The storm before the calm

~ excerpt from a journal written last month on a 4 day yoga retreat~

I am currently into day 4 of a 4 day yoga retreat. I am currently into 2 or so hours of a 4 hour requested silence.

It is morning, it is cold in the shade, so I sit in silence with the sun warming my skin.

All around me are tired little yogi’s reflecting, struggling to be quiet, loving the silence; I don’t know.

All I know is how I feel, and how I feel is emotional.

What I can’t figure out is why.

Being alone is nothing new, being silent and alone with my thoughts is a frequent and welcomed practice for me.

Yet being amongst 50 other people moving about not saying a word is definitely something new for me.

These past 4 days have pushed me mentally, physically and emotionally – I can’t even say why, but I can say that I feel we all need to step outside of our comfort zones several times in life, in order to feel more, be more and achieve more.

We NEED to experience some storms before the calm, the storms help us to appreciate the calm times in life.

We need to push the outer limits of our learnt and habitual behaviors.

As one of my teachers said (and is a favorite quote of mine) ‘if we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting what we have always got’.

I believe that nothing great was ever achieved by sitting comfortably, and not stepping outside your comfort zone.

After every storm the dust settles, the rain clears and new life is felt. You can literally feel it in the air, that change,that freshness, that vitality.

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Could we perhaps not say the same of ourselves; we go through hardships, the dust clears, the metaphorical storm clouds disappear and we survive and feel re-born, re-awakened.

We emerge stronger, more resilient.

If we are constantly surrounded by chatter, can we ever find our own words?

If we are constantly filling the silences with noise, will the noise in our heads continue to grow?

If we don’t embrace the storms, will we ever be able to appreciate the calm?

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As I said, this was written in my journal over a month ago now, and without really knowing why, I opened my retreat journal this afternoon, and as I read over my words I am amazing at the timing.

Last week was a bit intense and emotional for me, and it would appear I was not alone.

Sometimes we really do receive and read things at the exact time we are meant to, and even though these words came from me, they have helped me by re-reading them today, and my heartfelt wish for anyone reading this who is also in the midst of a storm is to trust that this will pass, the calmness will re-appear and know that you will emerge stronger than ever before.

Xxx

Refuse to let self doubt ruin you

This week I experienced self-doubt; it threw me off balance and left me quite off center.

Self-doubt once it takes hold, has the ability to bury itself deeply inside you.

Self-doubt can ruin you, if you allow it!

I am not going to lie, my self-doubt episode made me cry. My self-doubt caused me to lay awake that night, feeling inadequate and annoyed.

My self-doubt also allowed me to wake up the next morning, filled with positive determination to get rid of it.

Which is precisely what I did!

I did this, by focussing on positive things, people and comments. I did this by choosing not to dwell on my tiny mistake, but be proactive in finding ways to move forward, to improve, to grow.

I would love to say that my self-doubt will never come back, that I am stronger than that, but that would be a lie, for I am human, and as humans even the strongest of us, fall apart from time to time, and you know what I am ok with that.

Our minds are pretty darn amazing at turning negatives to positives if we keep training them to do so.

Life isn’t black and white

Life isn’t black and white.

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I think problems in our minds, in our lives arise when the image of our perfect life fades, when we expected a black and white situation to play out a certain way….

Life is anything but black and white, expectations can lead to let downs and sometimes whilst waiting for your black and white situation to play out you are missing the rich vibrant colourful moments, people and events occurring all around you.

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Sunsets a positive sign from the universe

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Yesterday afternoon, as a full day of yoga training finished, a sea of smiling content faces were basked in an orange glow as the sun set behind us.

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This morning I woke up filled with excitement for another day of training, I thought about the beautiful sunsets I have been lucky enough to view this week.

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This morning I had a thought, maybe the sky gives us a sign that we are on the right life path. When the positive creative thoughts transpire from our heart and our soul and are mirrored into the universe as a beautiful vibrant sunset.

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Each day I am fortunate to teach beautiful people; their drive, their motivation, their dedication inspires me each and every day.

Their energy feeds me, their smiles warm my heart and their struggles inspire me.

Now I have new teachers to inspire and motivate me, their beautiful energy flows through me, and I will pass this on to my class members, my friends and my family.

This beautiful flow on of positive energy is happening, and all the while the universe quietly sits by, watching and smiling.

Positivity is contagious, good energy is electric.

One good thought in the morning can really change your entire day.

As I think about the sunsets of late and have watched the skies become a rich tapestry of colour as the positive energy fills the universe and the cycle continues, I have never been more sure of this.

Lift your heart to the sunshine & let your soul shine through

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Beauty is 10% looks, and 90% what’s happening on the inside.

How you feel on the inside will transfer to how you appear on the outside.

When you feel a little down, rather than focus on the negatives lift your heart to the sunshine, allow your thoughts to drift to all the good and beautiful things in your life.

Watch the transformation yourself, as your soul literally shines through, you radiate happiness from the inside out!

Beautiful yes?

Life is about creating space

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I believe life is about creating spaces.

Create spaces in your house where you can feel happy, creative and motivated.

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Create space in your garden where you can escape and feel calm.

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Create space in your heart to allow love to enter in.

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Create space in your thoughts to focus on positive things.

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Create space in your life to spend the time with people you care about and who care about you.

Create space in your day to take a moment for you.

Life is about creating spaces, start creating the space that feels right for you.

Like a tidal wave gratitude washed over my body

If you are really lucky you will experience a few unexceptional moments in life, that feel exceptional.

Those unsuspecting moments that creep up on you out of nowhere, that send jolts of clarity and waves of happiness through your body.

This morning at 8:16am (I know, because when it hit, I looked at my watch, and made a point to capture the moment).

At 8:16am this morning, waves of gratitude crashed over my body like a tidal wave.

At 8:32 am I sit by the Brisbane River, I eat the yoghurt and banana I had prepared and I try to put into words everything that is bursting from my heart.

As I said, if you are lucky, you will experience these magical moments where you feel exactly where you are meant to be in life.

This morning I dragged my sore, tired body out of bed to teach two people Pilates in the garden. These two people I am helping improve their fitness and strengthen an injury.

This morning before 8am I had positively helped two people, what a beautiful way to start the day.

At lunch I will help 10 more, I will give them a respite from their day in the office, to breathe in the fresh air, to find 45 minutes of peacefulness and calmness in their otherwise hectic day.

Last night I pushed 35 people to their limit and challenged them mentally and physically .

This past month I have had several people cry in class, for the simple reason that for that brief moment in time they had felt the best they had done in a long time. I won’t get into the reasons why, it’s not my place, but to make someone feel good even for a moment is a rare treasure.

There are a lot of people who do amazing things in this world, being a fitness instructor may not be considered one of them, but being involved in improving someone’s state of mind in a positive way for a few moments of their life, feels pretty amazing to me.

I don’t think it matters what you are doing with your life, if you are doing something that makes your life richer, that fills you and or others with joy and happiness then you are doing what you should be doing with your life.

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If you feel gratitude for your life when you wake up, does it matter what life you are living in the eyes of others.

If you are walking along and you get wave after wave of happiness hit you for no particular reason then I feel you are definitely where you are meant to be, doing what you are meant to be doing.

Balance and harmony

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Finding the perfect balance in life isn’t always easy.

Balancing work, kids, exercise, hobbies, it seems as though time is often against us.

When we have balance we find harmony, when our lives are in harmony we find fulfillment and isn’t that what we are all striving for?

Something I have found helpful lately is compiling a list of how I spend my time.

While I feel a little silly doing it and admitting this publicly, it has been such a useful exercise to find more balance and harmony in my life.

If you are being totally honest with yourself (as I was) you will be shocked just how much time you spend on Facebook and other social media platforms.

If this brings you great joy then I say continue, if you however are not enjoying this, or feeling time poor, then I say it may be time to re-evaluate as I did.

Spend the time doing what makes you feel good any chance you get.

Spend less time (outside of work/family commitments) doing things that make you feel bad.

It seems so obvious when I say it, but often so hard to actually do.

Find balance and create harmony.