The Super New Moon energy last week really assisted me in clearing out some old gunk. I really did have a funk of a February which I didn’t realise till I came out the other end in early March. Here’s a short video blog with my reflections…
I hope you enjoyed watching.
Love,
It’s a great gift to see & seek out the joy in every situation. Even within the dark, messy stuff there is light to be had. There has to be, it’s the law of nature that there is an equal & opposite of everything. Good/bad, black/white, up/down & so on. The challenge is to find the good stuff within what often is a challenge within it’s self.
Following? Let me explain a little further….
A major observation I’ve found by living a consciously aware life is that challenges or tests show up often. More than often actually, it’s kind of constant.
“But why” I sigh, “not again” I cry.
It’s like riding a freaking roller coaster at times. Just as life is sweet, flowing along nicely whoosh down it goes.
Of course it does.
Hello it’s called evolution, moving forward & all part of this wonderful spiritual life we lead. It’s part of the journey or process.
Choosing to live at one with the universe (aka consciously) I need to walk my talk. No good just preaching how good meditation & yoga is for all the Soul if I’m not actually doing these things myself. That is not authentic, it’s just bullsh*tting.
To keep me on my toes & make sure I’m walking this talk of mine the universe sends me wee tests or challenges. You know just to make sure I’m on track. If I’m doing my work & floating around in that Zen zone 24/7 the universe will pitch a curve ball to see if hit a home run or strike out.
Home run: I stay calm, centered & breathing when faced with a challenge exhaling love & rainbows.
Strike out: I fall off kilter, have a melt down, throw my toys out the pram & generally loose my shiz.
The result depends on how big a test I receive & how many times it has shown up before. Challenges will repeat till you get them, again & again & again. What fun!
Can I just say here it’s okay to have meltdowns. I find a minor meltie here & there is actually healthy for me. Again it’s part of the learning curve. It’s good for me to express my emotions this way, as it’s the ‘black’ or ‘dark’ side coming out. Instead of hiding it away, buried deep inside. This is not good as trapped emotions fester & grown into unwanted physical manifestations.
Acknowledging the reaction is important. Okay I reacted wildly but in a controlled & expressive manner that didn’t hurt or offend anyone. That’s that out the way now I can see clearly what blessings the challenge that fueled said reaction has.
Even better when the melt down doesn’t happen at all (home run). The challenge presents, I step back calmly, take a look around from all angles, breathe & look for the gold. This is where I meet the universe half way & say ‘yes I got this, I’m walking my talk.’ Next!
For example there has been lot’s of shifts & changes over the past year with my yoga-teaching roster. I’ve grown to expect this now as the businesses I work for evolve, teachers come & go, things change etc.
If one of my classes changes I’m very cool about it now. Staying calm, not panicking about money or scrambling around looking for other classes that fit my logistics better. If a door shuts it means I now have space to invite something new & fresh in. Opportunities always will present & more often than not they are for the better. How awesome is that?
I’ve done the freaking out bit in this area, now I only react with love & excitement about what new things will step into my life now. Far more easier.
It’s the same with my Reiki training workshops. If I don’t have anyone booked in I don’t go on the big pushy marketing mission to fill the spaces. I keep putting it out there softly till a few days before. (Sometimes people book in literally the day before & I’m ready to receive them) Then trust if no one presents it means I need the weekend off for some well-deserved self-love time. What a treat, a free weekend, totally unexpected, embrace & enjoy. Not worry I should have kept my yoga class or allow ‘I’m not good enough’ self-doubt or ‘but why’s’ to step in.
Be in the flow with the natural ebbs & waves of life. Ride along, not against the current & even with the odd river rock to send you off course, sail on around. Look for the joy to be had in everything around you.
Next time you are faced with a challenge that shakes your boat. Take a look at the bigger picture. Within the perceived doom & gloom there will be some light. Turn bad on it’s head to find the good. See the test the universe has sent you to see how blooming awesome you are doing. Conquer & receive! What an achievement.
Let me know how you’re getting on in the comments below dear one’s. I always love to hear from you.
There are messages & lessons to be learned every day. Paying attention & recognising these messages does take skill. Slowing down & listening within, keeping your eyes open & mind present is what is required.
Life has got very busy for me these past few weeks. It’s nearly three months since I went out on my own to start building my Reiki & intuitive healing business. I’m loving it. Every day is different & I’m enjoying the variety. However now my marketing efforts are paying off & my manifestations are becoming a reality my days are filling up fast.
It’s an amazing feeling to actually see my hard work coming alive. The most spiritual path you take is one of action. Successful people didn’t get where they are by sitting around wishing & wanting. They put in the hours & did the work to achieve results. Utilising my background in design to produce my own marketing is awesome. Finally I can use my creativity for my own projects & I am getting results.
The excitement of new client inquiries really fired up my Soul. Especially with first timers I was keen to fit them in ASAP. I love my healing work so much I want to do it at every opportunity. What happened next was a great lesson in sticking to my boundaries, staying slow & not sacrificing my self-love time.
I completely over booked myself. My yoga-teaching schedule was at full capacity & I took on an extra cover. Fitting in healings, tarot reading & Skype sessions took up every spare hour I had. My busyness didn’t affect my energy levels or my sessions. Both were still strong. I was pushing through & enjoying the ride of spending so much time connected to spirit. To ease the pressure I decided to use my day off from yoga for healing too. This day off is supposed to be a ‘day off from everything.’
Big mistake. I needed this day off in the middle of two busy weeks to regroup. Working with energy can be demanding & if you don’t take a break between you can burn out just like any other activity. At the time you don’t realise as your very zen & chilled out from it all. We live a dualistic life, both human & spiritual. There needs to be an even balance. I was so busy letting the spiritual side take over & was neglecting my human side & was risking becoming ungrounded. Just like with weight training it’s a good idea to take time off between sessions to allow the muscles relax & grow.
After ten days straight without a day off I was whacked. I can’t even really remember the afternoon I finally realised I had to stop, it’s a bit fuzzy. My message came to me it was time to slow down in a rather painful way. I got sunburnt.
Having lived in Australia for eight years I am no stranger to the danger of UV rays. My hectic week left me a bit scattered & careless one afternoon. I was attending a teacher’s workshop in an outdoor location. I packed my sunhat and toxic free sunscreen, however I didn’t use the latter. My morning started early & I really was hanging for a coffee. A fellow teacher was also at the studio & she was going to follow me up to the park, as she wasn’t sure where we were meeting. The day was overcast & breezy so I totally dismissed the need for sunscreen. I was also aware I had someone waiting for me. There was just enough time to get coffee & be on time. Busy, busy, rush, rush off I went sans screen big mistake. My saving grace was at least I wore my sun hat!
Needless to say my fair European skin got fried. The breeze of the sea kept things chilly so I didn’t even notice I was burning. Such a rookie mistake. A few hours later I was glowing. I can’t describe how annoyed I was with myself, stupid, stupid mistake.
Of course I needed to look up the metaphysical reasons for a burn. No surprise it is all linked with over committing & pushing too hard. Not knowing when to stop & difficulty saying no. Feeling burned out & tired. Point acknowledged thank you universe for pulling me up. Time to slow down.
It took another two days to honour my appointments then I stopped. Well actually I physically had nothing left so I kind of dropped. My skin was so sore & inflamed it was hard to sleep making it an extra tiring week.
Reflecting back I achieved a lot & grew a great deal in those busy two weeks. However with more stringent planning & time management I could have saved myself hitting exhaustion point. I should never give up my day off either.
Bookings are still rolling in thick & fast but now I just have to tell people they can’t get appointments in the same week. If they value my services they will wait & they are. No more giving away my ‘me’ time. That’s my time to let all my muscles relax & repair.
Love K xx
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©Seren Holistic Lifestyles Blog 2013
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Today I wish to share with you the post re-blogged above written by a fellow Bikram Yoga teacher. Reading it last week all I could do was nod and say so true. There is so much more to teaching this yoga than standing on the podium & reciting the dialogue. It’s a huge wake up call when you’re fresh out of training as the more seasoned teachers make it look so easy! Looking back now I really should have been more compassionate towards some of my teachers, I just wasn’t ready to recognise this.
Don’t worry this isn’t going to turn into a pity party for yoga teachers. More like recognition to how much I was stuck in my head rather than leading from my heart. Back before I was a teacher doing my practice I’d often notice other students with the wrong grip in standing bow or rabbit, knees flying open wider than 6 inches in floor bow whilst rocking back & fourth on their bellies. Why wasn’t the teacher helping them I’d think? Why aren’t they correcting them? They are doing it wrong, they’ll get hurt, sort them out do your job!
Number one I should have been focusing on my practice, my own eyes in the mirror, the eyes of my best teacher. Number two I should have trusted that my teacher knew best & they were doing they job 100%. They were probably putting out a more serious fire on the opposite side of the room. Even more so they were allowing the students to discover for themselves what the yoga is all about rather than being constantly nagged or have everything handed to them on a plate.
I’m happy to acknowledge these judgements I gave & realise I wasn’t seeing the other side of the reflection back then. It also shows how much I have been healed from my yoga practice & spiritual journey.
About a year ago I taught a class that had four fellow teachers in the room. At one point every single one was on their knees. Before I would have thought ‘they’re not leading a very good example, aren’t they bulletproof yoga gods?’ Now I think ‘good rest up, you’re in the room you are healing.’ Just like any other student in the room how do I know my colleague isn’t going through some immense trauma, having a bad day or recovering from an illness? They’ve probably been in the hot room for three hours already this class makes it four & a half. That’s a lot of sweating & energy. Aren’t they are allowed to be whacked?!
Every teacher is an individual. Yes we teach the same structured class but we all bring our own flare to it. How we hold & create the space in the room is different too. One teacher might be super comfortable constantly walking around the room giving corrections up close. Others may hold the space stronger by calling a name from the front of the room so everyone can hear & be part of that correction. How one teacher conducts their class is unique & special to them. They use their strengths to bring out the best in the students. If I start mimicking another teachers style because a few students have commented how much they like the way that teacher teaches it’s not authentic to me. I’ll give it a go but chances are it may turn into one hot mess. My class is constantly evolving & changing I’m so open to this. These changes need to come from within me first for it to flow, not from feeling pressured from external sources. How boring if every teacher taught the same way?
It does take a lot of energy to teach a class. What ever is going on in my life I have to leave it behind so I can be fully present for my students. I have methods I use to protect myself from getting too drained. However it is hard to switch off. Just like the post below says just because the class has finished doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about it. Especially if a student had a question I didn’t know the answer for, an injury or illness that needs some more research to help me understand fully. We are all students & are constantly learning from each other. I find it hard to just walk away when I lock the studio door.
Students pop into my head at random times. I’m blessed to have an amazing support network of fellow teachers with whom I can check in with when I’m unsure. I look into alternative therapies that will compliment the yoga practice if I feel a challenge needs some extra attention. I love going the extra mile for students I feel it is part of my job as a teacher.
My problem with this is when I get too involved I forget to step back into my own room. I always say yoga is not just a 90-minute exercise class. It is a method of healing. As a healer as well I have great interest in this side of things. However I compromise my own healing if I don’t disconnect. Recently this has been more apparent. The warning signs started to show. Feeling tired, unfocused, starting to think of students during my own practice. That is my time for my self-nurturing. Yes I’m happy to do the extra work but I need to set scheduled times for it. When I step back into my room then it’s my time, I shut the door & be in my space. That way I can best serve all involved. Please don’t get offended if you see me at the studio when I’m not teaching & I scurry away not wanting to chat, I’m just taking a little me time.
I hope this has helped shine a light on the other side of the fence.
Love K xx
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©Seren Holistic Lifestyles Blog 2013
(please share the love with full credit thanks)
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