I was designing a brochure for a friend the other day and it occurred to me that a typical mistake non-designers make when doing a layout of a document is using every inch of space on the page and filling it with text, pictures, lines, boxes, etc. I didn't realize until now, what a valuable commodity space is.

Space is important and often, the more space you don't use on a page, the clearer your message becomes. Take a look at a document that is filled from top to bottom, where do you set your eyes first? After a while of staring at the document, your eyes get tired and you abandon the document altogether. I thought to myself, this idea of creating space on a document is synonymous with life as well; we also need to create space in our lives, to help us see a clearer picture.

Time and time again, I meet people whose calendars are so tightly filled with every social and business engagement possible that they are running on empty without a minute to spare for themselves. Occasionally, some manage to find their way to my yoga classes and are so wound up that they have a challenging time staying present. They can't stop thinking about what they have to do next. In yoga, we learn to focus on our breath, and with practice, we learn to live in the present moment. Yoga also helps us create space in our minds and our bodies. When we create space in our minds and bodies, we set in motion the process of creating space in our lives.

Think back to when you did a huge clean up at home or gave away a bunch of clothes that you no longer had use for. How did you feel after this 'purge'? Did you feel a little lighter, almost like you shed a few pounds? Now imagine all that junk you store in your mind and body? The endless worries, anxieties and fears. Creating space allows us to make room for other opportunities to come our way. We prioritize what is important in our lives and eliminate things that are not contributing positively to our lives. Whether it is a poster we are designing or our minds we are de-cluttering, space sheds light on what matters most and gives importance to our heart's desires.

Michelle Uy is a Certified Yoga Teacher and Owner of LoveActionYoga. She is Co-Creator of the Eat Well Feel Well Program, a yoga and nutrition program, and she is also certified to teach Yoga Thrive, a therapeutic yoga program for cancer survivors.