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True Strength.... Mind over Muscle!

What an exciting week! 

I have to be honest it took me a few days to get over the madness that was kids yoga teacher training but those aches and pains were definitely worth it. It was lovely to see the photos shared from the group, which added to the countess memories of my own.

After an intense weekend filled with fun and laughter I was surprised to find myself a little off on Monday. Now I know that sounds very ‘girly’ but I did! I know what I am doing is the right thing for me, for now, for my future, for my inner curiosity but I think it was after being surrounded by such a lovely group of people for a great training course, in a very intense setting I found I had a bit too much me time on Monday. Which is actually a massive compliment to the group I shared my teacher training with… I missed your warmth, your support and your encouragement.

But I quickly realised that just because you aren’t with someone all the time or because a group isn’t together all the time the feelings and shared moments are not gone. The real challenge is having the strength to trust in what you know and feel in your heart related to a certain individual or group of people. It comes back to that great phrase…’Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened’. So although time moves on and life sometimes takes us on separate paths we are all still very much connected through our experiences and feelings until our paths cross again.

Sometimes you just need to hear the things people are afraid to tell you, you need that person who will say what everyone else is thinking. A very good friend pointed out to me I have had a lot of change in my life recently, most of it I have chosen and some of it has been the result of the choices I have made…. My reaction was the fear or this change, of the unknown. Change can be scary but it can also be exciting. Until I start to see the success, that is currently bouncing around in my head, as a reality… I will question, I will seek to prove and that is just part of me!

So although I can’t answer all of those questions right now, I can be confident in my decisions, in my judgment and my confidence. My strength this week was not challenged or tested through my physical ability but rather through my mind and my commitment to my choices. I did some great yoga classes this week and I felt strong in each one and I mean strong in my poses too. I found the right level for me and I committed to it and enjoyed the challenge of focusing my mind and using my breath. I took it pose by pose not thinking of the next one in the sequence and lived in the moment.

Stay focused

Trust your instincts

Remember who you are

Embrace the challenges

Never give up

Give yourself a chance

Take every leap with confidence

Have happiness at the heart of everything you do

Namaste xx

Thank Pigeon it's Friday!

My Friday feeling yoga pose this week is pigeon! 

I have always loved this pose but I found a whole deeper appreciation for the power of this pose today. I went to a hot power yoga class this morning and we held our pigeon for 5mins on each side.... 

I always feel a massive release in pigeon as I find my hips and tops of my thighs can be quite tight but this was just a different level. The tightness gave way to a pulling moving almost ache as the whole muscle stretched and then a great feeling of release when the muscle relaxed.... try it! It burns but it is not unbearable... just use your breath! 
Namaste & Happy Friday.

Push Your Boundaries... and Laugh!

Since I last wrote I have received my Diploma in Kids yoga teaching, so this week was kicked off to a great start. After 3 intense days of discovering my inner child I am just about back to normal and I also have a heart full of memories after a great training course.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into the training, I was surprised by how nervous I was on Friday morning before it began.  It was like the feeling I get before exams, butterflies in your tummy and not in a good way, the fear or worry of the unknown and almost the first day of school fear of ‘what if no one likes me’. But following my new mantra I pulled myself together and thought what’s the worst that can happen- I don’t like it so I leave! Needless to say I was in the door two minutes and felt totally at home.

It was the start of three days filled with fun, games, laughter, story sharing, emotional experiences and that was just the adults. Everyone had their own story and reason for doing the course but I think it’s safe to say everyone connected on a deep level and as well as getting a diploma at the end to teach kids yoga we all learned a lot about our inner child. I had so much fun and laughed so much that my stomach ached and it led me to think… when was the last time I played? Why is this a strange question or why would you not have that element of fun and enjoyment in your life? The training was not a theory focused course on how to teach yoga but more about connecting with children and teaching them respect, trust, developing their confidence and encouraging them to be who they are…. Then came the yoga.

Watching a group of kids play at any age fascinates me, especially younger ones, where there are no limitations on their imaginations. In their world of make believe and play they explore their inner dreams and express themselves without limitation or worry. As adults we usually follow a totally different structure where we follow our subconscious beliefs that limit us without us even thinking about it. It is only natural that as we grow up we develop a sense of what risk is and day to day worries become more real… but does this mean we have to loose our inner sense of fun where we can let go and laugh? I mean really laugh.

Last weekend I became part of a circle with people from all different backgrounds with a variety of cultural influences and life experiences and rather than leaving that at the door we incorporated so many elements of each of us into the course and we let go. We laughed, we cried and we all went on a journey. We all walked away with a diploma at the end of the course but this was nearly a bonus…. From talking to the other people on the course it was clear to see that by pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, not worrying about what other people thought, making silly noises, singing like there was no one listening, dancing like there was no one watching …we each discovered a lot about ourselves and each other and I for one feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet such wonderful people and share the experience. To each and every one of you- Thank you! 

So as I always do after my ‘aha’ moments I looked at how I apply this into my yoga practice…. This was an easy one. Push your boundaries. If you are like me and practice yoga regularly by yourself it is easy to get comfortable in your practice so that you don’t go out of your comfort zone. It is nearly an automatic sequence and I do the poses without even thinking about them or focusing on how I can take them deeper. So this week I tried new poses, focused on areas i’m not so strong on and stuck with them even though I struggled initially. Yes it felt a bit strange at first and I wanted to jump back into my usual routine but it is a case of focusing your mind and pushing your boundaries.

Whether it is in your yoga practice, daily routine or the relationships with your friends and family…  have some fun, push your boundaries and find your inner child again and laugh together! Trust me we all need a good giggle! 

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xx

The Perfect Balance!

Week one of the new journey is going great…. I could definitely get used to this! After a lovely Bank Holiday I woke up on Tuesday morning and felt strangely comfortable. I didn’t feel I should be somewhere else i.e. in the rat race pounding the pavement trying to get a long walk in before settling into my day at the office, I just felt content. 

It is surprising how busy you can be when you are not working…. Ok so I know I am in the honeymoon period. This week was always going to be easy, I have just finished work I have a few days off and it certainly helped that the sun was shining. But I also have that excited giddy feeling that I am on to a good thing here.

So I have enjoyed the freedom and done lots of yoga. As I have a few private classes lined up for next week I wanted to go through some class plans and sequences because the weekend will be taken up with my kids teacher-training course. I was practicing lots of balances and found a whole new connection to each pose…. I found the balance point. As I am finding a lot at the moment my daily routine is often reflected in my yoga practice…. So this week I have a nice balance of me time, yoga time and life planning time J and this absolutely transferred into my balancing poses.

I always thought I had good balance, but where did I get that from? I can roller blade and ice skate and somehow figured this meant I had good balance but I was often frustrated when it came to balancing poses in my yoga practice. I am quite flexible, thanks to my gymnastic days, but often find I can’t quite get the balance I want. My leg shakes and I loose focus or I simply cannot stay still on one leg. I know my body can do it but for some reason I found it difficult to hold these poses… and my desire to push myself left me frustrated and a few close calls of my face going smack into the floor where I didn’t listen to my body as it was totally falling over.

However, this week I found a whole new balance. Without even realizing it I was holding balancing postures and what’s more I was going deeper than I had ever done. I couldn’t get enough of them. I didn’t suddenly discover a new ability to balance but rather stopped overthinking it, as I have done with so many things in my life at the moment. I am in a lovely place where I don’t have to stick to any routine apart from my own. I have things I want and need to do each day but there is no schedule apart from how I feel in the moment.

I have a balance in my day and for the first time in a while I am not on a rollercoaster, which is being controlled by other people…. I am going at my own speed. It’s that lovely aaaahhhh moment when you are doing a balance and you achieve the perfect push and pull resistance and it just works with minimal effort.

My advice is to let your mind open to how you want your day to go and find your perfect balance.

Namaste xx 

Try standing on your head..... for a whole new perspective!

With 2 days left in the suited and booted world, or more appropriately in my skirts and heels, I am still waiting for the panic to set in…. let’s face it… it’s not every day you leave your well-paying, secure job in the big city and choose to take a chance on a dream. But that’s exactly what I’m doing.

I had lunch with a friend of mine a few months ago and as we sat chatting for hours about how busy we both were, that there weren’t enough hours in the day and we lived for the weekends I just realised I was constantly rushing. Rushing through my days, weeks and my life…. But for what?! I know it might sound dramatic but when I really thought about it I spent my week rushing to Friday so I could clean the house, do the washing, ironing, shopping, try to fit in seeing as many friends as possible, then wait for the Sunday evening fear to set in…. Where is the fun in that?!

It is in my nature to rush around the place, I am not one of those people who saunters as they walk…. I’m a full speed, take no prisoners kind of walker. If I have somewhere to be I just don’t see the point in dawdling. I like to be constantly on the go and luckily always have lots of energy, but I suddenly realised it was all getting too much and I was wishing my life away, and at the tender age of 28 I hopefully have a lot more living to do.

I started to think about how my mood affected my yoga practice. Before I moved to London I was working in a fast paced job which was often stressful and I found a great way to deal with that was Hot Power Yoga…. So I did it at least 6 days a week. Are you starting to see a pattern…Yes I am a bit of an all or nothing girl. I liked the flow the challenge and the intensity of hot yoga which is all fine once you can balance it with your Savasna but this is where I struggled. I used Savasna as time to plan the rest of my day or week, to make another to-do list and totally missed the idea behind relaxation time. I loved my yoga practice but I was missing out on what I now see as the most important part.

Relaxing for me always has been a challenge, I know it will sound strange to some people but it used to feel very weird for me to totally relax and switch off and I used to find it very hard to do. By my nature I am a planner, a worrier and need to know what I am doing next…. I constantly think ahead and a deviation from ‘The Plan’ can totally throw me off course. Again this transferred into my yoga practice… It took me a good 18months to really be able to enjoy a yoga class, without thinking of the next pose and being able to let go when I couldn’t quite get a pose instead of trying and trying and getting frustrated.
The day I fell asleep during Savasna was a serious ‘AAAAHHHHH’ moment. I just got it, granted it took a long time and for other people day one they can totally switch off and focus in their practice and I commend these people, but at least I got there in the end and this truly was a milestone for me.

Telling friends and family about my new adventure, leaving the corporate world and focusing on my little yoga buzz journey has resulted in some interesting reactions. My close friends have been so supportive and encouraging, most of my family has been the same but there are a small handful of people that think I am going through a mental breakdown. I have been offered money, a few psychologists’ phone numbers and endless cups of tea! The idea of taking ‘such a big risk’ as one friend said to me totally baffles some people and takes them totally out of their comfort zone, where they can’t cope.

I, on the other hand quite like the idea of moving myself out of my comfort zone, and pushing myself to try something new. I didn’t let the few negative or worried opinions distract me from my objective and positive attitude…. I simple said to anyone who tried to tell me I was for the loony bin: ‘Try standing on your head... it will give you a whole new perspective’.
Whereas I actually do stand on my head to get clarity and really focus, I didn’t expect my 88 year old Nana to do the same but rather to try look at things from a different angle, be open minded to a new approach and be willing to take chances, run with the risks and if all else fails learn from your mistakes.

My little yoga buzz is a new chapter, I have no doubt it will be filled with fun, challenges, ups and downs but  I also know I won’t rush through any part of it. For once I don’t have a master plan… I have a starting point and I have passion… there is no finish line to race to so let’s just see what happens.

Namaste!