The challenge of the ZZZs

So if you're like me and go into energy save during the winter... well you can avoid total hibernation!
Here's a few good tricks to keep your energy up and help you stay on track:

Join challenges
No matter what your practise is it's always good to join a challenge and motivate yourself by keeping the day count and just sticking to it. I'm currently doing the Yoga Camp challenge with yoga with Adriene. A Hatha yoga experience, and this one has a bit more elements of mental wellness than her previous "30 days of yoga" challenge (which I also highly recommend!)

Get by with a little help from your friends

When it gets tough it might feel like a failure (IT IS NEVER) to ask your friends for help. Actually it is a very strong thing to do and when your friends know where you're at and what's going on it will be much easier for them to help you. We don't have to be so goddamned independent all the time! So ask for advice, ask for support, ask for a bit of cheerleading or gentle reminders. Or better yet... why not join a challenge together?

Seize the day

Carpe diem might sound like a massive cliché, yet as the days become shorter it becomes all the more important to get outside and gather as much sun as you can. Even when it's cloudy it's still brighter outside than indoors. Also the fresh air will do you good. In our family the outdoor minimum limit is at least 30 minutes per day, something I am grateful for today.

Recharge

During the wintertime it's easy to be *yawn* a chronic sleepy head. So one way to go about it is of course to sleep more. This however does not work for me, in fact it makes me more sleepy. A bunch of other options might be

Cold showers. Yep you heard me. A brilliant way to wake the body up and although it might not feel too inviting on cold days it actually gets your circulation up and you will be less cold afterwards. I've written a little more about hydrotherapy in a previous post.

Power naps. If you're feeling sleepy, set your alarm and give yourself a good powernap. I usually feel better and more alert if I'm surrendering to a couple of zzz rather than forcing myself to stay awake.

Keep doing what energises you! When winter comes (and it will, as Snow so eagerly points out) it might be tempting to cancel everything and stay under a blanket. I advice you not to. By keep going you will let your body (and brain) know who's the boss. And by doing what you set out to do you will get a kick of "YES I DID IT" and coming home afterwards to a cup of tea and the blanket will be all the more rewarding.

Play. Ok, I'm sure some of you are feeling a bit of resistance with thoughts of playing being just for kids but I assure you that getting your sillies and giggles up will boost you in so many ways. So invest time and energy in having fun, because it will give so much back.

- - - - - - - -

When it's evening, weekend or you just feel like watching something there's a brilliant korean film I saw yesterday. It was both visually and emotionally beautiful as well as fun and the right kind of weird (for me atleast.) 

Kimssi Pyoryugi (2009)

in english known as The castaway on the moon.

That's all I had for now, but I'm sure you will find your way to power up during the winter. 

Get out there. 

Do good. 

Reward yourself. 

And see you later!

Throw the children into the water!

This said the person who almost drowned:

I WON'T SET A FOOT IN THE  WATER EVER AGAIN UNTIL I HAVE LEARNED 
HOW TO SWIM!   

Sadly this kind of mentality is not a stranger to us and in society today. We expect ourselves to know certain things and when we're told we can't we just won't do it until we can.
How does that even..?
Yes, it makes no sense.

We don't throw little children who don't know how swim into deep waters yet we tend to do that to ourselves expecting great things at areas in which we have poor skills or no practise. When we wish to learn something new we must remember the children and the patience we show them. The small steps we allow them take. The gradual progress. The reward and praise we show them for every little movement forward.

Jake the dog of Adventure Time

Maybe you can remember a moment when patience was shown to you when you was little and new to the world. If you think about it you're still taking steps, but with greater expectations of yourself but also with the freedom of choosing your own path. So if you find you are in the mindset of "I won't until I can" in an area or skill you wish to master just patiently remind yourself that we don't have teleporters yet. You need to take those steps to get there. Make sure to see your own greatness and reward yourself for it.

How do you treat your friends when you know they are trying? Strangers who are newbies? Are you as harsh to them as you are to yourself? Why don't you cheer for yourself? How do you REWARD YOURSELF? If you don't have an answer for the last question it's time you start thinking about the things you want. The things you like. The things that make you feel good. So you can celebrate your own goodness.
The goodness is strong with This One.

Oh snap! What was that?

Reading up on unintentionally cracking joints. It's been happening quite a lot lately.

What I know so far is that it's debated wether it is good for you or bad for you to crack joints, and it hasn't got too much proof on either side. What I hear a lot of yogis saying is that it's natural, and it's no harm in unintentionally doing so. If you experience pain or swelling then that's of course no good.

Two hours of yoga today! Got up at 2:45 to have time before work. Then came home and had chillout yoga and meditation in the garden. Progress on the cow face (connecting hands behind back like mentioned in post "The good, the bad and the patience.") and overall keeping in touch with the body and present moment. Discipline is better than ever, although I want to cut down on my blog writing time. I told myself I'd be finished... 45 minutes ago.

Going to bed soon because tomorrow will be sort of the same procedure of yoga, work yoga, but harder more stressful work since the guests are leaving the hotel. Best be prepared.

Celebrate everyday through balanced living. No hangovers, no emotional rollercoasters... all the time you make the mostest. Haha, can you tell I'm tired? AAAAAND I'M GONE.

Live like you learn

It had been a while since I was last faced with a design related task. Design has always been like lover to me. The incredible passion that fills you with fun ideas and you just want to spend time together. Unfortunately we've kind of lost echother. It had become too destructive. I was giving, but not getting anything back, or rather, giving all I got to the point there was none of me left for me. Then yesterday we met again through the design application for Broby Grafiska which was due today. At once I remembered why I fell for design and why we fell apart. When you get stuck in a destructive relationship there are three different ways you can go:

1. You can go down with the ship.

2. You can leave the ship and either swim for your life or hold onto something else as you watch it sink before your eyes.

3. You can row it ashore and make it better then try again.

And if you can't decide which way to go 

then you can always go for the classic rock, paper, scissors....

(this picture is a detail from the application)

Since I've put a lot of work into this design passion, I'm not willing to let her sink. I'll have the number 3, please!

Since stress is commonly based on our way of handling different situations (or rather failing to do so) I assume I need to change my relationship toward design. If I look at what happens with me when I work with design it's pretty much the opposite of the outcome of yoga. The breath quickens and becomes shallow as if I had ran a marathon, the posture becomes slouchy and hopeless or locked into unnatural unbalanced tense positions for a long time. The perspective tends to change aswell. My own value goes down as the urgency to accomplish greatness goes up. This makes it easy to forget or ignore oneself and ones needs. You "don't have time" for breaks, although deep down you know you work better if you take them. 

The common denominators that can be found in yoga and working with design are that they are both about finding focus to be able to reflect, create, develop and perfect. To reach a higher place. Exceed imagination. Yet, the result for me are worlds apart, atleast when it comes to wellness.

The universe has it's way of bringing us exactly what we need. Although I managed the assignment I still failed myself. Just barely making the deadline, stressed, hungry, worn and still not satisfied with my performance. There were three ways I could look upon it. The same as above. So I decided to row it ashore and make it better... Remember how I said I wish I could bring what I feel on the yoga mat with me as I do other things? Here's some of the best of yoga that I wish to apply on my relationship to the design process:

THE MINDSET - EVERYTHING IS TRAINING

In yoga you're not demanding immediate perfection. Partially because you know it can always get better and because you know you're just a student in training. With this attitude you can be more patient with yourself and give it more time to strive upwards. You'll feel satisfied knowing that you're just doing you're best. 

THE STRATEGY - WISE TIME USE

Yoga is practised in sessions, gradually and smoothly working to reach your goal. The practise is daily and vary from being short reminders of mindfulness to one hour or longer sessions. Limiting your focus time ensures that you're not wearing yourself out, even though you take the time to challenge yourself. 

ONE MORE THING: DO WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU DO IT

This is kind of a mantra for me. Yoga when you yoga. Find your space, piece of mind. Quiet as possible, or with music if it helps you relax. Everything I do on the yoga mat is yoga or meditation related. Prioritize yoga. No multitasking. No procrastination. No distractions. No excuses. 

The outcome of working with design related tasks, even though I love it, is so different because I've been doing the opposite. It will take a lot of practise. I've spent many hours building these destructive tendencies. You must know it is not a part of you. If you're aware you will notice the roots of your behaviour before you trip on them. 

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.

Ardha Padmasana - half lotus.

Can one be bad at sitting? Uhm...yes and no.

Well, everyone knows how to sit (even bad dogs, but they just don't want to!) honestly I found it difficult with the classic meditation poses. The back started aching after a while, back rounded instead of straight and the shoulders became tense. There was no balance and hard to focus. The posture I thought I had was nowhere to be found! It was a bit awkward at a mantra meditation class when we were supposed to sit and chant during a long time. How do people relax sitting like that for hours!?! I fell over. In double sense. I kinda just avoided it then for a while. Focusing on the standing asanas instead. Since the decision to get more into meditation it's become important to get comfortable sitting down. Therefor there was need for daily practise. I've done it only for a couple of days, really trying to enjoy the hip opening poses and gradually getting the knees a little bit closer to the floor in the butterfly exercise. 

SO TODAY in the almost sunset (it's summer, the sun is allowed to stay up late!) I managed Ardha Padmasana. The half lotus. Even on the right side (my tricky side)! Much to my surprise, once I was in it, the back and posture kind of just found me and I could focus on my meditation. 

At the end of the week it will most likely be super comfortable!

If you don't hear from me for the rest of the week it's probably because I'm lost in meditation, and the enjoyment of being able to sit in Ardha Padmasana. 

That's it for today.

Keep calm & curry on

So back to one of the previously mentioned goals... headstand! There are some helpful guiding videos to help you get inspired and find the way to getting where you want to be. Yoga with Adriene has a good one about headstands. I'm taking it one step at a time. Right now I'm on my elbows with my head in my hands in a kind of downward facing dog, feet slowly coming closer. Still have some way to go.

Every day is a new. As one practises, one learns which asanas that work to your benefit in different situations. It's also good to actually check up with the old yogis, they got the knowledge and they're not afraid to use! Today as I was working and I built up a lot of tension in my shoulders and back as well as mental tension. Yoga can help, but what does intuition say? Mental recharge, physical rest. 

The old Lovisa would have been discouraged in the belief that this was a bad day. It's not a bad day. We tend to label everything in black and white. What is it really though, without our subjective judgment? It's a day.  You may have lost the test because you were unprepared, but if you don't lose the lesson it still had a purpose. 

Everything happens for a reason, it's up to you to find it.

Keep calm

&

CURRY ON

The good, the bad and the patience.

It's easy to be harsh toward one's self. I can be really tough and impatient sometimes.

Thankfully yoga helps notice when that's happening and quiet down the harsh ruler who wants perfection now, without working for it. There's no instant change. You can't get SUDDENLY SUPER FLEXIBLE. The body doesn't work that way. You have to build it. With the slow progress comes the more sustainable result.

It's quite common to be more flexible on one side than the other. For me left has always been the "good side" while right just needs more time. More practise. More patience. More understanding.

I used to press the right side until it hurt. This is the greatest difference between regular exercise and yoga. The awareness. You have to listen to your body. No means no, maybe means ok go until no. Never go past no.

There's an asana where you connect your hands behind back with one elbow reaching up and one down. I tried a few times but just couldn't reach. Then a few nights ago while I was brushing my teeth I had one hand behind my back. Then I started wondering... how far can it go? The pose came into my head and I let go of the toothbrush to reach the left hand with my right. WOW!

So how do I practice the right side for this?

Grab a scarf. Hold one end with your left hand. Breathe in and lift the scarf up above your head and as you breathe out fold the arm above your head behind your back. You don't have to reach far. Take the right hand behind your back and reach up, grabbing the other end of the scarf. Very gently pull the scarf, bringing your right hand just a little further up your back every time that you breathe in. Just a little bit more. Just as far as feels comfortable. Stay. Breathe 5 more deep breaths through the nose. Exhale as you slowly let go. Then use your right hand to gently pull down the left. 5 breaths. Let go and exhale. Remember to do the exercise on both sides to maintain balance. Eventually when the time is right. You won't need the scarf anymore!

The great thing is that it gets easier each time. I still can't reach the other way, but there's great comfort in knowing that it's possible. Yesterday the fingertips touched and that's enough progress to keep me going.