Self love versus Selfies

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Today I had a thought (it is important to mention that this thought after spending way longer than I should have trying to get the “perfect” selfie for an Instagram story that only stays active 24 hours)….
I wondered what sort of world we might live in if we gave as much thought and spent as much time meditating, setting positive intentions, having loving kind thoughts as we did trying to take the perfect selfie??????
Seriously I feel the world has gone out of control with selfies and looking into the camera at themselves, rather than looking within themselves for answers.
I am aware of the irony and hypocrisy of this post – but I should also mention that after 3 failed attempts I just posted it anyway and went to meditate.
I just feel the world may be a little happier, calmer and more positive if we could all find and set aside a little bit of time to reflect, to breathe to switch off.
These are my thoughts for today!
selfie

Mind over matter

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It is Friday afternoon and I am sitting outside with a glass of red wine that I just poured for myself. I am about to write about a topic that I know I have written about in various forms; yet I am still just so overwhelmed and inspired by a certain person that I just feel I need to write about this topic again.

I am talking about, well two things actually; mind over matter and being inspired. Today, in my morning class I was yet again inspired for the third week in a row by a new class member.

This man is in his late 70’s and his determination inspires me beyond belief. His smiling face warms my heart and his persistence and dedication is the most amazing gift I could ever receive as a fitness instructor.

In just three weeks he has improved at such a rapid pace and it is all due to sheer willpower.

At the end of every class, he stays behind to ask questions, to find ways to improve.

Every week he improves.

Each week he walks in to my class determined to succeed and he does.

Every week he walks in to my class with a strong mind, he will not give up, he cant, he won’t!

He is one of the most amazing people I have ever had in my classes.

He tells me he makes sure his mind is always strong and he uses mind over matter to achieve what may be impossible for people his age.

Today as I was learning choreography, my brain was on the verve of giving up and I thought about him, and immediately changed my mindset and refused to give up, what kind of person or role model would I be if I did?

I believe being a good and inspiring person means you should be that person at all times even when no one is looking. If you are just doing things for show, for attention for gain, then it doesn’t count.

Be authentic, be strong, be inspiring!

Realise just how much you can achieve with a strong mind.

You are never too old or too young to be an inspiration to someone

Today I was inspired in class by an 78 year old man joining the gym “before his body gave up” – his words not mine.

I inspired and helped a young overweight girl who gets bullied for her weight, by helping her set small and achievable goals.

I overheard an amazingly flexible yogi telling someone how great she thinks I am while all the while I watch her in my classes in complete awe and admiration as she inspires me to push myself further.

At the end of the class I went up to my 78year old smiling participant and congratulated him on doing so well, and thanked him for smiling throughout the entire class.

He thanked me for teaching him that the mind is more powerful than the body, and he now feels more determined than ever to keep practicing and moving.

What a truly amazing man!

Earlier in the week, my friend took on a new client; a 93 year old lady who wants to keep active!

She inspired my friend greatly and without even meeting her, she has already inspired me.

You are never too old to be an inspiration to others!

A breathing and meditation coach explained to me at the end of class that my explanations of the breath and meditation were beautiful and told me I had a gift.

Today I really believe that I do, I believe my gift was given to me the second I started following my heart, the minute I started doing what I love.

The moment I thought less about myself and more about others.

That gift keeps giving to me each and every time I help someone to achieve a little more, to find a little calmness, a little more happiness and self-empowerment.

True inspiration is found, when you realize that you are never too young or too old to learn from others, that you should always be the best person you can be as you never know who you are inspiring.

Don’t allow minor obstacles become huge issues

This morning after the power went out, I showered and got dressed in the dark, jumped on the bus with no morning coffee, peacock hair and a shirt on inside out, then I thought about obstacles.

Now anyone who knows me knows I am the type of girl who regularly sports a natural (otherwise known as messy) hairstyle and I rarely wear makeup, so while the shock of looking at myself in the mirror later, wasn’t too extreme, my lack if morning routine coffee was certainly not ideal.

Life is what you make it, simple as that!

If you are the person to need a hair straightener in the morning and the power is out, would you hide away from the world or would you rock that frizzy Afro with style.

Later during my class when the stereo stopped momentarily I did some interpretative dance, ok that’s not true, but I didn’t freeze up and panic.

Life is filled with little obstacles, but what you choose to do with those little obstacles is up to you.

You have the ability to accept everything thrown at you, to deal with it and move on.

No matter how big or small, you can change the way you think.

You can simply not allow those obstacles to become major issues.

Obstacles are there to test us, to teach us a lesson, to help us grow.

Issues are the way you react to those obstacles.

Happy Monday; embrace your obstacles, grow stronger, rock that peacock hair if you need to.

If you can’t laugh at yourself then what you can laugh at 🙂

You are stronger than you think

I spend a lot of time thinking about my body, not in the conceited does my bum look fat in this way (although I am a girl so of course I do this as well) but what I am talking about here is just how amazing our bodies are and just what they are capable of.

We are all stronger than we think we are; we are always capable of pushing ourselves that little bit further, yet sadly there is something within most of us that allows us to give up sooner than we should.

Our bodies are designed to move not sit dormant, we are meant to be active, we are flexible as kids yet this seems to fade over time.

You can change that!

You are stronger than you think you are!

Last night, I tried a little experiment in one of my classes; I lied -something I don’t normally do, but stay with me here, as I lied for good not evil purposes!

During a particularly strong leg track, I lied about the duration. You see the class before I told people how long we were holding the poses, hearing the duration, the mind for some people immediately told the body it couldn’t possibly hold for that long, the result -people gave up!

Class two, same poses, different result; I told people they would be holding for a shorter duration, they held they stayed, they achieved more than they may have believed was possible.

You are stronger than you think you are!

Next step is believing it!