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 40, 41 - Almost there

Day 40 - Mysore morning

I got to my morning mysore session at about 6am and I was the only one there for my entire practice!! It was nice having all the attention on me and even made me be more aware of the little things through my practice. I was completely absorbed in myself. My left shoulder has been a little annoying lately, but I think it's one of those things that go away as you keep practicing. Let's hope.

Shoulder pain is not a strange thing to yogis, it happens. Read more about it here.

Nea told me to bring my shoulders down and keep it engaged as I go through my Marichi sequence. Let's see where this goes.

I've been having an amazing week, but this day was the cherry on top.I was expecting a hard day at work but ended up spending the day in love with everything. I even got my nails did!  Last year, I had a day like this too. It sets the tone for Christmas. Endless love and a lot of baking.

Namaste xo

Day 41 - Mysore morning.

day 37,38 - Beyonceasana

Day 37: Mysore 6am
Day 38: Mysore 6am

And tomorrow is Full Moon Day aka No Yoga day.

I don't deserve a rest day to be honest. Even though my body is sore after the run this weekend, I feel a little spoiled. On that note, if you - like me- are obsessing with the new beyonce videos out there, she has been known to get her Ashtanga on with her gal pal Gwyneth Paltrow. Must be nice.

SO - fellow big bummed girls, get yo asana on.

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 28,29,30 - Have Faith.

Day 28 
Ladies Holiday aka Bitches' day off, but this time with NO PAIN. yoga cures cramps y'all

Day 29
Home practice. I had an allergic reaction to some chickpeas. It wasn't the nicest of days.

Day 30

I'm half way there. Writing has been really helpful to my practice as it gives me a chance to reflect. Maybe I should just have a journal and not bore you guys? Just kiddin, I love the attention.

Today was Friday led class with Nea and it felt amazing as always. I felt light and I did my Bhujapidasana and back bending with new found vigor. Today's yoga sutra topic was interesting

"clarity is preceded by faith, energy, memory and equalminded contemplation" 

-Yoga Sutra 1.20

Clarity = Samadhi.

Clarity of mind.
Are you there?
Does it come naturally?
Or do you have to work on it? How far do you go every day to achieve it?
Ashtangis generally go too far.

This is a beautiful piece to watch: 

Day 25, 26 and 27 - Make me smile.

Day 25 
Mysore at 6.15am

Day 26
Mysore at 6.15am

Day 27
No yoga day aka.
NEW MOON DAY! 

My plan was to make it to the beach with the rest of the yoga room crew to indulge in some sunrise meditation. I have never admittedly been this excited to meditate. I almost had to contain myself from calling people to spread the news.

And then- FOG happened. I woke up to a city engulfed in a cloud. It was so bad, and I got chicken. I couldn't get in my car at 6am and put in that much effort. Is it worth the danger? In a city filled with bad drivers? And Paul Walker's sad news lurked in my mind?

I'd rather just live (and sleep in)

But it's not all bad news, I just found out that the ultimate Ashtangi is coming to Yoga Room in 2014. KINO MACGREGOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to go and pinch myself now. What a dream!

Kino MacGregor is an international yoga teacher, author of two books, producer of six Ashtanga Yoga DVDs, writer, vlogger, world traveler, co-founder of Miami Life Center  and founder of Miami Yoga Magazine. Her YouTube channel reached more than 2 million views within the last year. She is one of a select group of people to receive the Certification to teach Ashtanga Yoga by its founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India and practices through the Fourth Series of Ashtanga Yoga.

Day 22, 23 and 24 - Samskaras

Day 22:Shitty Practice 

Day 23

Friday morning led class with Nea followed by Yoga Sutras - it was interesting. The topic at hand was:

samskara 

= deep impressions,

 imprints in the unconscious

, deepest habits,

 subliminal activators,

 traces

(positive/negative)

Ashtanga yoga is such a deeply meditative practice that you would pretty much be working out your negative samskaras as you go deeper into the practice. I know I'm preaching to the choir right now, but if you want to learn more about this : Read Kino McGregor's article here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

Day 24

Morning practice with Tonya,  followed by lunch and beach with an old family friend who's in town. I love living in a city by the beach.

Namaste xo.

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 12 - Meatless Monday & Ahimsa

Day 12
(Ok whatever, I'm counting moon days. Say something!)

I made it in to mysore this morning! Hallelujah! and I was having a super productive morning, drinking ample amounts of water and other healthy liquids. Everything was going great until I discovered my dutty food court soup had chicken in it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted the food court lady :(

I've been vegetarian for about a year now, and I have to say - it feels like one of the best decisions I have made in my adult life. However, I'm not a super anal vegetarian yet - I eat fish from time to time and I still indulge in meat-based gravies with simple ignorance. So... really, I'm not vegetarian! But I DO think about my food and the practice of "Ahimsa". Do you?

But here's my philosophy; one step at a time - we all gotta start somewhere. As long as we have the right intention, we're on the right path.

Namaste! x



This is me every time I make it in to Mysore. (which is supposed to be every day)

Day 11

Full moon day - so we do not practice. 

I usually don't religiously observe this, but since I have taken up this commitment to my practice,  it might be my only opportunity for down time!

We had a lovely guided meditation. I thought I would reach somewhere deep, but that did not happen. My thoughts on love and happiness stayed pretty shallow on my boyfriend and Christmas! 

I can't wait to be able to begin a meditative practice at some point in my life! Vipassana maybe?

Today, I obsessed with Bed Peace- Jhene Aiko's track with Childish Gambino. I'm quite a big r&b/hiphop fan (sorry) .

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!!

Day 7 - bruises make for better conversation.

Day 7

I made it into morning mysore practice. YAY!

Today, I worked from home and talked to my brother in Canada a lot. He has had an ankle injury as of last week and is sitting at home recovering. I'm so traumatized at the thought of an injury and the disgusting snapchats he's been sending me. Crutches aren't fun when you actually need them.

On that note, my heart also goes out to all the victims of the typhoon in the Phillipines. I've been seeing pictures and videos of the injuries, homelessness and sadness of over 10,000 people. I send you love and light xo

If any of my Dubai readers want to join a guided meditation practice for charity - Please join the facebook event - http://t.co/5K6G0ur34A 

Day 6 - Love and Luxury watches

Day 6

Spent the day surrounded by "luxury" products for a stock count. When I think of luxury my mind cues Lorde -

"Crystal

Maybach
Diamonds on your timepiece
Jet planes
IslandsTigers on a gold leash" - Lorde (Royals)

Day 3

Day 3

Led class with Tonya @ 11am

I took my friend Sahar to yoga with me.

Sahar is Arab African (Sudanese)-raised in Oman-super Christian-hilarious-humble-lovely girl and a good friend. She is looking to get fit and is in the phase of counting calories and watching portions hard core. Although I thought the initial sanskrit chanting might scare the crap out of her - I imagined she would LOVE the workout aspect.

She liked the class, loved it even - but found it too hard and can't see herself doing it everyday.

I need to accept that this shit is not for everyone. Let people find their own path.

So that was Day 3.

I went to bed at 9.30... i miss my boo!

Day 2 - Yoga Sutras and Commercialism

Another 5am wake-up call, but not for yoga - to the Dubai Women's Run!

It was a great venue, great turnout and well organized. I met a lot of lovely ladies and tons of interesting people pitching cool "health related" businesses. On the down side, it was commercialism at it's finest. Anyone will sell you anything and claim that it's healthy. I'm not one to preach about health and fitness, but I wish more people did their research and made a conscious effort to look through the bullshit.

By noon I was done Friday morning led class and sipping on some homemade chai with a group of like minded souls. Between day dreaming and reading yoga sutras with Nea & Tonya, I caught something about "the stillness/essence underneath it all" - that's what matters. Bingo.

Commercialism is well & good, branding is great; we all have a brand - a worldly identity. But that's not our essence or our true selves. Look through your own bullshit now and again.

Namaste.

Day One (again)

Okay so Day 1 didn't pan out as imagined.

5.15am alarm on a Thursday morning. First thought - it's the weekend (In Dubai at least)!!!

I got dressed and quickly drove over to my favourite morning destination @yogaroomdubai before my body realized what was happening. I have officially begun. I got through my half primary series, enjoyed a good savasana, was back home by 7.15am

What a win.

Tomorrow is a Friday which means led class followed by some yoga sutras with Tonya and Nea. Let's see what that brings!

Tomorrow is also the Dubai Women's Run - 5k & 10k, if you are running - come check out the juice bar with @cafebaroque. I did a juice cleanse with them a couple months ago and I highly recommend it. In fact I think I might endure another one before christmas - I have been so so naughty!