Life After….

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 122017
 

My logical brain says that it is time to start to prepare for life after:

  • full-time yoga training
  • constant stress of M’s situation
  • worry about paying people back
  • fretting on how to pay the next bills

For almost 18 months or maybe even close to two years, it has been a life of stress and struggle. I took for granted my health insurance, regular paycheck, being rent-free and choosing a life of leisure over security.

Even now, when we get a bit of money old habits return where I can be easily influenced to splurge on a weekend of luxury and fun.

However, I never ever want to return to the stresses of before. We are inching closer and closer to being free of immediate worry and able to relax knowing that we do not have avoid the phone calls or run through who might be wanting money from us. Yes, that’s the life it has been.

So, now I can work on envisioning the life of abundance and success that we want to manifest. It might take some time for me to shake the trauma of worry but I have faith that more likely I will have to remind myself of it to keep us out of it ever again.

It is with a bit lighter shoulders and a brighter smile that I write this keeping our fingers crossed and faith strong that by the end of the week all will be normal and well once again. Keep sending us that positive energy cuz it’s working!

~T 😀

 Posted by at 10:19

200hr Kaya Yoga YTTC = Finished!

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 112017
 

It was a lovely weekend overall, though I guess I am a bit tired from it. This is normal for me, but it was the end of a part of my yoga chapter.

These beautiful ladies all graduated from the 200hr Kaya Yoga Teacher Training held in Abu Dhabi at the Bodytree Studio from January to June 2017.

The final practical exams were held this weekend with the ladies bringing their clients to our place on Thursday and Friday. I got to do one exam as training for the teacher-training aspect and helped mark the written exam since it was just a shorter version of our 300hr training exam.

So, yesterday was the formal practice and written exams with a celebration afterwards with everyone. Due to the way that Yoga Alliance does their certification, I had to get my 200hr first and now I can register my 300hr, but in any case, I have both – just the dates on the certificates are confusing…. 😉

Still, the work is done for RYT-500 and now I aim towards getting E-RYT 200, which requires 1,000 hours of teaching/training teachers plus two years of experience from the initial certification. So, the chapter is not finished, but it is progressing along very nicely!

Me and Kaya

My teacher, Kaya, stayed the weekend with us as well, which was really nice as it gave us a chance to get to know each other better, talk and relax together. We even had a night out that was really lovely. It is so good to keep the heart open to people in our lives and I am glad to be reminded that there is always room for others if we just let ourselves be available for the love and kindness.

So, now I shall focus on recuperating as I managed to snap something in my glute in yesterday’s practice as well as hurt my neck…, but once I am back to feeling good I shall focus on just practice and teaching with love. ;D

~T 😀

TWWs

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 102017
 

After a week and weekend of overdoing the TV time, I think that it is necessary to have an upping on my working out even if that means a lot of yoga! By the end of this week, I will have completed my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training course making me a full-fledged RYS-500 yoga instructor!!!

June 4th (Sunday)

  • 60′ yoga practice with meditation
  • 60′ Ladies Wellness Yoga
  • 60′ Private yoga session

June 5th (Monday)

  • 30′ light yoga practice with meditation
  • 60′ Ladies Wellness Yoga

June 6th (Tuesday)

  • Rest day

June 7th (Wednesday)

  • 30′ light yoga practice with meditation
  • 60′ Private yoga session

June 8th (Thursday)

  • Rest 

June 9th (Friday)

  • 60′ Private yoga session
  • 60′ Private yoga session 

June 10th (Saturday)

  • 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Exam Day!!

Karmic Cycle….

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 092017
 

Often we talk about karma in the world of yoga. It is more than just what we understand as what comes around goes around.

Karma relates to the deeds – good or bad – that you do, have done, will do as well as those of your ancestors going back to the beginning of the existence of your soul. If you believe in God as a Christian or any other formal popular religion then this is a bit new age. However, it can be somewhat related to how as humans we continue to pay for the sins of Adam and Eve even though it was at the start of the world as we know it.

In the spiritual realm, karma relates to our souls that get reborn into new bodies. In some spiritualities these souls can be reborn into animal bodies; however, in most cases with yoga we talk about it in human forms.

I am sure there is a proper scientific study out there somewhere on this to explain why some people seem more “mature” than others or the person who is “wise beyond their years”, etc. Within the philosophy of yoga, we talk about that in terms of our karmic cycle.

While I am still working out the depths of my belief in this philosophy, I do believe that I am an old soul. Whether it is to justify to myself the early life that I have had or to give some sort of comfortable explanation to life, I do believe that I am the end of whatever karmic cycle my soul had started years ago.

In some ways I look at my adoption as a way of breaking away from the family cycle that may have been or still continues. I consider my lack of desire for children as another way of finishing the cycle. I feel that surviving my negative life experiences as a child was a way for my soul to work through the negative karma and to bring forth a positive end to the soul within me – allowing me to share love and compassion to others in my older years instead of growing old and bitter towards life as so many do and will.

Whether or not one believes in karma or these spiritual aspects does not matter. What matters most is how we cope with the life we were given and what sort of action are we taking day by day to improve ourselves to create a world of peace, love, calm and serenity for ourselves and those around us. Each person in our lives whether it is for a brief moment or a lifetime is affected by our words, our actions, our emotions, and even our breath. My wish is that the effect I have on others brings us a step closer to contentment and not towards chaos.

What effect are you having on those around you?

~T 😀

 

Sutra 3.9

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 082017
 

3.9 Nirodha parinama is that state of transformation of mind where it is permeated by the moment of suppression which appears and disappears between incoming and outgoing samskaras. (vyutthana nirodhah samskara abhibhava pradurbhavau nirodhah ksana chitta anvayah nirodhah-parinamah) ~Sage Patanjali

It is fitting that on the last weekend of my 200hr Teacher Training that I spend some time reflecting on the journey of yoga that I have taken since November 2015. Nineteen months of almost non-stop learning, studying and growing in the world of yoga. My life has completely changed since I made a spontaneous decision to respond to a newsletter….

They key words in this sutra are:

  • nirodhah =  control, regulation, setting aside of
  • samskara = subtle impressions, imprints in the unconscious, deepest habits

For me, I think of the washing out of the footprints in the sand as waves push new sand on top of the imprint made before yet still remaining for a period of time. Each new step taken makes a new print/impression and it is the space between each step where our minds can be changed.

In most interpretations this sutra is about changing habits and forming new ones. If you read books on habit formation or transformation, this makes more sense. It is hard to break a habit as our minds have created grooves in the brain and neural connections between stimulus and reaction (habit). To break this connection, there has to be a new groove made and re-routing of the connections to relate certain stimulus to a new reaction. On the outside, this sounds simple enough. However, if you have ever tried to change your habits, develop a new personality trait or redefine who you are to others, then you know this is no easy task at all.

Still, it is possible. The phrase that anything is possible if you set your mind to it is more true than we realize!

~T 😀

See-Saw

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 072017
 

It seems that the world and life in general is a game of see-saw. Up and down. If someone pushes stronger, the other person goes higher. If one person weighs more, they go lower. See-saws were not meant to be balanced – otherwise what would be the point of them? So, is the idea of having balance in life just a whimsical myth? Perhaps, instead, it is just a matter of knowing how to respond to a strong push up or a heavy movement down…?

It is interesting that once a decision is made, then there are new factors that arise making one question the decision. This is where we are at. My gut says to stick with our decision and to not let the see-saw effect happen. However, my logical brain says to work out the factors and start to cross off the negative ones individually so that the right decision is clear – even if it means changing our minds.

For the moment, we are sticking with our decision. Meanwhile I am doing what I can to apply logic as well. It’s just keeping our fingers crossed that everyone else plays along with our positive movements forward. 😀

~T 😀

 Posted by at 10:29

Looking Up

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 062017
 

Just a short update – things are starting to look up at last.

Yesterday I read a horoscope that a friend had posted on FB. The link doesn’t work anymore for some reason, but you will have to take my word for it that it said that the struggles of the last two years will come to an end this week. It seems that perhaps there is something to the horoscope…. 

I am not saying I am a horoscope believer now but I am definitely going to take the positive signs! 😛

More details on progress later as things develop.

~T 😀

 Posted by at 13:43

Step 2: Make a Decision

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 052017
 

Remember how just over a week ago I said we were saying YES to options?

Well, the interesting thing is that the options we thought we would have to decide upon are not the ones that we decided….That’s a confusing sentence!

Lemme break it down.

When I started sending out CVs I got immediate positive responses to positions around the world, but particularly in Saudi Arabia. It was a bit of a surprise and a nice stroke to the ego to find that I am still marketable despite having a year off from work. After a few Skype chats, I have been waiting to hear back. One of the three did not progress. Another one has given me no word at all despite seemingly being the most eager to pursue me. A third has said that they would like to make me a contract offer, but after a week have not had any response. Though, to be fair, they did warn me that this process takes some time.

Amidst all of this and starting to prepare ourselves mentally towards heading to a different Middle Eastern country, I received an interesting email out of the blue.

I responded. We met. We emailed and negotiated. Then, it came down to making a decision last night. It was somewhat difficult for a few reasons, but I have emailed our decision this morning. So, now it is a matter of working out the details. Once those details are settled, I shall write again with more specificity than this post is offering. Just know that Step 2 has been taken – let’s see where it leads us for Step 3!!

~T 😀

The World of Binging….

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 042017
 

Meditation has taught me to control my mind, to sit no matter if my feet are falling asleep or a thought is not desired, to have patience with myself and to understand that all things pass.

In our teched up world of instant gratification, desire for immediate feedback and sense of self-importance, we can see how our actions every day represent a lack of self-control.

When a driver speeds by me to be able to stop at the next stop light first, I am enraged at the audacity of a person’s ability to threaten my life for his/her impatience. When a person pushes by me without saying “Excuse me” or noting my existence, I am beyond irritated at the lack of awareness of another human being. When someone calls me without using their brain first, I am indeed very impatient at their inability to use their time to save mine.

Yet, despite all of these negative irritations in life, I also take advantage of what our hyped-up world offers.

In the past week I estimate I watched at least 40 hours of TV from binge-watching Season 5 of House of Cards (13 hours); completing Anne with an E (6 hours – this week); catching up on Hawaii Five-O (5 hours); binge-watching Season 1 of GirlBoss (6 hours – 12 episodes); plus various other shows here and there that would make up the rest.

If I have enough time to watch all of this TV, surely I have enough time to complete the free Coursera Psychology course I am attempting to finish for the second time. Or, indeed I would have time to write more or do more online work. I could even finish at least one of the three books I am reading at the moment. So, no more excuses, really….

After our weekend of overdosing on TV, I am self-regulating by ensuring there will be no TV on in my presence until after 5pm. I used to say until 2pm, but I think 5pm is better for a while until we get a handle on ourselves again. 😉 After all, Game of Thrones is coming soon and so I need to save up my hours for then!!!

~T 😀

TWWs

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 032017
 

Starting the week as the beginning of Ramadan and a good opportunity to use it as a way of getting myself back into regular practice for myself even if it is a short session. I need to get my meditating on too, so will see how we go this week.

May 28th (Sunday)

  • 35′ light yoga practice with meditation

May 29th (Monday)

  • 30′ light yoga practice with meditation
  • 60′ Ladies Wellness Yoga
  • 60′ Private yoga session

May 30th (Tuesday)

  • Couch potato day…. 😐

May 31st (Wednesday)

  • 30′ light yoga practice with meditation
  • 60′ Men’s Wellness Yoga

June 1st (Thursday)

  • 60′ Private yoga session

June 2nd (Friday)

  • Rest day

June 3rd (Saturday)

  • 60′ Private yoga session
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