It's comic, but not haha funny.

Vanity is certainly not a new thing, but with social media, selfies and the chronic show off syndrome (even in the yogic field) I sometimes feel great concern for future generations and how they look upon themselves. 

It's kind of creepy. 

The picture? How we behave? 

I leave it up to you to decide. 

This well articulated illustration from Johanna Rubin Dranger's comic Miss Remarkable and her career (original title: Fröken Märkvärdig och Karriären, 2010) demonstrates a real issue we're facing here, in double sense. It's comic, but not haha funny. We've become brilliant multitaskers, kind of watching ourselves in all we do, not truly experiencing, not really there. We're only getting a close up of ourselves as we think about what other's think or what we think they're thinking. They're probably not even thinking about you. They're most likely thinking that you're thinking something about them. I do this sometimes too and can assure you that this behavior gives a very one sided, incomplete picture of ourselves and reality. 

Can't we find and eliminate the root of the problems instead getting caught in an endless treating of symptoms? Most of the things that we're trying to not even remove but smooth out are emotional issues, physical pain, appearance related issues... all of which commonly can be traced back to the stress that we're under, which often is of a vain character. Even on holiday. Look your best. Beach 2015. Show off the coolest things you've done, the nicest things you've bought. The expensive food and drinks. Wow! WOW! Look at you! 

Remind yourself that what you see around you is manmade. It's great magic tricks to make you doubt yourself and believe in their spells. You don't need anything of it. You need only remind yourself of what's really important. Remind yourself why you're doing things. If you're not liking your reasons... change them or what you do! It's up to you to actually live the life you want, not just looking like you live the life you think others want.

Better than reality - bad habit.

I used to be a big time snoozer and honestly the first thought that appears when the alarm clock goes off is still sometimes oh how sweet it would be to fall asleep again. Please just a little bit more... 

NO. 

Why? 

You will not enjoy it as much as you enjoy the thought of it AND it even tends to make you more tired. If it's hard for you to wake up then why on earth would you force yourself to do it more than once? 

The mornings are becoming more sacred. As appreciated as important. I'm always eager to get up "earlier" for morning yoga. This really helps waking up on the "right" side. Good attitude, good connection with the present, body and mind. So get up when you wake up! I clean my mouth and grab a glass of lemon water. Lit candle. Hit the mat. Timer and inspiration book at the side. The best way to feel when the timer beeps is relieved and disappointed at the same time. Because it should be demanding (in a good way.)

The body is used to it now. When I take it away I feel it the same and the next day. Something's missing hmm? Looks like it's finally become a habit, a routine. Getting more and more into the mindset, understanding more, being more present... but of what value is knowledge if it can't be put into practise?
I'm looking forward to when I can bring the mindset out in the "real world". When I can feel around people what I'm feeling in my yogic training... As always the mind is good at the associating game, usually linking things to the past or future, away from the present moment. This time it was the past.
... A few years ago I had enough. I just wanted to up and leave this society. I desperately wanted to find an ashram in India and find that peace. It's a good thought, but if the words of monk Thích Nhất Hạnh "there's no enlightment outside of daily life" are true then... OK, let's say I went to an ashram. Let's say I found that peace, but how would I bring it back with me? How could I fit it into the daily life with all it's stress, pressure and rules? With all the places, faces and things distracting me. It would be easier to find peace in an ashram becasue you would have the perfect setting, the perfect schedule, the perfect peer pressure and the perfect way of life served for you. Devoting your life to peace and making it a priority you would find it faster. Out here it's more difficult. Then again if you manage to center yourself and stabilize despite all the noise of the world around you then you would have no transition problem, no adjusting problem and you wouldn't long for the ashram whenever things weren't heading "your way". You would have the strength of making it on your own. Yes, it is harder to find here but easier to keep because it is tailored for your particular life situation. Don't get me wrong, I would still like to visit an ashram, monks and all, but not in desperate pursuit of peace. If you chase it you can't catch it, but if you sit down patiently it will come to you, no matter where you are.

By the way, it looks like there will be breakfast yoga three days of the week for the staff at work. Thank you universe!

Sometimes the thought is "better" than reality.

We tend to glorify our bad habits.

Always remember

it's a choice between

what you want NOW 

and 

 what you want the most.

Hydrotherapy and golden milk.

As often as I can, this is where I am.

Today I tried Ishnaan for the second time!

Ishnaan 

What? Hydrotherapy. Cold shower. I mean really cold. 

Why? For improved immune system, better circulation and of course getting more alert. Some sources say it's stress reducing and it just seems to make you better in so many ways.

How? Massage your body with the oil of your choice. I always go for coconut. Then get into the cold water for a few seconds. Massage. Get into the cold water again a few seconds. Repeat atleast four times or until you feel warm. Don't start off with warm water, just directly into the cold! Be brave! Note that this is easier to do Ishnaan if you're hot from laying on the beach a sunny day, going straight from the gym or worked up a sweat. After the shower it's nice to dive directly into the daily yogi practice. Well of course it might be a good idea to get dressed first...

Golden milk

What? A hot drink from turmeric and other spices mixed with milk. It doesn't have to be cow milk. I go for oatly. I imagine almond milk to taste fantastic with turmeric.

Why? Hard time sleeping or want to get more flexible. I have no idea if it works yet, but turmeric milk is besides a very cozy evening drink also nice for your joints and helps you rock into your sleep. I've done it once and it's nice. Will be the second time tonight and tomorrow is time to get more turmeric!

How? There's a quite good explanation at healthyholisticliving.com with benefits and recepie. I myself am using the one in YogaJona's book. You mix water and turmeric, cook it into a paste and then you just add your paste in warm (not too hot) milk. Cinnamon and cardamom go well with this! I also put ginger in everything. It's not only good, but also GOOD FOR YOU. 

Going through that pile of books. Sponging. Soaking up the knowledge. There's a lot of things I want to share, but for now I'm quite busy on the mat. Or on the beach. Or in the garden. 

Emelie

One of my latest experiments. "Emelie" 

a more modern interpretation of the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty.

At the bottom of this post my thoughts behind it are revealed.

 

 "Emelie"  - 3d collage and paint mix. 

Detail of the painting. The evil stepmother.

Detail. Sleeping beauty awakens.

STORY

What's different between the classic story and my piece:

In the old story the princess was saved by a prince and true loves kiss. Here this is NOT the case. She founds the strength within herserlf to wake up to  reality and realize that the external world is not always the issue.  We all have an evil stepmother within us -  The attention demanding, self-demining voice inside that can control you by putting up limits, chasing empty beauty and just dreaming away instead of living the life you are meant for. This is about stepping out of expectations of what we learned as little children and see that the evil stepmother, the princess and the knight in the shining armour are ONE. They're all different battles of the mind and we can decide who we want to be by what we let motivate our hearts and minds.

MATERIALS

The base: 

Started off with a grey and a dusty pink acrylic base. Thick layers are good for when you have a lot of the same color because it gets more depth and texture. Then I added on some black nail polish (you can paint with almost anything!) Because I am one of those recycle everything kinda gal but have to walk for a bit to get to the recycling station I decided to glue on some of the things that wouldn't go in the regular garbage bin. Which was pink silk paper, broken sunshade bows, the nailpolish brush and bottle and also a few pieces of a smashed wine glass. 

The collage: 

I picked pieces that looked like flowing fabric and had a lot of motion going on. All of them in the dusty side of the color spectre. Putting the pieces together is like a puzzle with endless possibilites. I don't glue until I get the "right" feel to it. As a finishing touch brushstrokes and clolor splashes were added for blending in the cut-outs and for sharper contrast.

Note:

SOLD! If you like it check out my other artwork OR send me a request.