Cutest of cute

The Art of being Grateful

I recently read an article about the importance of being grateful. It said that it’s not happy people who are grateful, but grateful people who become happy.

Inspired by this, I wanted to make my own list of things to be grateful for. So, here are my first 3 – perhaps pretty obvious ones, but it doesn’t hurt to put them down on paper:

1. My marriage. 15 years ago I was lucky enough to meet my soulmate and we’ve shared paths ever since. It hasn’t always been easy, but it sure has been the ride of my life.

2. My 4 wonderful children. They’re all healthy, happy (at least most of the time) and clever enough to make it in this world and I love them to bits.

3. Being able to do work that I love, with inspiring and positive people. Caring and sharing everday, and making the best of our time together. And the best part being: I can say this of almost every job I’ve ever had.

There. Not bad, eh?  I’ll be sharing mine every week. What’s your list like?

 

 

 

 

 

Truly Conversed

I wish I could say someone was paying me for this, but alas, nobody at Converse has yet discovered the enormous market potential hidden in my love of their products. But there it is: I’m a sucker for sneakers, always have been.

So substantial is my love for this type of shoewear that if I had unlimited resources, I might very well be the Imelda Marcos of Sneakerland. Thankfully, common sense got to me at some point, which means that I can freely admit to owning only the very respectable amount of 2 pairs. White ones of course, an absolute must-have. And now, since winter is fast approaching, I decided to invest in a pair of blacks too :-). Oh, bliss.

Words of wisdom

We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.

~ Paulo Coelho

This quote and other equally brilliant ones can be found in this Elephant Journal article by Robert Piper. Excellent stuff. Try implementing at least one of these changes and you’ll slowly see your life transform to the better.

Centering the information

Having been rather busy working for the past weeks, so not much time for blogging or anything else. Some changes on the information front though: have let my web pages go, simply to avoid having too much updating to do. So from now on this blog and Facebook are (again) the main channels of information for anything to do with yoga or reiki.

Have a good working week to come!

Back to Funland

First week back at old job now officially over. And how did it go? Well, fast, for one thing.  Had really forgotten how quickly a week can swoosh by when you’re all caught up in the job. Of course I’ve been working hard this past year too, but the work pace of a one-woman enterprise is a tad different from that of a multinational company with over 4000 employees.

It really is fun to be part of a large network again and being an extrovert I enjoy the interacting (the more people the better!). I’m starting to realize that cooping up alone in the home office perhaps wasn’t my thing after all.  Although it remains to be seen what my new colleagues will feel about this after a while. They might be sending me back there before I know it, just to get some peace and quiet again…!

Goodbye Yoga Pants, Welcome Power Suit?

Since I’ll soon be returning to office life, a sudden thought dawned on me: I will actually have to dress up to go to work. Worldwise, I know this is not a major revelation, but for someone who’s happily been slouching about in yoga pants for the past year and half, it is kind of big news. And a bit of a problem, since there’s not much else but comfy yoga clothes filling my wardrobe right now. But, with the tiny bit of fashion sense I have left, I suspect wearing tights and trainers to the office is decidedly un-cool. And therefore, alas, I will have to go shopping.  Which will indeed be a new sensation, because since I haven’t really needed anything specific to wear for a long time, I haven’t spent too much time browsing shops either. I wonder where I should even start?

Admittedly this particular problem pleases me, since in my past life I actually used to care about what I wore and it was quite fun trying to hang on to fashion’s whims and trends. Not that I’ve ever been a fashionista – always been a tad too comfort-seeking for that, a.k.a you won’t find me teetering around in six-inch heels, for instance. But tomorrow I will head out to find the new Business-me. Hopefully there’s a still fairly comfy version of that to be found, since I don’t like the thought of spending work days in ill-fitting clothes. Being stylish should not mean being uncomfortable. Let’s see what will unfold :-).

The Brutal Truth

Here’s a brilliant infomercial you’d wish Coke had made themselves:

I’m thrilled that this kind of information is spreading independently and that people are no longer buying into the BS of smart big-money marketeers. Money-hungry manufacturers have been feeding us rubbish for too long. Not to mention that they (just like tobacco-manufacturers before they were stopped) are deliberately using ingredients like high-sugar or sweetener content in their products, so that people – particularly children who don’t know better – would get hooked and buy all the more, undermining their health in the process.

Guys: seems like The Food Revolution is here and there’s simply no stopping it. Let’s all join the bandwagon and keep spreading the word.

Last Week On The Go

This coming week will be my last as a full-time yoga instructor, at least for a while. Although I have relished this past year-and-a-half working full time with yoga and health, I recently got a very interesting offer, which means that for the coming year I’ll be doing a wealth of other things. What happens after that will probably show in time. I’m a great believer in things happening for a reason, so this seems just right for now.

Even though I’ve loved this job and greatly enjoyed meeting all the wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure to get to know through it, it’s been a hectic year. I’ve managed to keep up my own practice, but at times doing yoga has felt more like a job than a journey towards myself  – which to me is a sign of there being too much of a good thing.

Admittedly, it’s not smart to move on just when you’ve gotten the ball rolling and there’s a demand for your classes. But then yoga has never really been about business to me. It was always a journey to discovering what I can do and who I am. The business-side of it just came along, which is not to say that I didn’t do a lot of work to make it happen. Of course I did. It was just never a main motivator. Therefore I’m not sad to see it go either. I’ll still have yoga and I’m actually looking forward to focusing on my own practice for a while.

But of course I’ll miss all my wonderful students and the warmth they’ve shared in each encounter. I wouldn’t trade a day of it and I’ll always treasure these moments and memories. They’ve made my life richer and added more value than any other part of this experience.

Even if I won’t host any more day-to-day classes, I’ll still continue with workshops and courses, probably with all the more enthusiasm and joy. Info about these events will be posted here and through Facebook (link on your right) and you’re all warmly welcome.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey.

I Am My Own Unique Self

While browsing, I often stroll over to MindBodyGreen, which is an interesting site for anyone keen on health issues. Today this text by yoga teacher Ally Hamilton caught my eye. Click this link for the full version, or just munch on the lines quoted below. So beautifully put and so true:

It’s important to remember there are roughly seven billion people on the planet at this point, and only one YOU. You’re made up of about 100 trillion cells that have never come together in exactly the same way before, and won’t again. You have a particular song to sing, and if you don’t belt it out, that’s a song the world never gets to hear.

If you’re doubting whether or not you have something meaningful to offer, consider that no one but you has had your experiences, your memories, your ideas, your fears or your dreams. You have a unique perspective, although the themes of your life are likely to be universal. You never know how you might shine a light for someone else simply by sharing what’s in your heart.