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Posts Tagged ‘love’

No need to escape

November 12, 2013 By Kat

I was having a chat with a dear friend the other day about travel & holidays. Travelling is one of my favourite things it’s really part of who I am. Going over seas to experience different cultures and have a change of space is nurturing for my soul.

This year has been a bit unstable finance & career wise. I was sitting tight on any grand adventures, as I wasn’t sure what might happen. I’ve taken a few interstate mini breaks that have been great & just what I needed. Now I’m all settled running my own business I can plan a little more.

However now I am living the life I love there is no huge pull to go anywhere new just yet. Oh don’t get me wrong my bucket list of travel hot spots is huge but I’m more than happy doing what I’m doing right now. Contentment bliss. This is what my friend & I were talking about. We’re both really happy with our lives & feel no need to escape them.

Previously I did plan holidays as an escape route. Something to look forward too. This was especially true last Christmas I ‘needed’ to get away. I’d had a big year on the spiritual growth front & I desired to go to Asia to connect with some magical energy. I’d worked hard all year & needed a break. This is fine; time off from the day-to-day norm is very important & healthy. However it’s not good if you work hard all year ‘just to pay for a holiday to get away from the job that paid for it.’ Then feel sad when the holiday was over & you have to return to your desk. I feel I stayed longer in the corporate world just to earn money so I could escape it.

Now I’m out the corporate world I have so much freedom in my daily schedule. I’m getting that holiday ‘time out feeling’ every day. I get up without an alarm, waking naturally when I’ve had enough sleep is amazing. Most days it’s the exact same time. If I need to take an afternoon nap, relax or meditate at 2pm I can. I take my ‘me’ time in the same way I eat by grazing. A little bit at a time through out the day. Even ten minutes here & there is enough so I’m not getting stale, tired or burned out. These mini breaks aid my productivity.

Just the other week I had an hour between yoga classes & the studio is just a 2-minute walk from the beach. I took my breakfast down there to enjoy the morning tranquility. Who can complain about that! I feel so grateful for living & working in such a beautiful area why travel else where when I have beautiful beaches on my door step? Being by the ocean was a great place to re-centre & reflect before teaching my next class. Just like what I talked about in this post, disconnecting to reconnect.

Working for myself has really helped me break out of the ‘holiday as an escape’ pattern. I’m living a life I love, doing what I love every day & I don’t want to run away from it, I don’t need to escape my life. Yes I will continue to travel but for the right reasons now. Number one reason will be for personal growth & self-nurturing not to run away. This is what I desired my life to be like & now it is.

Thank you divine universe with massive gratitude.

Lot’s of love K xx

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©Seren Holistic Lifestyles Blog 2013
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Teachers are just like everyone else

October 31, 2013 By Kat

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)

Gratitude to an amazing man

October 17, 2013 By Kat

It’s not often I get all smooshy and sentimental but today I am. Living on the other side of the world to my entire family & the close knit friends I grew up with it is days like this I like to give gratitude to those physically close to me. Today I give thanks to my partner.

He is the main reason why I decided to stay in Australia & leave my loved one’s behind in the UK. I’m not a huge believer in Soul Mates or Twin Flames. I feel that relationship is ‘within’ us already. We need to be our own Soul Mate first and then we can fully welcome another into our energy field. Maybe I’m just saying that because I’m a ‘smug married’ as Bridget Jones would say. We’re actually not the married part, as I’m super comfortable being a de facto. Also I feel if you do meet that one person who completes your jigsaw you never question ‘are they my Soul Mate’ as you just know, no need to question.

Today we are celebrating my partner’s birthday. He’s taken the day off so we can spend time together & he can do what he loves to do, dig in his garden surrounded by his feather kids. (The chooks)

Looking back over the seven years together we’ve been through a lot. Like all relationships there are ups and down’s. Lot’s of happy times & travel adventures have been had. He’s been super supportive of my life choices, which I’m truly grateful for.

He didn’t mind the times I disappeared for a month at a time for work or overseas to visit my family. Then I left for the States for ten weeks to qualify as a yoga teacher. That lead me to working random hours & sometimes we used to go a few days without actually seeing each other to talk too. It’s the way we roll & it works. Giving each other the space to follow our passions.

Now in my new venture he’s just as supportive. From day one he was a willing volunteer for my healing practice. I do feel bad as he now misses out on sessions to make room for my other clients. This is something that needs to be changed. Today he will receive his much over due session.

There is always a worry that when one partner discovers their ‘spiritual journey’ they may no longer be aligned with those around them. From experience I have lost friends through this process. It does happen & it is normal. I have been careful not to force or push too hard my new way of thinking on my partner. It’s awesome he’s happily followed along on his own accord. Just being in someones presence can be influential. He’s taken an interest in crystals, had his spirit guide drawn & received a past life healing. Reading up on metaphysics and meditation is now a new area he’s venturing into.

My gift to him this year is very different from previous years. I have given him a hand made Reiki infused Mala bracelet of Agate, Onyx & Amber. I also had my Mentor record him his very own Personal Journey MP3. These gifts reflect how much we have grown together & have respect for each other’s lives. I appreciate the love & support he has given me. Happy birthday gorgeous.

Love K xx

The Power of Manifesting – Part One

October 8, 2013 By Kat

If you’ve read any sort of metaphysical text you will have come across the word ‘manifest.’ Manifest means to ‘reveal’ or ‘to be evidence of.’ Manifesting is a way of making things happen in the physical world by holding the intention of it becoming real from within i.e. in the invisible world. Our physical worlds are the creation of pulling our ‘inner’ thoughts through to make them reality.

Originally this post was going in a different direction with an already structured layout. However the universe had different plans. It’s a big subject to cover & I feel two shorter pieces will be more appropriate now.

This past year I have really started to understand the power of manifesting. One of my favourite ‘manifesting tools’ is one I learned from Doreen Virtues book ‘The Lightworkers Way.’ Doreen firmly believes “nothing is truly lost under the eye’s of God*” (*Insert who ever you wish here, I use the Universe.) Once I started using this mantra & truly believing in it the magic started to happen.

That magic is happening right now, literally five minutes ago something amazing happened. When I thought I’d share this mantra a few examples came to mind. I grabbed an old notebook to look up some references I knew I’d written down & to my amazement an oracle card I was gifted fell out. I thought I’d lost this card to the point I thought I’d thrown it away in an old envelope. Yes there was rummaging through rubbish bags to no avail. I so strongly believed in Doreen’s mantra that nothing is truly lost I was a little sad when the card didn’t turn up in the bin bags.

I still held the intention strongly the card was not lost. It would turn up & be returned to me when it was ready. Three months later here it is again & it has been in arms reach on my bookcase all this time! It’s actually the card I wrote about it this post here. I feel I was so attached & had handed over all my power to it I was strangling it’s energy. Therefore it could not serve me properly until I let it go. Now I’ve detached my power & responsibility has been handed back to me. The card is back to assist me.

Magical real life examples happening as I write, love it.

Another example was when my partner lost his crystal pendant one evening in the garden. I’ve mentioned before we live on a farm so our ‘back garden’ isn’t the average size. He was gutted. There was such a vast space to cover to try to find the crystal it was literally a needle in a haystack situation.

I told him the mantra above. I think he was a little skeptical but went with it. Three days later when he was out mowing the grass he kicked something with his toe. It was his pendant, it had been returned to him.

If something does leave you for a while don’t think of your treasure as ‘lost’ keep the vision in your minds eye you still have it close by. See yourself with it, holding it & cherishing it. Then by setting the intention firmly in your mind that you will be reunited simply trust that you will be. What you put out to the universe you will receive back.

Welcome to the world of manifesting.

Sadly it won’t help you win the lotto. Manifesting doesn’t work if it is ego based or not for you higher good. Often our intentions are manifested in ways we may not realise at first, as we are too focused on a specific outcome.

I will say though from my experience the more you trust and work with the universal energy the quicker things do manifest. They are not always good or positive either if you’re not careful. This is powerful stuff, which leads me nicely into part two of this post coming next Tuesday… ‘Manifesting from a negative place.’

Love K xx

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