Tag: Life

Remembering to feel inside and out

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I started this post a couple weeks ago and wasn’t sure how to wrap it up and put a pretty bow on it, so I’m coming back to it with a different view…maybe…trying to…

A couple weeks ago I kept catching this cute guys’ eye at yoga, and we’d smile at each other, but that was it. Then, a few Saturdays ago, we were at the same class and during the class, this thought popped into my head:

Yoga is a wonderful tool to help us Western-World-Busy-Bodies remember to slow down and turn inside; to feel what our body is trying to tell us and to, maybe, listen; however, I’ve become so good at looking inside that I’ve actually forgotten about what the people around me are feeling! I’m not talking about what their yoga practice looks like, but, more, what the emotional state of the class is.

Or, in this case, if he’s just a smiley guy, or if he was specifically directing those smiles at me. It doesn’t seem to matter how old we get, it always comes back to a boy…whatever it takes right?

I try to focus on what I’m projecting into the world, but, in that attempt, sometimes I can forget to tune into what those around me are projecting.

I wish I could say it was me he was specifically directing those smiles at, but, to be honest, I haven’t really seen him much since that class so who knows! No matter what, it was a good reminder to be aware of not just the aura I’m emitting, but also what those around me are projecting.

Disappointment – How do you deal with it?

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Apparently I don’t deal with it very well…apparently I become a bit of a b*tch about it — not some of my proudest moments. The worst part is that my knee-jerk reaction (focus on the jerk) is to take it out on the person closest to me; tonight that was a good friend.

Really, I’m only posting this in an attempt to make myself more accountable in an attempt to avoid lashing out in the future; and, I have a feeling, I’m not the only one out there who needs to work on this…

Surprise goals

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2012 has become my year of “yes”…well, at least as far as pushing my boundaries and what I thought I could do. Maybe I’m not doing “one thing a day that scares [me]”, but definitely more things this year than any year before, or even all those years combined!

My good friend and I recently had a discussion about the next five years of our lives and one of the things that came out of that discussion was that we had two years to really dig deep and check off a whole shwack of items from our bucket lists. I actually didn’t really have a bucket list, so 2012 has become the year of not only developing a bucket list (of things I didn’t know I wanted to do), but also crossing them off! Run a 10k? Sure! Done! Join a relay team to run a 50 mile trail race through Whistler and Blackcomb? Why not!? Train for my first triathlon? Ok! Jump out of an airplane? Ok…that one’s taking a little more effort to persuade me to do, but I know it will happen. And today, Fun. is playing the after party for lululemon’s SeaWheeze…Well, ok, I guess I could run a half marathon (in 56 days); why not!?

My point is, surprise goals CAN be fun! And they ARE like getting hit with an inspiration bomb! And you really don’t know what you can do until you kick that little voice that keeps telling you “that’s not who you are” and “you can’t do that” OUT OF YOUR THOUGHT PROCESSES!

When do you practice yoga?

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I’ll get back to that, but first, I need a white board in my shower! One that would work in a shower. I find that all my best thoughts come to me mid-shower and I end up rushing to get out, grasping those thoughts!

Ok, back to the original thought process… A new yoga studio opened in my area recently (I’m sure I’ll write more on that in the near future) and I was super excited to try out this teacher my friends have told me about. Everything was going according to plan and the class was starting off pretty good, then the woman one person over stopped and the teacher came over…the class ended up being cancelled due to a medical emergency (she seemed to be ok, but needed medical attention to make sure everything would continue to be ok). This raised the question: when do you practice yoga?

This question has come up for me quite a lot recently. A little background; I’ve been doing yoga for close to 10 years now; however, I’ve been practicing yoga for about three years. I say I was doing yoga during those first seven years because I was, what my friend liked to call, a ‘clock-watcher’; I would show up, do the poses and constantly think about all the things I did that day or needed to do that night, or the next day, or the coming weekend…and then I would tell myself off for not focusing. About three years ago (could be four), Rockstar Yoga Teacher Laura said something in class that has stuck with me; she said, something along the lines of: watch your thoughts like you’re watching leaves floating down a river; don’t try to reach in and grab the thought, just watch it pass by. It’s ok to have thoughts, but just see them float along. That changed me. Now, I practice yoga and I find myself practicing yoga everywhere, during every situation. It’s ok to think things as they happen, but I don’t hold onto the thoughts or situations, I just let them float on by.

It’s very easy to get caught up in a situation and how it makes you feel, and how you feel about how it makes you feel, but really, it’s just a temporary moment and a temporary feeling.

When things don’t go according to plan, or a coworker annoys you, or you make a mistake, or, or, or…try watching that moment/thought/situation float on down that river (it might be a slow river and that’s ok) and allow yourself the freedom to not grab at it and hold on and squeeze it and look at it from all different angles and agonize over it…just let it float… Oh, and if you do grab it, just unclench your fist and let it float off (watching the judgement thought that’s sure to follow float on down that river behind the original one…because I know it’s there).

That’s when I practice yoga everywhere, in every situation; it’s not just about the perfect asana practice – they both come with time 🙂

Welcome to SimplyLifeFoodFitness!

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Thank you for stopping by! I intend for this to be a blog about simply living life; enjoying good, healthy food; and achieving fitness goals 🙂

Life: I work a full-time office job and am a group fitness instructor before and after work. I’ll share my goals as we go along 😉 I am an aunt to four amazing kidlets and am extremely close with my family!

Food: Diet matters (not to be confused with “diets”); I believe in a life of balance and that includes allowing yourself to have “off” days without punishment! Each morning is a new opportunity. I have been (mostly) gluten/wheat-free for over three years, but am just starting to learn how to bake again 🙂 I try to stick to organic, whole foods, but we all have our moments of desperation… The food/recipes I post on here will showcase the 90% good, but I’m not a superhuman and know there is 10% not so good that happens too!

Fitness: Oh fitness…I actually got my only D, ever, in PE in Junior High! Now, I couldn’t imagine a life without daily activity; this has taught me not to judge myself, and what I can achieve, by looking at who I was. I am a BCRPA certified group fitness instructor with 100 hours of Maya Yoga teacher training; and will be completing an additional 200 hours of vinyasa yoga teacher training with Tiffany Cruikshank in January 2013. Currently I teach at least three spin classes per week, attend a minimum of six yoga classes, and try to go for a run/hike at least once or twice a week. I recently completed my first 10k race (the 2012 Vancouver Sun Run); am part of a team to complete the Meet Your Maker relay race in Whistler in September; and plan to complete my first triathlon in 2013.

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you and learning about your adventures through Life Food Fitness!

~A 🙂