activity log wednesday

went to London and did 4 121 catch up sessions with the good folk of Kings College London
had another 4 min sunbed.
did 20 mins yoga
ate soup


OK that is about it for today.  Waiting for my boys to come back from Dublin.  They should be here any minute.....

how do you want to feel?

How do you want to feel? Then go do stuff that makes you feel that way.

I want to feel
warm - the sunshine on my skin.  warm breeze.
relaxed and able to be myself
that I have back up
happy
sense of progress
purposeful
good
excited
inspired
in my body
moved
tingly
beautiful
free


I am a little stuck.  I have been for a while.  Luckily I am going away for a few days.  Getting away can bring a sense of perspective.  Its not that I am stuck stuck.  Things are moving.  Its just bizarrely I just can't quite put my finger on what my dreams are.  Maybe this is a good thing.  However, if I am on a quest to achieve my dreams..... then where does that leave me when i do not know what they are.  I keep writing things down, but they are kind of the same things over and over and are generally to do with going on holiday.  I am enjoying my work.  I am a qualified yoga teacher.  I am teaching art workshops.  We have ethical (more so) banking, and green energy.  The baby stuff sales are successful.  I am meeting my tribe. 

More could be done in the tribe count.  I think I need to gather my people.  I keep feeling I am on the cusp of some great realisation of what needs to happen next.  It is tantalisingly close. 

Perhaps its photoshop and a new camera?  But those seem small things.  I am hankering after big stuff.  Good big stuff.  Anyway.  Am thinking away on it in all my spare moments.  Mulling and musing.  What is it!!??!! 

In the meantime.  I read in Austin Kleon's brilliant little book.  That it is good to keep a log of what has been done. 

Log for today
Went to London and did 1 month on catch ups with some folk at Channel 4.  Progress in all camps.  Some catch ups were so short because there was total and complete take up of everything and nothing left to be said.  Some required a little more coaching as the whole process was new and different and a little daunting.  But I was really happy with them all. 

did follow ups for the do:work course at Channel 4.  all good. 
I had a sunbed in preparation for Ibiza
I bought a peg thingy for the clothes line
I printed out my boarding passes
I updated my lists
I cleared out my email folders
I sorted out receipts into piles of April and May
I sent myself photos of my receipts from today
I finished reading How to Become a Key Person of Influence
I made noodle soup
I spoke to Hub and Bub on the phone.  They are in Dublin visiting other son.
I cleared my intray.
I contacted my first appointment for tomorrow.  Turns out she is ill. So it was good that I did.
I paid an invoice
put some money in the savings account
did a bit of filing
set up FB event for Likemind Brighton June
changed the bedlinen
mended the bedlinen (found a hole in the duvet cover as I was changing it)

elderflower fields

Tomorrow we are going camping at Elderflower Fields.  Its a family friendly festival and its nearby.  It is bloody freezing.  Camping!! I ask you.  However the forecast is highly sunny for the next couple of days so we are living with high hopes. 

And taking the thermals.

Even Hub is coming with us. 

Milestone.

admin and best things

I am part way into a day of pure admin.  Man I am not a fan.  just spent two hours wrestling with receipts and various gadgets and an online app.  Doing it all systematically, but then bits not saving and having to go back through and double check everything.  surely there must be an easier way.  Still.  done now.  MORE to go though!  am using a timer.  I find it helps me concentrate.  25 min bursts of concentrated activity followed by a bit of this n that.  hence this post......

Second break.

The importance of practicing Gratitude

I have slacked off slightly of late, and I miss it.  I have a gratitude buddy and we email each other.  Sometimes everyday (I mean, that's the point).  And when I slack off, its because I have forgotten again how good a practice it can be.  Sometimes when I am gloomy the list gets really long, because I need to really focus on the positives that are out there to get me out of my rut.

And it is a practice.  Something to do often to get better at.  Its a total cliche, but it really helps.

I got a brilliant little book through the post yesterday.   Totally unexpected gift from my brother.

How to Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon

It has lots of cool things in it.  But today the most cool thing was the idea of keeping a log book.  As a way of tracking the journey.  Not a journal, not wordy wordyness or blog writing.  Just a list of what was achieved.  But in particular the idea of just writing down the best things that happened.  Because often, if we just remember what happened, without asking ourselves what the best things were, we will remember the problem we had to face, or the person that annoyed us, or some such negative thing.  We are like that.  BUT if you instead, ask, "What were the best things" we will remember the good stuff.  And this will make us happier.  And I do love happier. 

So-  hum hum.  The BEST things SO FAR today (its only just past lunchtime, folks)

1. the homemade soup I just ate
2. getting a book I ordered online.  Am looking forward to reading it on the train tomorrow
3. a client who is working our system even though she is on maternity leave
4. Bub's mood this morning.  He is practicing his dance routine all the time at the moment
5. Bub got up and dragged his new sleeping bag into our bed.  He loves his new sleeping bag.
6. my office was tidy this morning.  yaay
7. I finished my expenses (finally!)


So off you go.  What's the best thing that has happened so far in your day?

final assessment. yoga. done.

Done but not yet dusted.  On Saturday I sat a written exam (wow, that's a first for many years!) swiftly followed by a practical teaching assessment.  Us 4 final year students chose a colour and were hence randomly assigned a list of postures to teach. 

I chose green and hence picked what was basically my worst nightmare selection of postures. 

Parivrtta Trikonasana
Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana
Parsvottasana
'thread the needle' (??)
Halasana - Salambar Sarvangasana
Supta Virasana

If you know what they are.... even the ones that are 'easier' are my personal least favourites because my body finds them really tricky to do.  Some postures that others find tricky are fine with me and the way my hips bend.  But even Supta Virasana is hell for me. 

I got the poses and my immediate response was.  I think I am going to cry.  And then I did cry.  And it was hell.  Luckily I was third so I had 2 sets of teaching to actually do some Yoga and get myself calmed down a bit, stop freaking out and work out how the hell I was going to teach this, coming from any kind of 'right place'.

I have no idea how I did.  I went for lightness and humour.  To be honest, its not as if your average class is going to find these easy anyway. 

And the damn parivrtta aspect means that you have to work out how to teach it when at some point the class is going to be turning away from you, or you them.......

All I can say of this, is that I did not leave the hall.  I did manage to stop crying and pull myself together to teach wtih humour and lightness.  So much of what I learnt went right out the window as I just focused on  - well....... just doing it.  I really freaked out, in test time panic,  like those nightmare dreams where you have to perfom but you do not know the words.  It felt like facing a fear quite frankly, and if I don't pass, then what the hell.  I did get up and give it a good old go.  I don't think I did anything truly unsafe.  But any finer points of teaching, which I may have brought to the table in postures I felt more confident with, were not there.  At least.  I know how I can teach a posture I know really well, when I am relaxed and fully prepared.  And that wasn't quite it. 

We don't automatically pass or fail.  There is a follow up call, in which we must correct anything we know we got wrong and discuss to the assessors satisfaction any other areas which they feel need discussing.  And this is not immediate.  But...... sigh.  as in phew.  as in I am not facing it again (ha! at least I HOPE not - it can happen!!) I don't think I was consiously aware of how stressed I was about it until it was over.

We followed it up with the most amazingly delicious meal at Terre a Terre, and in the end I  did get a ticket to go see Sutra. I feel quite relieved.  Wow 2 years.  And its over.  Or, it has just begun. 

xxx Namaste xxx

Very excited by this! Empowered Portraits art workshop June 2nd 2013

I am teaching another Empowered Portraits workshop for Big Sunday on June the 2nd.  Just £15.  Big Sunday is a brilliant charity that sets up events to raise the spirits of mums, bearing in mind that if a mum gets to spend time doing something she really loves, then the whole family is lifted.  I love the motto: Fuelling your mothership!!  Its all about self care, putting the oxygen mask on yourself so that you can better take care of those around you......

Anyway. MY workshop delves into art journalling, mixed media techniques, mixing freewriting with collage, paint, and a lot of goldens medium.  We will get messy and engaged and create an artefact that embodies your wishes and dreams, calling what you want more of into your life.......I will be setting up a facebook page about it oh, OK check here for the fb page.

I would LOVE it if you could come.  You can book tickets here  and the other events look really cool too..... have a look at the main facebook page here


taking place on June 3rd 2.15pm-4.30pm

Officreche
52 Dyke Road BN1 3JB Brighton And Hove (click on the postcode to see the map and directions....)
United Kingdom

Sunday, 2 June 2013

Yoga study

I am immersed in study of Yoga. 

Abyasa, Vairagabhyam Tannirodhah. 

Practice and detachment are the means to still the patterns of consiousness. 

Tapah
Svadhyaya
Ishvarapranidanani 

= how to study yoga. 
with

Passion,
self study  / study of scriptures
surrender (to the Universal Spirit / god etc)

Here we go.  Exams next Saturday.