Challenge accepted - Day 60

Dec 23rd - Mysore

Dec 24th - Mysore

Dec 25th to January 5th - NADA

Not a damn thang. And tomorrow will be the last day of my 60 day yoga challenge.

I have officially practiced for 40 out of 60 days. And that is pretty horrible. But, hey, it's a start!! I encourage everyone to keep track of their practice until it becomes part of you. It is hard, but it works. I can't wait to get back into my practice of 6 days a week this year.

My year has been pretty awesome!  - but this year, I will take more yoga photos and photos with my bae!


Thank you all for reading through my journey. xo Namaste

Day 31,32,33,34,35 - Vegetarianism and Yoga

Day 31,32,33,34,35 (Week 5)

I did horrible this week you guys. I ended up getting about 2 home-practices in and it was not enough. But this was one of the defining moments of my diet helping me get through. I can blame about 80% of it on work, but 20% was just me. It honestly bothers me so much when I can't get on my mat, it's almost to a point of OCD right now (which is what I'm aiming for, let's be honest). I need. I crave. I want.

Points of redemption when I can't get my daily practice is my diet and an added effort to control my thoughts. I know the fluctuations of the mind are so much more intense on days where I haven't practiced but I made a great effort to control my diet and it worked. Green veggies and lots of water go a long long way. For the most part, just saying I'm "vegetarian" does the trick. I get judged and then left alone.

I just got through Friday morning led class with Nea and it was painful!!! I mean physical actual ouch. My mind is on a whole new level though. I can't wait to have a good week back!!

On that note - I am still waiting for the Christmas spirit to set in!!!

Day 20 - Abu Dhabi is a weird city

Day 20

Morning half primary in my hotel room again. I felt that total mind-numbing bliss while I meditated for the last 10 minutes of my practice.

lol - few people would get this joke.

Didn't have to use my AK.

no?
yes?
ok.

Work may or may not be driving me crazy. The coffee downstairs is making my life complete though. If you haven't heard of or tried PappaRoti, you have to!!!

PAPPAROTI

They are also really awesome on twitter ----> https://twitter.com/PappaRotiUAE

Day 16 - Never Give Up / Always Let Go.

Day 16

Thought-streams are controlled by practice and non-attachment.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras say that practice is the effort to secure steadiness. So this may be through any form, yoga, meditation, breathing, etc. It is not necessarily 2 hours of Ashtanga primary or half primary every day. But that is what it is for me. A solid half primary practice - that is what brings my steadiness. And yes, I am attached to it. I am on a quest to be devoted to it, without interruption, over a long period of time.

Yesterday, I missed my practice and I was upset about it. But today, after a nice, sweaty, Friday morning practice followed by studying Yoga Sutras with Tonya and Nea - I feel much better.  My practice is the EFFORT to secure steadiness. It will always be an effort to get on the mat (some days more than others). And it will and should always be an effort to practice non attachment. We are all human, we are attached to places, people, things, shoes, lululemon, lovers, etc - we need this to keep us human. But in the end, we need to stop looking for an outcome or expected result. That's where we fuck up.

So yeah, to sum it up:

Give it your everything but expect nothing.

Never give up, but always let go.



Namaste x

Sheikh Zayed Road after the storm  is actually kinda gorgeous.

Day 9 - "my insanity is my sanity"

Day 9

Today, after yoga, we talked yoga sutras and the dynamics of our mind. The practice of controlling your emotions, which ultimately affect your body, comes from bringing awareness to your thoughts.

Are you still with me?

Thoughts --- Emotions --- Physical reactions.

Thoughts may be of the past, the present, or the future. They may be real, they may be projected, they may be delusional. The thoughts that we should focus on are those that represent reality. That means we accept things as they are, not what we want them to be. This acceptance and awareness is a constant battle for most of us, but things like yoga and meditation are tools to guide us. Just Breathe :)

My friend Lily, who is a big fan of Mike Tyson, spent some time last night explaining to me the "rawness" of Tyson's personality and character as depicted in his documentary. I just watched it and I could not agree more. Tyson embodies this concept of yoga to the tee. His awareness of reality is astounding and his story will definitely identify with some part of you. I cried *shrugs*.

Namaste and have a good Friday!



 PS.  Watch his documentary "Tyson" below, you won't regret it!!