open arms of yoga and my practice has blossomed beyond my own imagination. The possibilities are endless for where I will go from here. Yoga has found its way off my mat and into my daily life, I think about it through out my day and I live it by extending the benefits of my yoga practice to the people around me. While it can be trying at times, I try my best to extend patience and compassion to all those I encounter (well as much I can-it's hard to think like a yogi when your working in a bar).  Through this practice, it has helped seal in the benefits and weave them into a permanent place in my life, with dedication and patience I can aspire to achieve my goals.
Recently Teresa,  one of my amazing yoga instructors at Happy-U Namaste had mentioned a concept called "Nitya Karma," that intrigued me. After doing some research I found that...

Nitya Karma is the art of daily living. Foundational to all Vedic sciences, it teaches the natural law of the universe that is fundamental to Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tantra. There are things we do not choose to do that are necessary for life such as eating, sleeping, and breathing. Through these practices we can improve our lives by sustaining balance and harmony in the outer world that supports our inner spiritual development.(Click here for resource)

To honor Nitya-Karma we try to find the beauty in the every day, ordinary things. She related this to our practice by suggesting that we try to move as mindfully as possible to really feel each subtle nuance as we moved gracefully through our class. Upon leaving she reminded us to find the extraordinary in the ordinary and to really look around at the beautiful world we live in with a present mind.

Later that week I  was adding some photos to my computer after a camping trip and found untouched photos from earlier this year of a "sunset-y" kind of night here in Ocean beach. It was just another night,  making dinner and relaxing at home and we had decided to take our dog Boston out for a walk to the dog beach to catch the sunset. I got so excited at the idea and like a five year old I had to pick which toy to bring with me, ukulele or camera, I was stuck in a terrible pickle. I wanted to play my uke reeeeaaal bad but I glanced out side and saw the patchy clouds turning pink and orange and made the choice to grab the ol Nikon.

In this fairly habitual task of walking the dog, we chose to make it special for no reason at all. We followed the golden glow of the sunset as if following the call of the inner beach bum to the waves. What a beautiful sunset it was, colors unimaginable. Not just the colors, but the glow; there was some kind of magic in the air. Such a sight to be seen, the warm breeze breathed into my soul and filled me with delight.

Together my husband and I have seen hundreds of sunsets, some ordinary while others sparkle with indescribable majesty, and of them this one was truly inspiring. The wonder of nature took us aback along with a sea of other sun seekers, some local "Obecians" and others nationwide travelers following the sound of the great pacific.

As per usual, Boston felt at ease amongst his furry buddies down at dog beach. My trigger happy  finger snapped away at my camera trying to capture the perfect shot. In all of his missteps and clumsy ways he remains to be quite a beautiful creature; a gentle beast who knows nothing of hatred and full of love to give.

A we glanced around, it was hard to figure out which way to look as every direction was blossoming into a multicolored day dream of sorts, all shifting with the setting sun.

Allright so now that were done getting caught up in what was one of the coolest sunsets i've ever seen, lets move on to the point of this story. Were there real magic begins. As we headed home to resume our evening of calm weeknight rituals, I paused to take notice of the amazing moon shinning through the clouds. 

Behind me I could hear the sound of my dog's deep bark and I turned to see him attempting to hurdle over the cement barricade. What had gotten in to this dog? He was going nuts! As we look up where his loud bellows were headed we spied a special treat. Our amazing friends who had also heard the call of the sea. 

We all squealed with delight! Of course we say things like "well what are the odds?" or "lucky meeting you here" but we all know that we are all freakishly in tune with one another as if we operate on the same frequencies all the time. 

And while to someone else, one might look at this images and say that they are blurry or have no composition I can only see a beautiful moment that I captured to keep forever. I love the action that implies that they couldn't wait to greet us, the dogs running and everyone smiling. We are so incredibly lucky to have all of this here in our little beach community. Its almost like maybe heaven isn't a place we go when we die, but the place we are when we feel ALIVE! 

No matter how small or meaningless this little rendezvous may or could have been, it will be a random memory that I cherish forever because it reminds me that even during the in-between moments there is something new and fresh to take in and be grateful for. No matter how many moments from shows or events that are Facebook worthy or Instagram material, there will always be those moments hiding in what you believe to be dull, just waiting to surprise you and all you have to do it look for it. 

It is possible to find happiness and joy in every movement, from the deepest part of my heart I believe it to be true. My greatest wish for everyone that I have the pleasure to know is to find that too. 

"May All beings everywhere be happy and free"

Namaste

T

More on Nitya- Karma

-------With explanations from http://www.avgsatsang.org/

Nitya-Karma are daily obligatory duties that one must fulfill according to hindu religion.  "The concept comes from a sense of obligation" and that obligation comes from birth, a human is born in debated to three things; one's parents and ancestors, the sages (wise elders), and to the divine. Without going into to much talk on the hindu religion (of which I know very little), the basics of this idea is that out of love and respect to those three things we behave a certain way and do certain things Nitya-Karma fulfills ones obligations by being mindful of the daily duties and rituals that go on throughout the day, by doing these activities that are done every day (bathing, brushing our teeth, going to work, meditation, prayer, studying, etc) one repays the debt to the ancestors, the sages, and the gods. I don't believe that you have to be of the hindu faith to apply this practice in your own spiritual way or even in a non spiritual way. It is simply an act of being grateful and respectful.

"Nitya-Karma helps us over come self-centeredness"
When we recognize that we have been receiving help from all these sources, we become humble. Slowly, the concern for one’s own individual self diminishes and we begin to have a larger view of life. We appreciate the fact that we are not isolated beings, but a part of the whole scheme of life. We are what we are because of the contribution that we have received from the rest of the world. Therefore, we should function as a link in a whole chain, interconnected with everything else. There is a statement in Sanskrit ‘vāsudaiva kutumbhakam’, which means that the whole universe is one family. When we live in an unselfish manner, we function as members of the universal family; this is the spirit engendered by the performance of duties. The larger the scope of that with which we identify, the easier it becomes to come out of our self-centeredness. This is the spirit behind karma-yoga, which is taught in the Bhagavad Gita and technically expressed in this text as nitya and naimittika-karma, the daily and incidental duties that are performed in the spirit of worship.