This past week has been a big test of my patience, my ability to deal with stress, my temper, my positive attitude and my mind. I've had a paradigm shift over the past few weeks and I'm loving it.
To cut a long story short, we had some issues with the building we lease for the club I run, as water and electricity are not good friends. After getting up and leaving slowly after Tuesday's yoga class I found a dozen text messages, missed calls and voicemails on my phone. While I'd been upside down, we needed Noah's Ark.
Instead of freaking out and swearing like a sailor after three bottles of rum, I calmly returned the missed calls and text messages and voicemails. I quickly walked back to the club, dealt with the situation fairly calmly and jumped into action for a resolution. I didn't get one that night, so I went home. I had several SOS calls overnight which left me with only a few hours of sleep. I was back at the club at 6am Wednesday to try and get it sorted, and 13 hours later it was. I was tired, hungry, sleep-deprived and covered in muck, but we had a resolution.
Fast forward another hour on Wednesday night and I was back on my yoga mat, even though I really wanted to just go home and fall into bed. I had a great class and felt much better afterwards. I managed to get my feet flat and heels down in downward dog for the first time - awesome! I felt stronger, more flexible, calm, centred and empowered.
I had an uninterrupted sleep Wednesday night and woke on Thursday feeling like I'd actually slept, so I stayed in bed for an extra two hours reading a book. I needed the quiet and the solitude. On Thursday night I was back on the mat for the third night in a row. I was sore, but still had my heels down on the mat in downward dog and managed flip the dog reasonably gracefully.
On Friday night I taught a Zumba class cover, with a bit of a low blood glucose incident on stage. It wasn't major, but I went blank and forgot my choreography to a song I've taught about 50-odd times before. I fumbled a few more times, smashed down some candy and upped the intensity. I haven't been that low for a while, so clearly the stressful situations, the yoga, the masses of walking and my inner calm conspired to drop my glucose and my former stress cadet self. Stress usually pushes up my glucose levels, so clearly being calm does the opposite!
I woke up Saturday morning ready to take on the world, before I remembered it was my the 25th anniversary of my Mother's death from cancer. I went to yoga feeling a bit glum. I was sweating like crazy, which was clearly from the toxins (i.e. all the sugar) I had to smash down the night before. I felt a little miserable during the class but by the end I'd stopped feeling sorry for myself and a bit less wrathful.
I didn't have time to mope, as I had to head home, eat and shower before heading off to sell Pink Ribbon Day merchandise as a volunteer for the Cancer Council. In previous years I've sat around and moped and been angry at the world and felt like crap. I decided this year would be different and that I would do positive things on the key dates (her birthday, Mother's Day, her anniversary, etc) to try and turn them into better days. As a result, I met two awesome people and made a new friend while raising lots of money for the Cancer Council.
So, paradigms have shifted. This year has been different because I've been different.
Thanks to my yoga practice, I'm not stressed out at the slightest little thing. All the time spent upside down is sending my creative brain into overdrive and I'm coming up with new ideas and new ways to do things. I'm less focussed on stuff and more focussed on experiences. I'm less stressed and more calm. I'm more grounded, more centred, more chilled out and more laid back. Stuff that used to really get to me no longer does to the same extent.
Sure, I do break into the odd expletive and I do get wrathful, but not angry. Injustice still frustrates me. People hurting other people still grates on me. I don't tolerate people's shoddy behaviour towards me or others but I'm not going to tie myself up in knots about it either. Karma exists for a reason. I'm not perfect and I will never claim to be perfect. I will never be perfect, but I can be a better version of myself.
With all this in mind, I'm going to back to Langkawi in April for a two-part eight day yoga retreat. Four days of relaxed yoga retreat to unwind, two days in between, then four days of intensive retreat to really push myself. There's a few chill out days in the there and three days in KL on the way home to get back to reality (and a few different yoga classes). By April, I will need a break. I'm looking forward to massages at Alun-Alun Spa again too. That place is amazing.
I've also decided that I am going to do the 200 Hour YTT (Yoga Teacher Training) next year. I'm looking at either Ubud in Bali or Jakarta (Bali would be better!) for 12 day intensive program. Doing the training in Australia is two or even three times the price, so why not incorporate another holiday and go somewhere new and pretty?
So, how have you been different this year?
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