Taking the next step in Faith...

I had the first day of my Yoga course with Being Yoga on Saturday!

Although it was a really rough start to the morning - I made the mistake of timing the start of the course with moving house so I was up late packing boxes the night before and then, when I finally got to bed, I was too excited to sleep.

I woke up tired, cranky and started an argument with my ex on the phone about something trivial just as I was exiting my car at the studio. I was so distracted I nearly whacked a lady with my car door not once but twice!! Just my luck she was pulling out a yoga mat from her front seat whilst I was mid-rant at my ex on the phone.  So it was no surprise to discover I was about to spend the next 6 months studying alongside her - eek! I was unbelievably relieved to find out she was lovely and accepted my apologies and offerings of 'this is exactly why I'm here - to find my zen!!'

The course was amazing - Michael is an incredible, down to Earth and funny teacher. You will be amused to learn that we managed to spend half the day just learning to stand on our own two feet - or Tadasana. A primary focus of Yoga is learning to work our bodies into a relationship to the Earth and it's so interesting to discover how the simple exercise of standing can affect us. It can create feelings of either confidence or insecurity, pleasure and pain, apathy, fight or flight. For a really cool Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy on this subject follow this link: body language

My group or 'Sangha' (likeminded individuals) were all just really warm and lovely people as well - I felt so at home with them. The breaks were such an interesting reflection of the quality of life my new friends are searching for as well. We all sat around chatting and eating healthy, unprocessed food, sipping green tea and there wasn't a cigarette, junk food item or smartphone in sight - the last fact was a real eye opener for me. It made me realise that all of these 19 other people wanted to really be present in the moment and connect with the people around them - so unusual in a world run by technology and social media.
I just felt such confidence that with this group I am going to learn what I am truly hoping to learn from Yoga the most - the art of being present.

I think there will be times when doing the course is going to be very challenging wether physical or mental and my trust in myself may fail. I am, however, reassured that I can expect a supportive network from my Sangha, teachers and Yoga itself.

I love, love, love the encouragement Michael shared with us in the form of a Martin Luther King quote:

"Just take the next step in Faith"

And just so you know I have already been a much calmer version of myself since my hissy-fit Saturday morning. I can totally vouch for myself because moving house usually brings out 'chaotic stress-mess Anna'. But I'm just so darn happy about this new step of faith in my life I can honestly tell you I haven't felt this good in such a very, very long time.

Namaste

Blessings...

One of the most amazing things about embracing Yoga is mindfulness - for me that is being present and grateful. I have so, so much to be grateful for when I stop and make myself aware.

I found myself yelling at the TV the other week when Sydney and Melbourne got hit by those awful storms. There was a woman on the news looking at her swimming pool that had been torn from her beachfront backyard and dumped on the shoreline below. The reason I was yelling at the TV was because she was sobbing and saying 'this is the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone'.
I was immediately angry and thought "Walk in my shoes at the moment, at least you could afford a beachfront mansion with a swimming pool in the first place." And then I realised I behaving in a similarly ungracious way.  (side note - I am sure this woman was genuinely distressed and perhaps just worded her comments badly).

I was thinking my life was over and I was in the most terrible place I could be when it was very far from the truth. I instead calmed down and started being mindful of all the things I could be grateful for - even when I felt at my worst.

I have the most beautiful son in the world
I have an abundance of family and friends who love me unconditionally
I have a roof over my head that is not a cardboard box
I live in paradise (the Sunshine Coast)
I have experienced amazing generosity from people who out of the goodness of their hearts have found a way to make my and my sons life just that little bit easier
I have my health - and it's only going to become better
I have access to clean water and healthy food
I am becoming stronger every day because of what I am overcoming

What are you grateful for today?

The journey begins...

There's a reason most people close to me would describe my personality in one word - 'bubbly'. I am high energy, I'm loud, I love to giggle, I'm never still and I'm always rushing between one thing to the next. Those even closer to me (like my extremely patient and wonderful best friend Amber) have been urging me for many years to look further into yoga & meditation as a means to calm my busy little mind.
Sure I've dabbled in yoga classes and meditation over the years but never really had the patience to commit.
So why now?
I've been through a particularly difficult year in my life. At many times I wondered if at 36 I was having my mid-life crisis a little early. (Side note, if anyone knows what a women's mid-life crisis is supposed to look like please comment below!) I ended a relationship to the man I though I would marry,  dissolved a business partnership, went through challenging medical issues with my son, piled on 12kg with the stress and at one stage I was literally couch-surfing and penniless. This all led to some pretty destructive behaviour that really challenged everyone who was in my life to choose to either keep on loving me or walk away.
Some did walk away.
Throughout it all I realised that when you hit rock bottom the only way is up and something really had to change in my life.
My son and I were blessed with so much generosity from friends and family on our journey up. And one particular friend - Mark - who is a life coach, forced me to focus on what my greatest challenge was going to be if  I wanted to succeed in life. It was self-worth. Believing that I am worthy of greater things.
I find it easy - perhaps it's the creative within me - to have a thousand thoughts going on in my mind at a single time - I am a self-confessed 'over-thinker'. And the problem with that is that of these thousands of thoughts many of them consist of negatives.
When I remember to just be still and present in my own life it's easier to see the reality of a situation and to see all the things to be grateful for. Not only do I now believe that I am worthy of self-care, but I am worthy of finding more moments of stillness. I am worthy of great physical, mental and spiritual strength.
That is why I have chosen to immerse myself in yoga. And my love for teaching and craving for a new skill set motivated me to sign up to classes in order to become an instructor. I cannot wait to be sharing with others what yoga is already bringing to my life.
I'm studying with Being Yoga and I am so excited for the experience.
I am most defiitely not putting my camera away - I definitely see avenues to have both Yoga and my first love - Photography in my life simultaneously.
Of course it won't all be serious folks - I do love a laugh and trust me there have been some reasons to giggle already.
For example - I have already caused a few polite sniggers among friends confusing the term 'downward dog' with the delicious but extremely unhealthy term 'dagwood dog'....it could be a long journey friends but I do hope you will come a long for the ride :-)
Namaste