In case you missed it…

Tags

India, new blog, Travel

It was kinda buried in my previous post BUT two things…

1. I’m currently in INDIA! Remember when I said I wanted to go to India?!
   Well, it hasn’t happened *quite* like I was thinking it might. But I’m currently on week 4 and I’ve another month to go after that. Linda and I finally got to meet – of course we love each other, as expected after 3-4 years of online friendship. 😀
2. I’m writing about my travels in India, just not on THIS blog.
   So if you’d like the download on my adventures, leave a comment below and I’ll ping you. 

Hope life is treating you all well. India has so far… been utterly transforming.

I know that sounds like a cliche but its true on some incredibly profound levels.

Much love from me.

~Svasti

Looking both ways

Tags

#IQS, 2013, creative juices, Happy New Year, Health, India, new year, Stress, two words project, unemployable, WWF wrestler

So…hi! And Happy 2013. I hope y’all had a FABULOUS seeing in of the new year, even if that fabulous thing was having a very mellow time. Or doing nothing. Just so long as you found enjoyment, any which way.

I did! I really did! For the first time in ages, I had a truly excellent time on new year’s eve. Hooray! Friends of mine had a private party at their place, with a fab view of the fireworks over the city. But importantly, with plenty of space between our little gathering and the drunken hoardes in the city. I talked with old friends and new ones, too. Drank a little champers, literally laughed til I was flat on the floor, ate, danced, and watched fireworks.

Over the Christmas break I had a few days off and some visitors from the US – some of my world-wide family of yogis. Their stay was all too brief, and I was heartbroken when they left but also glad that they came.

So here I am, three days in to 2013 and finally I’m getting around to an update for you all on where I’m at!

Looking back – where’ve I been?

You just *might’ve* noticed that most of 2012 I was pretty quiet here on the blog, on account of a whole bunch of reasons.

First up, I’ve gotta say, 2012 was one of the best years I’ve had in well…years.

Year of the Dragon worked very well for me – all of that expansive energy saw me taking up a bunch of challenges. So, its been lots of hard work but lots of excellent results, too.

Like… the Two Words Project.

Also (and related): tackling my health with the enthusiasm of a WWF wrestler. This has wrought changes on the physical, emotional and ummm metaphysical planes. Big. Stuff.

And finally being out of trauma. I cannot express how differently I feel today to the broken person who first started this blog. 2012 has been a year of resurfacing as a stronger-than-ever and happier person than I ever was. Ever.

Not to mention: hitting my 12 month anniversary of giving up sugar! I can tell you that I don’t miss it in the least.

And I know – I owe you guys more details on all the above!

Those are all normal-busy kind of things though, right? Then, there was the rest.

Mid-year my last living grandparent passed away, and that seemed to cause a subtle but significant gear-shift. Something about, I dunno… stepping in to the next generation of “elders” in my family. More Big Stuff.

Around the same time, my dad had his own health scares and diagnoses of chronic illnesses. Things are evening out for him a bit more now, but it hasn’t been much fun. And there’s more work to do.

On top of that, my 9-5 job has grown increasingly unpleasant. It’s not so much my team (who are great) as it is the next level up management. My usual pattern of finding myself being given more responsibilities and more and more work has arisen yet again, and this (so it seems) rather specifically, has been the main factor in dampening my creative juices.

I noticed the difference immediately when I went on my writing retreat – given a release from the day-to-day stresses, and enough space and time, all the words erupted like wildfire.

Then when I came back home…once again the words dried up. Damnit.

Which was an excellent indicator: it seems I’m approaching that point Nadine’s written about of being unemployable.

See, my future life is starting to converge with the here and now, which is a little disconcerting when you don’t think you’re quite ready for the future just yet!

On that note, I’ve also finished my second full year of teaching yoga. Which has kind of flown by and it’s taken me by surprise at how much I’ve learned in such a tiny amount of time.

Looking right in front of me

Here we are, at the tail end of the Dragon Year before the Snake emerges on February 4^th. Already there’s a LOT going on.

Right now, I’m working my way through Leonie Dawson’s colourful and charming Create Your Incredible Year workbook and planner. I highly recommend it for a positive start to the year!!

Next? I’m signed up for Nadine’s Light Up Your Life e-course. It’s an extended version of the Two Words project (which, heads up Melbourne peeps, is happening again in February!).

Between Leonie’s planner and Nadine’s e-course I’m thinking my year is gonna be super-charged!

Which is waaaayyy different to how I was feeling at the beginning of 2012 (hint: I was terrified!).

And just when you think I couldn’t possibly fit more in to the start of 2013, I’ve got two HUGE things happening:

1. Nine days of yoga teacher training in mid-January.
2. Then, end-February I’ll FINALLY be meeting my long-term friend and Kali sister, Linda-Sama!! We’re meeting in India for her study group. But I’ll be there for six weeks in total: two before and two after the study group. I KNOW, RIGHT?

Looking forward – wassup 2013?

Well, a lot of that is still in the works, but there’s a few things I know already. Like…

• I’ve quit my job and will finish up just before I go to India (I’ll find work of some kind when I get back!).
• One very specific mission while in India (there are several) is to buy a harmonium, so I can learn to play kirtans myself!
• I gave up the class I’ve been teaching for the past two years! The end of the year seemed like a natural pause and my plan is to teach a lot more classes per week when I’m back from India, in my own ever-unfolding style.
• Mid-year, there’s the possibility of a heck-load more change (of the positive kind). But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself yet…

And: a new blog!

No. I’m not killing off this blog, or stopping writing here. But for a while now, I’ve wanted a place to write that’s a little less anonymous than this one. Yet… I’m not ready for everyone in my life to read the archives here.

So, I’ve started a separate blog under my own (first) name.

Many of you will be getting an email about it shortly. But feel free to let me know if you’d like to be in the loop – as it’s where I’ll be blogging about my adventures in India! 😉

More soon. Very soon. I promise!

~ Svasti xxx

Waterfalls sound like the Universe

Tags

Aum, chanting, Nature, Om, resonance, universal sounds, waterfalls, White noise

The resonant sound we make when we chant “Aum/Om” is exactly the same frequency, vibration and sound as the white noise generated by a waterfall.

How do I know this?

Because I may or may not have spent an inordinate amount of time singing to the water, the rocks, the earth, the air and the sun. At the top of those falls.

It really, really, IS the same sound.

~ Svasti

Other posts inspired by my retreat

• Writing retreat report: I’m back!
• An ode to Snake Gully
• Writing a book is a topsy-turvy thing
• Life lessons from managing a fireplace

Sound existed before we gave it meaning

Tags

anahata chakra, heart opening, kirtan; Krishna Das; Castlemaine, road trip, Sanksrit, singing

Last Saturday I did a couple of very exciting things. They were intertwined but several aspects of my adventures each made me say:

EEEEEP! EEEEP!

Out loud.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a massive kirtan fan. If you don’t know what that is, the commercial incarnation of kirtan is Krishna Das (the pics in the clip are unrelated!).

So, devotional singing. Repetition. Call and response. Beautiful, simple music to support the chanting as the pace increases and comes back down.

What I find so wonderful about kirtan is that it’s very much meditation in action, a heart opening and a sense of clearing out all the crap that usually crowds our minds. Kirtan was responsible for helping me understand that we can generate our own happiness and self-love, without relying on other people for those feelings. That sense of connectedness.

So yeah, I’m a die-hard kirtanist. 😉

Every now and then in Melbourne, there’s a kirtan workshop advertised where you can begin to learn about playing the harmonium and what it takes to lead a kirtan. I’ve been meaning to do one for ages but the timing just wasn’t ever quite right.

Until a few weeks ago when I saw an advertisement for beginner workshop. The only thing was that it was an hour and a half out of town, in Castlemaine. A place I’d never even been before.

But I COULD go. I didn’t have any other conflicting plans and I really, really wanted it. So I booked myself in, booked a car for the day and yay… road trip!

Saturday morning I was brimming with excitement. Organising snacks for the car and making sure I’d be warm enough etc (somewhere nearby Castlemaine it snowed on the weekend!).

And off I went. Driving by the Google maps on my phone and arriving in a sweet little town northwest of Melbourne just in time for the workshop. Yay!

There were about eight of us, most were local to Castlemaine.

We learned about the harmonium and its history (originally European, actually but adopted by Indian musicians) and how to play some basic chords. WHEEEE! I’ve never learned an instrument before and it is SO. MUCH. FUN.

Playing the harmonium goes hand in hand with singing kirtan and in fact, I found it easier to remember what notes to play while singing. More feeling, less thinking!

Then there was a break to get some dinner, where I got to talk to some of the other workshop attendees. People who’ve moved to Castlemaine from the city for an alternative to high stress living. People who are very much like me! Apparently it is one of those out of town centres for spiritually-minded people. Food for thought, I can tell you.

One of the most interesting things our workshop leader said was this:

Sound existed before we gave it meaning.

He was referring to the Sanksrit alphabet, which is said to be discovered as a result of deep meditation looking for the sounds of the universe.

They say that Sanskrit letters are all parts of the vibration of the universe, which were then put together to form words. So our workshop leader says that it doesn’t matter if you know what the words mean, or if you believe in the gods and goddesses being sung about or not.

Because words are just sounds that we’ve given meaning to. And the words used in kirtan are made of the very essence of the world that we live in. Which is why kirtan is so healing and joyous and can create such clarity in the mind.

Anahata refers to the heart chakra, but is also the word for the “unstruck sound” – or the primal sound of the universe. So the sounds of the universe and the heart chakra are related. Interesting, no?

So five hours of kirtan leading and harmonium playing, plus a little yogic and music theory… made for an excellent afternoon.

Then there was a kirtan performance in the evening, but unfortunately I couldn’t stay til the end as I didn’t want to be driving home too late at night.

I’ve been singing kirtan songs in my head ever since, as the workshop has only encouraged my love of it all. And now I really want to buy a harmonium so I can keep practicing. 😀

Hope you had a fabulous weekend, too.

~Svasti

A recipe shared + a give-away winner

Tags

coconut biscuit recipe, Evil Chest-Suppressing Lurgy, give away winner, Melbourne, poached eggs, Recipes

Greetings from mid-Wintery Melbourne with its gasp-inducing freezey mornings and evenings.

I was gonna write to y’all last week but instead I succumbed to the Evil Chest-Suppressing Lurgy that 80% of Melbourne seems to have, and spent three days lying on my excellently long couch with the cosy cushions, with multiple pots of tea, Buffy DVDs, poached eggs and… cravings. For baked goods.

Specifically, my own variation of my grandma’s coconut biscuit recipe. So, once I’d had enough of the horizontal resting and the snoozing I pulled a stick of organic butter out of the fridge to soften it up and got to it.

Baking while all fluey means two things:

1. You have to eat ALL the cookies (omnom nom). Coz it’s unsanitary to pass on your baked-in germs.
2. Much of the prep work – like creaming the butter – can be done sitting down. There’s always a work-around when you REALLY want a cookie!

So this I offer to everyone in honour of my recently departed and highly complicated grandmother (her recipe, adapted by me):

(Gluten/sugar free) Coconut biscuits

• 100g organic butter (room temperature)
• ½ cup rice malt syrup
• 1 egg
• 1½ cups of gluten free self-raising flour (or normal flour + baking powder)
• ½ cup of almond meal
• 1 tea spoon vanilla essence
• 1 cup organic desiccated coconut
• Optional: 2x teaspoons organic raw cacao powder (for chocolatey cookies)

Pre-heat oven to 220 Celsius.

Cream butter, then stir in rice malt syrup until smooth and blended. Mix in the egg.

Sift flour and combine with almond meal, stir in to butter/sugar/egg combo.

Add vanilla essence and coconut, plus (optional) cacao powder.

Make sure the mixture is on the dry side, instead of wet and sloppy. Add a little more flour if needed.

Grease baking tray, and drop small teaspoon-sized pieces of the mixture.

Bake for around 20 minutes only. Don’t over-cook or they’ll lose their coconutty flavour.

DONE! In no time at all, you have some very tasty and easy to make cookies that are delightful with endless pots of tea. 😉

 ~~~

On to the next order of business…

Give-away winner

Yep, I’ve been a little distracted so almost forgot to draw the winner of the Yoga Nidra give-away.

Being that I’m all fluey, forgive me for not doing a video to prove the integrity of my winning entry drawing process.

AND. The winner is…

***La Gitane***

Congrats! I’ll be in touch via email to get your postal address. 😀

And…a few lil updates from me

• This year has involved massive amounts of change for the good. This is still going on, but harder to write about because I’m still in it.
• My grandmother’s passing has brought others changes. Some that have already happened; others yet to come. Things I’d rather not talk about here but they are in the end, good things, too.
• I wrote an article for Nadine’s blog on how to heal PTSD. I was overwhelmed by some of the positive comments both on the blog post and in Nadine’s Facebook feed.
• I AM going to write an ebook on healing from PTSD. It’s coming. 😀
• I am no longer in trauma. I’m. No. Longer. In. Trauma. There’s a post coming on that one really soon…

A happy mid-Winter/Summer to you all, wherever you are.

And if you make my grandma’s coconut biscuits, please let me know!!

~Svasti

Yoga Nidra + a giveaway!

Tags

Annandale Yoga, Anxiety, deep relaxations, Depression, free stuff, give away, guided meditation, Meditation, reducing stress, rest, self-love, Sevadevi, Sevapuri, Stress, Swami Satyananda, Yoga, yoga geek, yoga nidra

You guys! Have you ever heard of, or practiced Yoga Nidra before?

If not, then you’re totally missing out.

Yoga..wha? Is what most people say when they hear of Yoga Nidra for the first time. So don’t be embarrassed, you’re far from alone.

The fact is, Yoga Nidra is one of the bestest, most good for you things you can do with your eyes shut while remaining awake. I can’t think of *too* many other things you can say that about, right? 😉

Anyway, let me tell you more about it…

First of all I have to say – I LOVE Yoga Nidra! As much as I love big warm hugs and snuggling under a blankie. Maybe more.

I mean, this stuff is a top shelf relaxation technique, people. It’s also an act of self-love that you can do for yourself every day and it will yield results. That’s a promise.

So what is it again, I hear you ask?

Okay. Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation you do while lying down and its considered to be more rejuvenative than sleep! OR if you’re having trouble sleeping then it will either help you get to sleep (which is okay, too) or provide you with a wakeful-yet-restive alternative to feeling miserable about your insomnia.

Yoga Nidra is also excellent for reducing stress, depression, anxiety and generally making you feel better about life.

I wrote a little about Swami Satyananda – the founder of Yoga Nidra – a couple of years back when he passed away.

If you’re a yoga geek then I also recommend reading his book on the topic, too.

About the give-away

It was via the happy accident of blogging and tweeting about hummus, that I first came to know of the lovely Sevapuri and his wife Sevadevi.

We don’t talk a great deal, but we’ve met in person a couple of times and Sevapuri is always around on Twitter, where we regularly exchange messages.

Both Sevapuri and Sevadevi are lovely souls and personally I’m jealous of all the kirtan they have going on in Sydney!

Anyway, Sevapuri and Sevadevi now run Annandale Yoga, and the first I was aware of Sevadevi’s Yoga Nidra recording was a direct message on Twitter offering me a copy. Because that’s just the kind of people that they are.

Of course being beautiful and generous souls, not one but THREE copies arrived in my letterbox. I gave one to my neighbour (the wonderful person who made me food when I was really sick last year – she really needs some chill time right now)… and I thought I’d give the copy away here.

Just to keep paying forward the generosity and the love!

I’ve trialled Sevadevi’s CD of course. It contains a short and a long Yoga Nidra practice (23 and 32 minutes respectively), as well as a beautiful Heart Meditation that you can do in a pinch, anytime/anywhere.

Its all about creating a bit of space and calmness in your life…

As a bonus: Sevadevi has a gorgeous velvety voice that you’ll never get tired of listening to.

This is a quality Yoga Nidra and meditation CD, and YOU could be the lucky winner of a copy!

Be in it to win it!

It’s very simple. Anyone can enter, anywhere in the world.

To enter: Leave a comment below sharing your favourite thing to do to unwind and/or re-connect with the world when you’re feeling crappy.

Bonus entry: Share this give-away on Twitter or Facebook and let me know you’ve done so in the comments below.

The mission being to raise awareness of Yoga Nidra and get more people curious to give it a try!

Entries close: Friday 15th June

Lots of love to y’all.

~Svasti xxx

Dear Sweet Chocolate

Tags

#IQS, breaking up, chocolate, chocolate addiction, Dear John, I Quit Sugar, parfum de sucre, sugar, sugar addiction, Sweet Tooth, willpower

Dear Sweet Chocolate,

You and me, we’ve had a lot of fun over the years. So. Much. Right?

I know. It all started when I was very young. I’d no wrinkles and barely any sense, busy playing with dolls and trucks and riding my orange tricycle as I was.

When you think about it, it wasn’t either of our faults – I mean; it was almost an arranged marriage. We were introduced, for crying out loud.

Right there in my own home. My dad worked for a company that sold you and your cousins – all the sweet sugary treats imaginable. And he’d bring some of you home, sitting right there on the desk in my parents’ bedroom.

Tempting me with your parfum de sucre. Making eyes at me from beneath your packaging. Giving me blood sugar spikes with each and every bite, making me want more-more-more…

As I grew up a little more, Dad didn’t work for a purveyor of your wares any more, but the whole family was hooked.

Deeply. Wholly. Irrevocably. Yours.

Before I was out of my teenage years, one of my teeth had been exchanged for another kind – a Sweet Tooth. Mmmmm. Right there in my mouth, sprinkling my tongue with a whisper of the so-called goodness of the ingredient at the core of your being: sugar.

Oh yeah. My particular brand of your poison remained the same, however.

Chocolate, it’s always been you.

Sure, Ice-Cream got a look in from time to time. Occasionally I’d flirt with Cake. But Chocolate, you’ve always been my guy. I’d have you in biscuit form, or blocks or any which way I could get you.

You, Chocolate, wormed your way into my tastebuds and heart and you weren’t getting away that easily. Not that you wanted to, I’m pretty sure. I doubt that you ever even tried.

Then I grew up and left home and suddenly, I could do anything I wanted. And besides staying up late, one of the things I wanted was you. All the time. Every day. I was even encouraged by others who were as devoted to you as I was…

At first, I’d tell myself it was ok if I had just a little bit every day. But there were times when I’d scarf down an awful lot more. Pretty soon, I had to avoid keeping you in the house because you wouldn’t last.

Chocolate – it was around about then that I noticed you’d kinda taken over my life.

Or my willpower at any rate. And I think it was around then that I first felt uncomfortable with the level of power you held over me. Not that it stopped me wanting you – but I… I… well, I noticed that we weren’t equals. I was pretty much your slave.

I didn’t like it but it was true. The only difference was that I knew it now.

There were so many times when I tried to leave you.

We even had a few separations, but they never worked out. There were too many cravings. Or withdrawals? At any rate, as much as I tried I just couldn’t quit you.

Because you had a dirty little secret, didn’t you?

It wasn’t enough for the heart of your being – sugar – to be spread far and wide in every sweet treat around. You had to insinuate your way into supposedly non-sweet foods. Even some so-called health foods, too.

Then there’s this – even eating too much of certain things that are supposed to be good for me (like fruit) can mean I’m getting way too much sugar.

So even when I thought I wasn’t eating you, I really was. Like, all the time. Sometimes three times a day. Every single meal that wasn’t called dessert, still had you. I just didn’t know it.

Which meant I was powerless to stop my attraction to you. You were always in my blood, damnit.

But then I got sick. Really sick. And in the process of working out how to get well, I did a lot of reading. A HUGE amount of self-educating and suddenly my eyes were open. The rose coloured glasses off.

I saw you for what you really are.

Fortunately, there were support groups to join. Wise advice to listen to. I began to formulate a plan of how to leave you. For good this time.

It wasn’t going to be easy, but I was now uncomfortably aware that you weren’t any good for me and by not leaving, I was doing myself more harm than good. So I had to go for my own sake.

In some ways it’s true to say that it wasn’t you, it was me.

But truthfully, I think the same can be said for you.

You really aren’t any good for me, or pretty much anyone else. Not in the sorts of doses we’ve adapted to having you in, anyway.

So I did the work. Slowly at first. Bit by bit. But I was dedicated, because I had a motive. I wanted to get well. Also, I think it helped that I’d done all the reading and prepared myself mentally in advance.

I sure didn’t quit you cold turkey, but quit you I did.

And then, amazing things started to happen.

In the five months since we’ve been apart, I’ve lost 10kg and 5cm off my waist (to date). So I look better, but I also feel better, too.

Then there’s this: I’d no idea that all of those cravings were a part of your deal.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’d go back and forth with myself. Do I or don’t I? You’re right there in the supermarket. I want you. But I know I shouldn’t have you YET again…right?

Argh, it was always so hard and inevitably I’d lose the battle. If not that hour or day, then it was the next. I’d slink into a shop and guiltily put you in my shopping cart, pretending that no one noticed how often I’d bought you that week already.

But… time apart has done wonders for me. Those cravings? They’re gone. GONE. That awful slippery-dip of desire vanished right alongside your daily presence. Gone, gone, gone.

Have to say, I didn’t miss you at all. Surprising but true.

Then, around Easter someone gave me a present: a Lindt bunny with its gold wrapping and tiny little bow around it’s neck. Oh, Chocolate! You brazen hussy!

Even my naturopath (who generally isn’t a fan of yours either) had said – well, Easter is different. She gave me permission to indulge in you and so I thought… okay. Just this once. Yeah, perhaps we can at least be friends. Or acquaintances.

I was in for a shock, though. For when I peeled back the wrapping and bit in to what USED to be a mouth-watering treat. I found that… well, now you taste oddly bitter and leave a funny burnt flavour on my tongue.

Sugar. Chocolate. I’ve come to my senses and now I get it. You guys. You’re just TOO MUCH. What’s more, you’re a drug.

You’re the sort of drug that hides your wickedness behind a cloud of saccharine love. You spin a web of beautiful crystalline lies, making promises you can’t ever keep.

More than that: you flat out misdirect everyone who’s attracted to your wiles.

But here’s the truth: spending too much time with you can cause illness. Weight gain. Poor self-esteem (on account of the former and the latter).

And the whole addiction/co-dependency thing you’ve got going on with me and every other sucker out there? Kind of yucky when you take a proper look at it.

So anyway, I just wanted you to know that I know. You don’t have any power over me anymore. My thraldom has passed and I won’t ever let it happen again.

Sorry Chocolate, Sugar. You and me? We’re done. This time its for real.

~Svasti

A weekend in pictures

Tags

Lars Von Trier, Melancholia, Motorbikes, recalibration, relaxation, rest, The Astor

These photos are from mid-March – I just never quite got around to publishing this post… they depict a fabulous and jam-packed weekend, where so many of the rest are characterised by my loner tendencies (which really has to change, I know).

For once, I was surrounded by people who love me for most of the weekend instead of being mostly alone and it was SUCH a happy time!

~ ~

On the Friday night I met up with one of my bestest friends and her hubby. We went to a lovely art deco cinema – The Astor – which is actually not far from where I live, and saw Lars Von Trier’s latest film, Melancholia, which doesn’t have anywhere near enough Alexander Skarsgard in it.

Nevertheless, it’s a pretty out-there film. Some reviewers are calling the entire movie “a metaphor for depression”, but I think that over-simplifies a much bigger story that Von Trier paints about life, death and how everyone reacts under both “normal” life circumstances, and again under pressure.

It’s beautiful and wild and poetic and thought provoking. I recommend seeing it, although probably take a friend you can talk it over with afterwards. And get a hug from!

~ ~

On the Saturday evening an old friend of mine visited from Sydney, bringing with him his Very Fast Motorbike (on a trailer behind his 4×4). He stayed at my place off and on for a couple of weeks while doing a bit of motorbike touring with a friend of his, seeing other friends and going to the F1 (boys and cars – bah!).

He always knows I’m up for a ride, since motorbikes make the list of my favourite things. My friend and I used to ride together a lot with me as his passenger, when I lived in Sydney.

So early the next morning – a lazy Sunday when the weather hadn’t turned too cold just yet, we suited up for a day of long smooth curves and beautiful views.

Mostly I like not having a car. It’s better for the environment and also for my expenses! But it does mean I don’t get out of town anywhere near enough.

And that’s something I really need. Especially getting away to the ocean.

I requested that we explore down the Great Ocean Road and he happily agreed…

~ ~

I remember once describing to a friend the ideal place for me to live: somewhere where the mountains meet the ocean, so that I’ve got both. Kinda like what’s going on in this photo of Apollo Bay! This was our turn around point, after seemingly endless rugged clifftops meeting the southern-most oceans of mainland Australia, with smooth curves for the bike to hug and stunning vistas that placated my heart!

More of this. Yes, more of this please! I really need to buddy up with some other folks on a regular basis and get some road trips happening.

There is so much happiness thrumming in my body when I’m immersed in such beautiful surrounds.

~ ~

Speaking of the hills meeting the ocean – we veered off the main road and explored northwards for a while. To get away from the Sunday drivers and find less occupied corners to take. 🙂

The ocean views gave way to rolling hills and lots and lots of un-inhabited SPACE. *sigh*

So good.

~ ~

Of course, on such a Very Fast Bike, one has to be ready to hold on. When the bike takes off, your belly can be five feet behind on the road if you’re not paying attention.

But oh… when you are. And when you’re focused on the horizon as the bike sails from side to side as it takes one corner after another, it’s so very meditative. Very in the moment of right now, where there is no other and everything is very clear and still.

They don’t talk about the Zen of motorcycling for nothing, you know.

The following day was a public holiday, and it was a day for resting.

Long, lazy hours of pottering around, snoozing on the sofa and being okay with all of that.

Perfection, yes?

~ Svasti

Tall tales and lessons from the mattress

Tags

mattresses, Procrastination, sore back, tall tales, Truth, Yoga

Oh, I used to tell myself, I’ve always had a bit of a sore lower back.

Yep, I’d nod to myself, it must be this whole getting older that’s causing me to wake up most mornings with a sore back. On those days, I’d just better jump out of bed and into a yoga pose or two. That’ll fix it! (It does, of course)

For sure, I’d remark to my reflection in the mirror, I’m not sleeping so well and that’s because of stress/Hashimoto’s/my sore back.

Uh huh.

Tall tales, people. We tell ourselves all kinds of things that we’re sure we know are the truth, right?

But we can be mistaken.

Two Saturdays ago, I woke up with an aching back (again), determined to do something I’d failed to do for the past THREE YEARS: go and buy a new mattress to replace my 12+ years old one.

There’d been dozens of reasons that I’d put it off.

Like… Mattresses are expensive, after all. My current one is okay, isn’t it? I don’t have time. I don’t have the money. I’ll just put up with the one I’ve got a little longer…!!!

Until two Saturdays ago. I charged into a mattress store, determined to find a solution even though I still didn’t really have a lot of money to throw around.

I lay down on a few different styles until I made contact with one that made me proclaim: well, this is different!

And I discovered that the store had one of those interest free payment plan deals (cheaper than whacking it on your credit card!).

Within twenty minutes, I’d bought a new mattress. Finally. After years of procrastination.

A week later, it was delivered.

The very next morning?

I woke up without a sore back for the first time in F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

I also noticed that I’d woken up a few times during the night. Not because I was uncomfortable; it’s just that I was used to having to re-position myself to get comfortable  over and over again throughout the night. I’ll have to re-train myself not to do that any more!

Guess what? This habit borne of discomfort, was disturbing my sleep!

Since then, I’ve been spending as much quality time as I can in my new bed, almost crying in relief at the difference it’s making to my life.

That place where I rest my body and mind for eight hours a day? It is now Awesome to the Power of 100.

And the lessons I learned from my new mattress (which can also apply to almost any life circumstances/situation) are as follows:

• It was well worth the effort to track down a quality new bed.
• Amazingly, finance options that work for you are usually available these days if you can’t pay cash.
• Stuff that’s happening in your life that you think is being caused by certain things – that might not be true and you don’t even know because you haven’t looked hard enough.
• It’s worthwhile refreshing/renewing/shaking up all of the important things in your life, on a regular basis.

This also brings to mind the time when I really, really needed help with PTSD. I sort of knew I needed help, but I didn’t know what kind and I was hesitant to find out because I thought I couldn’t afford it. So I just didn’t get any for years. In the end, this was not to my benefit.

Then, when I was getting sick last year and falling into a horrible depression, I told myself it was “just” PTSD re-surfacing. But in fact, what was going on was that I was physically ill with an out of control auto-immune disorder that was wreaking havoc in my body.

Some things, they just aren’t meant to be skimped on.

Like a really good supportive mattress, or your physical/mental/emotional health.

And there’s always a way to get what you need, but you’ve gotta get out there and investigate the options!

On that note, I’m pretty sure it’s time for me to once again marvel at the wonders of my amazing new bed. 🙂

Wishing you joyful states of rest and the right kind of care for your body and mind.

~Svasti

xx

How to have an awesome Single Gal’s V-Day

Tags

#IQS, Barista, Coffee, flirting, single girls, Valentine's Day, Yoga

Start early. The earlier the better. Like January. But don’t worry if you can’t start early this year. There’s always next year (in case you happen to be single then).

Face up to your fears (again and again and again) and get some healing and acceptance going in your life (or whatever other words you choose to set sail by for the upcoming year).

Get your good self aligned with those awesome words so they start to seep into every fibre of your being.

Realise that you’re actually really and truly enjoying your new job. The people, the work, the clients. It’s crazy busy there, but the job is a fit for your quirky personality. 

Make a teensy, tiny decision that you’ll allow yourself one cup of (good) coffee a day, Monday to Friday. Search for the best coffee shop near your new workplace. Get to know the baristas.

Notice that all of your hard work is starting to pay off. Physical and emotional healing, strengthening through yoga, giving up sugar. Even when you thought you’d never be able to say such a thing (about it all paying off): it’s true.

Revel in fitting into clothes you haven’t been able to get into for ages, AND be accepting of your body as it is – ill health, extra kilos and all.

Get a little more yoga crazy than ever before. Spend eighteen hours over the weekend before V-Day doing lots and lots of excellent yoga with one of the best teachers in Australia.

Go to work the next day absolutely glowing (or so your workmates tell you).

Plan a very special V-Day yoga class for your students. All about “spinal love”, aka taking care of the spine: learning how to bend through the spine properly; and how to effectively and slowly build core strength.

On V-Day itself, wear one of those dresses you can fit into again (thanks to losing weight from giving up sugar), knowing you have a client meeting. Get compliments from workmates on your ensemble.

Head over for an early morning coffee at the start of the day (it’s gonna be a loooong and busy one at work).

Grab your coffee when the tall, ruggedly cute barista calls your name. Have a very funny interaction with him that goes something like this…

Barista: There you go darlin’. So, were you showered with kisses this morning, like you deserve?

You: Ummmm, perhaps by my cat…

Barista: Well I’d be happy to do it but it might overstep some barista/customer boundaries.

You: Well perhaps I could get my coffee somewhere else then??

Barista: Perhaps you should… 😉

Realise that you can’t remember the last time anyone flirted so brazenly and publicly with you.

Have a massive grin on your face for the rest of the day.

Get changed at the end of the work day, into yoga teacher mode and fabulous shiny pants.

Teach a VERY full yoga class. Watch as your students enjoy the new things they’re learning about their bodies.

Also, tell them the thought that popped into your head the previous week:

It doesn’t matter who does or doesn’t love you, as long as YOU love you.

Admit that you’re not sure if you read that somewhere or if it was an original thought. But that it doesn’t matter as long as you really and truly get it, on a cellular level.

On the reverse of our Rainbow Hearts

Talk to your students about how real love starts with:

• Self nurturing
• Self acceptance
• Self respect

Be amazed at how awesome your class was and grateful that you get the chance to spread a little love around in a non-clichéd/commercial V-Day way.

Go home, still smiling about the bold flirting of a Certain Barista.

Discover your neighbour has cooked dinner and saved you some. Because she is awesome. Make tentative plans to have a girls night out with her some time.

Bask in all the love.

Clean the house.

Go to bed, still smiling…

~Svasti

xxx

P.S. Happy V-Day to you all!

P.P.S. See, coffee isn’t entirely bad for you… 😉