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How do you keep your dreams alive despite all the challenges

How do you keep your dreams alive despite all the challenges

Dreams and desires – are yours being pushed down or are you allowing them to flourish?

Has there been a time in your life when you have wanted something so desperately?  You couldn’t stop thinking about it, its just a dream and will never happen. Something didn’t feel right in your life. Maybe you don’t even know what it is you just can’t put your finger on it?

I felt something was missing from my life

I started to question what my life was about when I began to spend more time on my yoga mat. My mat was a space to reconnect and take time away from what I thought I should be doing. I could be me on my mat. There was something that just kept me going back each week to my mat but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Once I began my yoga teaching training I knew I wanted to incorporate yoga more in my life. For me this was the first time in my life that deep down I relished studying, I couldn’t get enough and I still can’t.

My teacher training was a roller coaster of emotions – massive highs and huge lows, but beyond doubt the most amazing experience of my life. Funnily enough I never went into the training wanting too teach! But boy did I come out of training all fired up to teach, even after my first opportunity to teach on the course (Day 1!) I knew this was for me.

After setting up classes in my local area I desperately wanted to teach full time,. I knew there was no chance of that happening as I needed to work to pay the bills, to live and thats what you do isn’t it, you go out there and get a job? I would spend hours thinking about how I could make it work. Getting frustrated as I couldn’t see a way out. I just knew I wasn’t meant to be doing what I was doing.  I thought it was just that, a dream.

How to make the dream a reality

Over time I needed to let go of that dream, it took over my life. I felt like I was struggling with being present with what I had. Wishing the time away so that I might get closer to my dream. I started to enjoy my day job and got stuck in. A promotion popped up and I was still teaching in the evenings so I had the best of both worlds. I worked hard to keep up my crazy schedule and never lost my passion for teaching.

After a year of knuckling down I had the most amazing news that could change my life. An opportunity had come up for me to reach for my dream. To go for it and commit to my yoga business 100% and move it forward. It felt so right but at the same time I was scared and nervous, now it was here could I really make this work?

A yoga business felt so radically different to what I thought the norm was (guess thats because there is no norm!!) But do you know what, it was one of the easiest decisions to make when it finally came down to it. This dream had been manifesting itself over the years and all my actions and everything I did felt like stepping stones to take me there. I let go of the craving, the frustration of never thinking it would happen, which wasn’t easy.  I started to see what I had around me and this was exactly what I needed to do, I can see that now!

In Deepak Chopra’s meditations he says:

“I’m open to whatever happens and when it comes I will know the next step to take. My true self contains every possibility, my desires have the power to manifest”

Keep your dreams alive

I’d sown the seed of my deepest desire many years ago and was able to let it go so that I was so fixated on the outcome – is there anything in your life right now that you deeply desire? Can you let it go and be open to whatever happens?

Fast forward a few years and its constantly changing. I have dreams which excite me. I can do this and so can you.

YES you are flexible (really you are!)

YES you are flexible (really you are!)

When you mention to people that you do yoga do you ever hear “I’m not flexible enough to do that!”

Its a pretty common limitation for why many don’t get on the mat – especially as we are a society of achievers. Stepping onto a yoga mat for the first time can seem pretty daunting if you have never moved your body in that way before.

I know for many though, working on their flexibility is one of the instigators for going to their first class – they start to notice that their body has aches and niggles that weren’t there before, this is definitely true for me. When I started my flexibility was very limited due to many years playing sports and constant gym sessions!

For some bodies it can definitely feel like a slow process working with flexibility – I know I felt like that.

I’ve always said I have tight hips, every time I come into a hip opener I would just think to myself that I wasn’t going any further that my hips would always be tight, there have been times where I’ve been disheartened as I look around the yoga room (not that I’m comparing but hey I bet everyone has done this!) and see how everyones hips are much more open and they can go deeper in the poses. All I’m thinking is when will these dam hips open!

Overtime though – and for me its been years (!) I’ve slowly lessened the desire to believe that I need to go deeper into the poses and to stretch more, in order to get more out of my practice. It can be frustrating at times, but this is the practice hey! Noticing what comes up for you and how you react to different situations and challenges. This for me is being FLEXIBLE – not how deep you go into the pose but adapting to whatever your day throws at you.

So when you think you are not flexible enough to do that pose or you get frustrated or disappointed that you can’t get your body to do what you’d like to – be aware how it makes you feel, completely accept that feeling no matter what it is – learn from it, be mindful that this may translate to how you feel in your day when things don’t go to plan and YES you are flexble enough to do yoga – no matter, what age or size you are!

A meme about flexibility - everyone else is more flexible and I'm nowhere near.

 

How much time do you spend on YOU?

How much time do you spend on YOU?

I bet you are pretty good at filling your days? Do you feel like you should be doing something every second of the day otherwise you are not being productive or satisfied with what you have done?

If you are not busy are you being lazy?

How many times do you start a conversation with “Are you keeping busy?” I think we we feel inclined to justify ourselves on a busy scale – we compete over being busy and busyness can be a sign of status and that your leading a full and worthy life.

Hectic, whirlwind, crazy and constantly on the run, way too fast……. I bet you hear these words on a regular basis now – they have become words and phrases that are interlinked with how many of us feel on a day to day basis.

Creating busyness even when it didn’t exist……

When I made the shift from my intense event management days into building my own yoga biz, I found that I needed to justify what I was doing in my days – I felt the need to constantly keep busy, to fill my days with tasks and actions so that I’d answer the “Are you busy” questions with yes, I’ve being doing this, this and this. In reality I was creating busyness even when it didn’t exist!!

When we get busy we forget to invest in ourselves – our food choices may suffer as we grab what we can, we don’t have time to spend with family and friends, we miss that yoga class as we are too busy, all the things that we know work for us get dropped to the bottom of the list – its can take days, weeks or even years to realise that you have completely lost connection with the most important person – thats YOU!

One of the reasons I wanted to build my own business was to shift away from the constant busyness in my days. Its not been easy and every day is a learning curve. Don’t get me wrong I can very easily fill my days, but for me its about prorities – and lookng at it this way has helped me see whats important for me to function at my best!

What allows you to function at your best?

You have a very powerful gift at your fingertips

You have a very powerful gift at your fingertips

Imagine how it would feel if you could shift the way you were feeling when you get caught up in the day to day overwhelm of your life – the traffic jam making you want to scream, your boss showing you up, that comment that digs deep or the stupid argument you had before you left home.

Guess what – we all have the capacity and power within us to shift these feelings, to ease the racing thoughts and worry and transform our state to welcome calm, its all in your beautiful breath……….

Did you know that breathing techniques (like ones we use in yoga, pranayama) can positively affect your actions and thoughts? Thats because every thought we have changes the rhythm of our breath. You might have noticed that when you feel happy you breathing is easy, relaxed and if you really pay attention (we don’t often notice out breath though do we!) that its rhythmic. I bet you’ve noticed though that when you are stressed when you feel like you need to count to 10 or take deep sighs that your breathing is really irregular and interrupted or you may even hold your breath! Tune in next tim your remember to watch your breath in different situations, this is the first step to really understanding the power of your breath.

This is why yoga is so special…… we give ourselves the opportunity to bring breathing techniques into our day so that we can create calm in our lives. Its not just limited to a yoga mat though – you can just do this walking down the street and you’ll get the same impact.

You could try out this technique where I offer you a simple approach to finding a place of calm when you need it. See for yourself how it makes you feel HERE

Have you fell for this as well?

Have you fell for this as well?

OK hands up I fell hook line and sinker for this over the last few weeks – its sucks all the energy from you, it lurks in the background making you feel pretty rubbish and I want to share it with you because I bet you’ve caught this once in a while!

Comparisonitis is a dreadful condition. It causes havoc with our minds and our general wellbeing, sending us into a spiral of negative thoughts. Its our ego’s way of being heard, causing immense discomfort about who you are and an overall dissatisfaction with anything that you’ve accomplished. Sound familiar?

Ever noticed yourself thinking how well everyone else is doing, they seem further along than you, having more fun than you, making more money, living the life that you believe you should be. Maybe you start to feel guilty because you think there is something wrong with you and that you need to be doing more.

Comparionsitus can come in many shapes and sizes. It can be a full blown knock down causing massive amounts of negative thoughts, berating yourself, not thinking you are good enough or just a slight dissatisfaction, not lasting long of wishing you could be more like whoever or whatever you are comparing yourself too.

I’ve been pretty active on social media lately, for me this is the one place that I can get sucked into thinking I should be doing this, I’m not doing enough or I’m not good enough to do that! Ok so there are times when looking at how others are doing can be totally inspiring, I get that and I love technology for this as it allows so much more to be seen, but I have a tendency to be overwhelmed with choices, ideas, thoughts – I need to keep it simple and keep my focus (complete monkey mind!) otherwise it can only take one old belief pattern/thought to rear its ugly head and it sends me into a mini or full blown spiral of comparionsitus!

I’m moving out the other side of this little episode (totally laugh about it now!) and each time this happens, I know I’m not focused on what is, I’m focused on what I think should be happening, what I should be doing, what I should be experiencing. All that does is create more anxiety, more guilt, and more frustration about where I’m not, instead of appreciating where I am.

Awareness is absolute key. If you know this is your tendency you can totally nip it in the bud or at least be aware thats why you are feeling the way you do. This is why I include practices in my day that create more awareness, that get me out of my head and peel away the layers of old stuff, old beliefs and patterns. I’ve grown to cherish my yoga and meditation practice as an opportunity to become more aware, to be more present and to approach my days with more ease and flow.

What does balance look like for you?

What does balance look like for you?

Getting the right balance – what does that mean to you? Balance between work and life, moving and being still, eating healthily & indulging, resting and working out, stress and calmness.

I spoke with one of my yoga students last week about balance – they love the workout they got with the practice and then also the opportunity to rest afterwards to balance out the session – for me yoga is the real deal – the complete package between effort and ease, strength and flexibility, mind and body, rested and alert, awake and relaxed.

It can mean many different things to each and everyone of us. What works for one person will be completely wrong for another – there is no hard and fast rule to stick by. Maybe thats why it’s hard to find balance as your balance is unique to you. Its also a daily practice – its something that we will always need to do.

Take a look at your day and see if there are ways you can bring balance::

  • Sit at your desk all day? Every 30 minutes, get up, take a walk and do something completely different for 5 minutes to get your body moving and mind rested from your PC or work. Make a cuppa, grab some fresh air, stretch.
  • Cardio or weights every week? Add in some downtime for stretching and resting – this will allow the body to balance out the high intensity workouts and let the body recover.
  • Stressful day? – Take some time to sit/lie and be still. If your mind is on overdrive its exhausting. You could try a guided relaxation or meditation to help alleviate the stress and feel more relaxed.
  • Family filled day? – its important to take some time for you each day, whether thats a few minutes or longer – read your favourite magazine/book with a cuppa, take a bath with plenty of bubbles.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we were told exactly how to find balance – like a step by step process you could follow – we wouldn’t have to think for ourselves, just do it……. but then its not a conscious choice and we’d all be lie robots doing the same old thing!

I’d love to hear how you find balance in your day, let me know in the comments?