Epiphanies

Sometimes epiphanies can be the most simple and obvious ones, but still it is so hard to see them. I had one the other day, I was lying in savasana/ corpse pose after my yoga practice, and there I just had an epiphany on how the way I’m doing exactly the same as someone does to me. They say there is a lesson to learn in every challenge which is true, however we do not always see this.

Often it is the simple things, like the one I had. I have this person that no matter what always try to turn everything in to something negative or turn things around to find a way to blame me. When I was lying in savasana I got thinking about which lesson is there to be learned as it keeps happening, then it just dawns to me that I’m doing the same to my kids not to the extent as this person, but still. I had asked my daughter to hang up the wash outside as the weather was nice and she was off school. When I came home, I said to Leah; Thank you so much for hanging up the wash, that really helped me, just next time if you shake the clothes before you hang them up they don’t get wrinkled, just so you learn for the next time. I did say this in a nice way, but I should never have said the second part about the shaking the clothes, as it took away from the praise I gave her. I could have said this the next time instead.

My point here is that this seem to be something small but we do this a lot of the time, we don’t mean to do it but it’s like getting praise and then a dig,  you are more likely to forget that someone praised you and only remember the negative. Instead we should give praise and compliments separate from how to improve as it is so much nicer for the receiver.

I know I usually do what I did, as if not I might forget to say it, but going forward I’m going to try really hard to keep it separate as I myself would much prefer to get it this way. Of course, I will make mistakes but that is okay too, as long as we try.

 

Why Meditate

Because the benefits are amazing. Most people say they can’t meditate as they cannot sit still, relax and so on. If this is you the more reason you should do it. Yes, meditating is hard especially in the beginning, very few can truly meditate but most of us sit in stillness. When you start don’t have any high expectations or think that you will be able to sit for 20 min, unless you are already used to some similar practices. The best thing is to start with no exception just start and the rest will come.

One day I decided I was going to start to meditate, I had been doing yoga every day for the past 6 months and I felt really down, I remember I was in the shower, crying and thinking how miserable my life felt. I decided that it was enough and 3 days before New Year’s Eve I started meditating, I was committed to do this every day for 30 days. I rolled out by yoga mat and sat cross legged on two foam pads with my spine straight, as I had been looking up, was one of the most important things to do.

After about 30 sec or so I thought to myself “OMG how on earth am I going to do this, it is the most boring thing I have ever done!” But I had committed to this and as a stubborn Capricorn I am, I continued and 30 sec became 1min then 2min, 5, 10, 20 too eventually become one hour after months of practising. In the beginning, as the weeks went by and the 30 days came to an end, I noticed I no longer got as annoyed over small things or at other people. I felt great I was happy and the feeling of depression was gone and I felt like a new person. If you feel down, stressed or even if you are on top of the world I would recommend meditating, as the benefits are so many, here are a few;

• Feeling calm
• Feeling happy & joyful
• Increase energy
• Deeper sleep
• Kinder
• Make you more compassionate
• Relaxed and many more

Most people after starting meditating especially if you think you cannot do it, say why did I not do this earlier. But it is never too late to start, meditating has been proven through neurogenesis to build a better, healthier, and happier brain, and it increases the grey matter in your brain. It also increases compassion and empathy and God knows we need a lot of that in today’s fast-paced rat race. I truly believe that we need more kindness in the world, if meditation became part of the curriculum in school we would soon have a generation of people who truly care about each other and not just what is in it for them. So, if you decide to meditate, there is loads of different types, I won’t go into it here but do try different things to find what suits you best. I just started sitting quiet focusing on my breath going in and out of the body. Thoughts will come especially in the beginning, it will feel like all of a sudden, all thoughts come at ones. Just notice them and let them go, what helped me was to pretend it was leaves or paper blowing away in the wind. So, every time a thought came in I let it go, like a leaf in the wind. Sometimes or a lot of the time, you will notice you will be engaged in the thought, this is ok too, as soon as you notice just let the thought go and concentrating on your breath or whichever focus you have decided to go with.

One thing I can promise you is that if you commit to meditating every day for 30 days you will feel great, calmer more focused, more energy. You probably also will say; why did I not do this before 😉

Now when I go through a period of not meditating much I notice my mood shifting, it’s like a down way spiral, most of the time I catch myself early and make sure I meditate, when I do start back meditating it feels like coming home. Such an amazing feeling. 🙂

Namaste

 

 

 

 

Why should you exercise

Because your body needs and crave it, it also gives you more energy it releases feel-good hormones endorphins. But why is it so hard to start and keep up? Well humans are lazy by nature, most of us are. I’m definitely one of them, I can be working really hard and being active and when I have to exercise it’s like I come up with every excuse I cannot do it. Ok except for doing yoga this I really love, I love the way it makes me feel how still and calm my brain gets, and it stops my brain from racing ahead like 100 miles per hour. But I still manage to talk myself out of it, but I would do it most of the time anyway.

The best thing about exercising I think, is the feeling of being toned, (when you have stuck to it 😆) for me it doesn’t matter if I am a certain weight or size but that feeling of being toned, it just feels amazing (at the moment I’m not so toned, as lately, I have been lazy but I’m slowly getting back there). I have to say ”Nothing taste as good as toned feels” this might be helpful to think of if it relates to you, to keep you going and it does not matter what size you are, what matter is what makes you feel good.

” Nothing taste as good as toned feels”

We all need to move our body as it is essential for our wellbeing. The secret to success is to find something you like and if walking is your thing that is perfectly fine or if you only want to do yoga or whichever it is, as long as you enjoy it. Because if you do, you are more likely to stick with it, another important thing is to prioritize it schedule it in as you would do with a doctor’s appointment. This way you will always have time for it.

If you want to have a healthy life, exercise play an important part. The more we move around and use our body, the longer it will serve you. We have accepted as we grow older we will get stiff and have difficulty to move around. Yes, of course, we won’t be as agile as we were or are in our twenties, but we don’t have to be stiff and have trouble moving, either all we need to do is keep active, and this is an ongoing thing, you cannot just do it for a few months and then stop. This is why it is important to find something you enjoy so you can make it a part of your life. Cut down on the Netflix series and go for a walk with someone or by yourself instead. This does not cost anything but the benefits you get are worth so much more that no money in the world can buy.

This week decide on one activity you will start, it can be a small step towards it, take the stairs instead of the lift or park the car a bit further away. The main thing is to pick something that you can maintain, a lot of the times taking smaller steps rather than full speed ahead, will more than likely keep you on the right track. Comment below what activity you are doing and how it is going. 🙂

Good luck!

Why should we eat healthy

I’m sure you have heard many times, that you should eat healthy, exercise and why meditation is so great (next two posts will be about the exercise & meditation). Chances are you have heard this a million times, you might have also decided that this is not for you. That you are perfectly happy to eat whatever you want and you might exercise already or feel that you couldn’t be bothered.

There is so many reasons why you should do this the most obvious one is to improve your health. But there are more, all that processed food we eat as a society today and the main exercise is to walk from the TV to the fridge, okay yes that is a bit of an exaggeration 😉. Eating too much sweets and processed foods cause inflammation in your body, and the most diseases is caused by inflammation. If you keep eating this processed food you will be sick maybe not now but at some stage. It could be Alzheimer’s, cancer or many others, 5% of all disease is genetic that means a whopping 95% is caused by lifestyle 😱 which means we could prevent 95% of all diseases. Now that is pretty scary don’t you think, especially when now it’s estimated that one in every two people will get cancer, add on another few years and that will probably be all of us or close to it.

If you start caring what you put into your body and listen to how you really feel when you eat certain food. You will start to notice food that you don’t agree with or that don’t make you feel good. This is your body’s way of saying no please don’t eat this. We have got so numb to these signs and we keep eating the foods that are nice, and yes, they are addictive. Sugar are 8 times more addictive than cocaine! The food manufactures know this so they purposely add this so you get hooked and they get rich. The worse things are that the government allow this, at least we are a bit luckier in Europe as a lot of things have been banned by the EU, that are still allowed in the US. Sweet’s and processed food also affect your mood and your skin. Say for example, that you have a lot of acne and you might try different creams and might even get prescription creams and tablets in the doctors. In almost all of these cases changing your diet will clear up your skin, what we eat has such an effect on our skin and of course, this won’t happen overnight.

Another thing about processed and modified foods are all the nasty things that they are allowed to add to the food. We wouldn’t voluntarily eat poison as we know this will more than likely kill us or seriously injure us. But the funny thing is we eat or drink poisoning food almost daily. Take fruit and vegetables, the grower adds pesticides and other things so the insects don’t want to eat them, so if the bugs don’t want to eat them should we really be eating them? No, we shouldn’t this is why we should try to buy organic as much as we can. I know not everyone can afford this, but just do what you can and there’s is a particular few that are called the dirty dozen, which are in Ireland (these might change depending on country);

• Apples
• Celery
• Peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Blueberries
• Potatoes

If you cannot afford to buy all organic, try to buy these ones as they contain the most pesticides. A lot of us also waste a lot of food, we buy a bag of carrots and maybe only use 3 of them, it would sometimes be cheaper to buy organic and only the amount that we actually will use. This way we save our health, money and the environment. It’s a win-win situation 😊

Mind what you put into your body and your body will reward you with a long healthier life 🙏

 

 

 

Fitting out

In the health coaching course with IIN (Institute for Integrated Nutrition) I’m doing at the moment, and in the year ahead. We are talking about” fitting out”, being a person that have gone more upstream then with the stream for most of my life, I thought this is great! What is it with most of us that we are so afraid of being ourselves, okay I get it we don’t want to be made a fool out of us. But this also prevent us from living an authentic life true to ourselves.

 

I think it starts somewhere when we are young, maybe someone said something like say when you were dancing, that you are bad at it. Then you will think this is true and you might even not like dancing or maybe you do like it but don’t want to admit it, so you will only dance with a few drinks in you. But really why should we listen to someone else saying this? Firstly, that is the person that has a problem that said it in the first place, it is some insecurity in them, to say this. People have this need to be mean to others, just to make up for their own insecurities! Please remember this!Secondly it is in our DNA to move and dance, tribes have been doing this for thousands of years and still play an important role today too.

Below are a few things dance can do;

• Release tension and stress built up. Who wouldn’t like that?
• Make you happy – have you noticed how you instantly gets happier.
• It keeps you fit and agile.

I know I have to admit too I don’t like dancing, well actually I do but I feel like someone is looking at me saying” Haha look at her, look at how she dances” only because someone, which I can’t remember who at some stage made a comment. But f**k them, I will dance and I don’t care if I look funny. I will dance and shake my body in any way as long as it will make me feel good! I hope you will do the same, no matter what!

But for the last few years I have been drawn to dance, it’s like my body is trying to push me to dance. I always say in my yoga classes that we should listen to our body and that is also outside of class. To be true to myself I have started dancing on my own, I do a few moves and shakes. I have even done it at work when I go to the bathroom. Well first I have checked so the coast is clear and no one can see me, I’m not quite ready yet to let this side totally loose 😆.

We are all different but thank God for that as it would be so boring to all be the same. We are all, including myself, to concern with fitting in! Instead celebrate that you are different and be proud to fitting out!

My whole life I have been in to different things, like spirituality and alternative ways. I believe in ghosts and reincarnation and different things and I have often felt that people don’t get me or know the real me (not that in hiding the real me). There are just a handful that gets me, actually only two people maybe three. But that is okay I’m very grateful to have these people in my life. It is not the quantity of friends you have rather the quality.

I often feel I don’t really belong and that is probably because the way I think about thinks are so different from the mainstream, but this does not bother me it used to and sometimes I tried to be like others but it felt so wrong. It did not last long at all. When I was younger I read books about witchcraft and herbs. I do draw angel cards after I meditate I ask the angels for guidance. A lot of people would think it is a bit mad but really, this is just being in tune with yourself. Be proud to be fitting out I am 🙂

 

Happy fitting out everyone!!

Monday’s

Why is it that we dislike Mondays so much? Okay I get it a whole week of work and Friday seem so far away. But if you only live for the evenings and the weekends you really miss so much of your life.

To be honest I don’t mind Monday’s in many ways I embrace it (I know you probably say: come on who likes Mondays that is BS). Some of you might think I only say this but it is true, it is all about your mindset, if you feel (like a lot of us) already on Sunday “Ugh tomorrow is Monday” and then when you wake up on Monday saying again to yourself;

 

“Ugh Monday morning, I hate Monday’s bring on Friday”

 

This is what you send out to the universe, that in fact you want Mondays to suck, so don’t be surprised that every Monday your wish will be granted 😉 Okay of course I like Friday’s too and I prefer Friday’s to Monday’s who doesn’t. The thing is though instead of saying to yourself and out loud which in fact makes your wish stronger. Instead think of Monday as a new week, new beginnings a fresh start. Isn’t wonderful that you can start all fresh and with new ideas and adventure on a Monday, this is a gift. It is all about shifting that mindset to see the positive things and the opportunities Mondays bring.

 

Many people wake up like zombies on a Monday, commuting to work being moody and when you arrive to work, you mutter “God it’s Monday again” and a lot of us have conversations about how awful Monday’s are! No wonder that Monday’s sucks!! All them vibes and energy you send out how much Monday’s sucks. That is exactly what you get! Be careful what you wish for ;). I know it is very hard to shift this mindset and it will take time and commitment. Start small, start by forgetting about Monday on Sunday except for maybe getting your work clothes ready, but try to keep your thoughts neutral. Then on Monday morning say to yourself “This is going to be a great day “and every time you slip back into thinking, “ugh its Monday” think how good the day will be, a brand-new day with amazing opportunities. This is one of those times when it is good to lie to yourself just to turn your mindset around.

For me, I don’t really think that much about that it is Monday. On Sunday evening I just get my stuff ready pack my yoga gear, as I teach yoga on a Monday evening, which of course help in me liking Mondays. On Monday morning I get up as any other day of the week, focus on my meditation and yoga and getting ready for work. In many ways I like the routine that the Monday or the whole work week bring. I get more things done as the time is very tight, so I have to be organised. I also love routines and I thrive on them, my Capricorn side.

 

It is so much easier to stay on track during the week. If this is you too, this might help you to think more positive about Monday’s.

Let me know by comment below what you think about Monday’s 😊🙏

 

 

 

Multitasking is it good or bad?

Multitasking is seen as a great asset, it’s in a lot of job descriptions these days, actually, I didn’t think I have seen any lately, that don’t say this under the required skills;

” Most be able to multitask.”

But really is it that good? I used to think I was great to be able to multitask, like I was the Queen of multitasking, 😉 thinking at least there is something I’m good at! But what now?? Is it not good anymore? What am I then good at? Nothing? Well, that would be my negative mind talking (which I did actually kind of think). We are way too critical with our selves, I know I am, but that is another topic for another time 😉

None of the multitasking is good!

Well, okay maybe it comes in handy once in a while when you have a million things on, like mom’s taxi, chef and the mountain of laundry and the list goes on. But in reality, it is not good for a number of reasons;

• It is not good for your overall effectiveness and health.
• You might think you achieve more but in reality, you just doing more things half done.
• It makes you more stressed.
• We were not designed to multitask!
• There are many more things and there is nothing good about to be able to do it!

I know it is hard to only focus on one task at the time. Believe me I know and I used to think it was great to be a multitasker; with three kids, a full-time job and teaching yoga classes twice a week and if that was not enough, I’m also keep doing courses (which is, of course, good, to keep educating yourself and improve). I often eat standing up doing other things at the same time or doing more than one thing at a time. But really, we are doing more mistakes and we won’t do thing wholehearted. Standing up eating is not something I recommend either (I know I’m very guilty of this) I’m really working on this one.

Try to sit down eating your meals mindfully, your digestive system will work better, your mind will be happier, and you might even get rid of those extra stubborn pounds.

When you try to be mindful in all the things you do, even the boring stuff like cleaning and doing the dishes. Even try to go for a walk or a run without the earplugs in, and listen to nature or just still your mind. This might be hard in the beginning, but it will be amazing for your soul and health. We are part of nature, all the elements in nature can also be found in us, this is why when we spend time in nature we reconnect with our self and feel much better.

If there would be only one thing that you have time to do, I recommend this, that is if you are working in an office or similar. Actually, even if you are at home.

Don’t eat at your desk, NEVER do this!!

Even when you think you are so busy there is no way you can have a proper lunch break. That is why it is called a BREAK! You need to get away from your computer or phone. I know this is hard, but it really is crucial that you get a break. This is so you can be more productive, less stressful, and digest your food properly, if you think you are more productive if you keep working through your lunch while eating. Think again as you are not. Below are a few points why this is really bad for you;

• Your digestion doesn’t work as effectively.
• Your stress will stay high, which in turn will lead to disease/illness.
• You are doing two things at the same time, which results in none of them will have your full attention.
• You will actually not digest your food properly, which in turn make you waste the food and also it might just make you gain weight.
• To only do one thing at the time and fully finish it will result in you being more productive and getting better result.

 

Of course, there is many more benefits and YES, it is hard, but it is to start taking baby steps. You don’t have to change everything overnight. Start small and see how you feel and the benefits you get.

Do one thing at the time and your body and soul will thank you by giving back a more relaxed healthy body and mind 🙂

Namaste

 

Self-care

There is a lot of talk about self-care, this is of course very important or actually it is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.

What exactly is self-care?

It’s not about getting expensive massage or baths with rose petals, even though of course these are fabulous.

Self-care is more about the free stuff things that don’t cost anything, only time and your commitment. Below are some tips;

• Self-massage – massage your body with some organic sesame seed or coconut oil.
• Meditate – even if it is only for a short while.
• Take time to eat your breakfast /lunch/dinner, without sitting in front of the computer, phone or TV.
• Be in nature, go for a walk.
• Do something that you wanted to do for a long time, start a course, class etc.

Self-care is taking time out to do something for yourself, which in turn will make you feel calmer, happier and reduce stress.

 

If you find it hard to make time for self-care or physical activity, schedule it as you would with any other appointment like the doctor dentist. This way you make sure you have time for it. If you are a busy mom like myself, you might feel that it would be selfish to take time for yourself. But it is the opposite, if you don’t take care of yourself how will you be able to take care of others. It might work for a while, but what if you keep on going until you hit a wall and the steams goes out of you, who will then take care of the kids? This is why it is so important to put yourself first and take care of you FIRST! This way you have more to give not less.

What are your tips or self-care routines? What works for you that might also be helpful for others?

If you still feel that you don’t have any time for self-care, at least make sure you get enough sleep. This is the most important thing for your health, it is when we sleep that the body repairs and rejuvenate itself.

 

Self sabotage

Why is it that we sabotage for ourselves?

We have decided to eat healthy, do more exercise or whatever it might be. We are doing really well it is going pretty easy finally, then the moment comes when we just sabotage our new way.

Of course, we don’t purposely want to do this, but there is a little voice whispering;

” What if I can never have it again”

In that moment we will have the doughnut or the bag of sweets or something else. Why is it that we keep doing this to ourselves? Is it the fear that we will miss out on something? This is what we might feel, but the truth is we won’t, we will actually gain more as we will feel better and in turn be happier when we put good food in our mouth that makes us feel good.

But it is okay 😊! If this happen the thing is not to go on a big binge and instead say to yourself;” Okay I did fall off the bandwagon, but it’s okay I’m back on track now.” Instead of what many of us do, keep eating loads and say;

” I will start back on Monday” 

How many recognize this? I have certainly said this at least 100 times if not more 😆

The best way to succeed is to start small, change one little thing at the time and then the next thing and so on. This will set you up to succeed and it’s easier to make small changes. Then to do a drastic change.

Remember even if you have setbacks, focus on the thing that you have done, how far you have come, it’s a journey and enjoy the way, notice the small changes that makes you feel good. 😊

Good Luck!

Be true to yourself

So, what does it really mean to be true to yourself……well to start with follow your heart or your instinct, as it never lies.

It was a while since I wrote here, a lot of things have happened, my life has changed a lot but I’m being true to myself and following my heart. Slowly but surely it is getting better each day, with a few steps back every so often…..but that is the way it is. The hard stuff is what makes you stronger.

There is a lot that have happen the last two years, I have separated from my husband, we were together for 16 years. This has been hard and it is still a working progress getting things sorted, but it is worth every second of the hardship as I am a happier person. But it is never easy when kids are involved, but one thing that is for sure, never ever stay together with someone for the kids’ sake. You might say what??… of course, you have too, well of course you have to try to make it work, but if you know deep in your heart it won’t you have to do it for your own sake and your kids. It would be worse for kids growing up in a loveless relationship, what does that teach your kids….to grin and bear it and be unhappy for the rest of their life. Now you have to show them and teach them to be true to themselves. If you are in a situation where you don’t know what to do, remember that you only have one life (well maybe more) so you have to follow that inner voice. If you do everything will fall into place, yes it will be hard, but it will make you stronger and happier.

Maybe Im lucky I was born strong, for as long as I can remember I have been strong, I have had to be many times too. But everything that have happen to me all the hardship has shaped me as a person and even if I seem strong and have it all together. I also have time when all I want to do is cry and then I do it, be able to show emotions is a sign that you are strong, crying is not a sign of weakness more the opposite. It shows that you are intune with yourself and if you need to cry do, don’t care what other people think of you. that is their issue and says nothing about you, that is on them.

One thing that really gets me is people that bull doze over you or treat you like it doesn’t matter, like people that are like “she is ok she is strong she can handle it” and they keep doing this, it might be small things…but they can really hurt you and it is so damn ignorant. Not nice at all, be kind but don’t let people run over you or don’t take any shite no matter who it is. at the end of the day we are all worth the same no matter status, one skin colour and so on.

Be true to yourself and be kind.

Namaste 🙂