Great things ahead for 2014

It's a whole fresh, new, shiny year tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. 

I'm starting the year with my usual blasting of and boogie along to U2's epic anthem "New Year's Day". Then I'll heading off to a hot disco yoga class, followed by lunch - hopefully Malaysian food. I was going to do a movie but couldn't find any session times so I guess everything is closed. Weird. If this was NZ, everything would be open!

2014 will be the year of ME. I've spent 36.5 years busily taking care of and worrying about everyone else and it's high time I gave myself some airtime. I have the following stuff planned:

• Yoga retreat and holiday in Malaysia in April (Langkawi, KL and maybe a bit of Johor Bahru with a side trip to a couple of our gyms in Singapore). I won't be visiting during Ramadan, which will be interesting, as all the 24hr food courts will be 24hrs again. Makan, makan, makan (Malay for eat) - walk, walk, walk.

• Yoga Teacher Training in Bali in July/August, combined with a couple of days holiday either side. I'll do a couple of days in Bali either side with a couple of days in KL on the way home, since I'll be flying Air Asia.

• I'd like to get a little more ink. I have four tattoos that represent other people and it's time to get one or three just for me. 

• I will learn Malay, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian and French. Seven languages should be enough, including English. Malay can be used a bit in Indonesia so that will help with communicating in Bali. Oh yes, I need to learn more Sanskrit too. That makes it eight, not including my exceptional command of English, with a side of Tibetan. 

• I kinda think I'll actually get to ride the roller coasters at Berjaya Times Square in KL this time. And maybe, just maybe, i'll have time to visit Melaka. 

• I need to cross off at least five things on my 100 things list. A couple will be pretty easy, the rest not so much, but that's all good!

• I need more fun. I need to try new things and to stop being so boring and predictable. That will have to wait until I get back from Malaysia and Bali though.  The various required resources are a little stretched at present!

• I also intend to be kinder to myself, more grateful, happier, more content and more present. 

• I will change the lounge/office around to give myself a larger, dedicated yoga space for home practice. 

I am pleased to announce that I have just completed my final assessment workbook for my Life Coaching and Wellness Coaching certifications, so in two weeks' time I will get the fantastic news that I've pass and graduated. 

What do you have planned for 2014?

Vision Boards - more than just a bunch of pretty pictures

I've just found a great online post which I just had to share. Read on for the link!

I've been making vision boards for years - the first was about triathlon, with a great selection of pictures and quotes by Chrissie Wellington, Craig Alexander, Mirinda Carfrae and Chris McCormack. The second was more of a vision wall - it was a collection of photos of awesome places I've visited and lived on the wall above my desk at home.

The last one I made was all about my Malaysian Adventure Holiday. It was the first thing I saw in the morning when I woke up and the last thing I saw at night - it was on the wall at the end of my bed, right where I could see it at the two most important times of the day for my mind! It kept me going through some very tough, stressful and tiring days.

Tomorrow I will begin the process of starting a new one, using the tips in the article linked below. In fact, I'll probably make two. One for my next trip and one for the rest of my life. I'll post photos when I'm done.

Here's the link - now get to it!

Creating a Powerfully Effective Vision Board That Works For You

Green tea - the last hippie bastion has finally fallen

Hell has finally frozen over. I'm drinking green tea and I am enjoying it. 

In my search to re-create moments from my amazing Malaysian adventure, I've been seeking out Lemongrass and Ginger tea, in the vain hope that I can find one that tastes like the amazing one that I had at Alun-Alun spa in Langkawi. So far, no good.

I bought a box of Lemongrass and Ginger tea in Tesco in KL but that doesn't taste like Alun-Alun's tea which I'm sure was black tea. Apparently the one I bought was green tea. Slight fail.

Green tea always tasted like crap before. Well, maybe not crap exactly. Perhaps more like rancid soy milk with stalks of gosh-only-knows-what steeped in it. Regardless, no good. Until now.

I bought a box of green tea with Lemon and Lemongrass in it one day at Safeway here in Melbourne and thought "well, stuff your ginger then". This tea also does not taste like Alun-Alun's tea, but guess what? I'm loving it.

As I'm sitting here typing this anecdote with a glass of green tea on the desk next to me, I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. Green tea is not the evil pond scum juice I remember it being years ago. Sure, it's not coconut water or Malaysian iced coffee, but it's pretty good. And it's not coffee. It's hydrating, relaxing and good for me. It's full of antioxidants and health benefits. It will help me flush out toxins. And so on and so forth.

What has this got to do with life coaching? Well, remember my quest to just say yes, have more fun, try new stuff, get over myself and have more adventures? Yes? Good! This was a bit of an adventure and I'm glad I got over myself, just said yes, tried something new and I am now enjoying green tea.

Baby steps eventually lead to a marathon. That is all.

Have more fun

I made a decision back in Joe Pane's Personal Power funshop at the end of May. I decided to have more fun in my life, as I've spent the last 15 years being boring and serious.

The major source of fun for the next two months will be my upcoming adventure to Malaysia and Singapore.

Let me be clear that this is not a holiday. Holidays to me are for people who just want to sit on their butts on a beach somewhere with a nice cocktail and baste themselves in coconut oil while developing a tan that later in life may cause them health issues. Or, holidays to me are for people who just want to sit on their butts on a deck chair on a cruise ship while eating far too much at the all-you-can-eat buffet and then come back 5kg heavier. This is my map of the world - yours may of course be very different.

Holidays are not for me.  If I wanted to laze around and be bored out of my skull, I can do that at home. Or in my sleep!

I do adventures - I want to get out and see the world, experience new things, try new foods (that may or may not make me sick), take part in another culture and LIVE like there's no tomorrow. I want sun, sea, sand, rain, thunderstorms, heat, humidity, cool sea breezes, puddles, mud, bus rides, train rides, public transport, overcrowding, noise, smells, tan lines, heat, air conditioning, plane flights and everything else that comes with 22 days in Malaysia and Singapore.

In terms of the FUN I'm going to have, well, there's Legoland, Universal Studios, Lost World of Tambun, Adventure Cove Water Park, Go Green Segway Tours, Indoor Archery, Boeing 737 Flight Simulator, river cruises, cultural performances, day trips to ancient cities and holy shrines, orchid gardens, giant slides, towers, photos, lakes, hot springs, breakfast with Orang-utans, special white coffee, black pepper chicken, layer cake, batik painting, elephant rides, headhunters and a whole lot more!

It's a lot to pack in to 22 days but I've planned it to death and it's going to be EPIC!  I've scheduled time to rest, meditate, run, do yoga, sleep, eat, shower and pack bags between the cities I'm visiting, which are:

• Langkawi
• Penang
• Kuching
• Johor Bahru
• Singapore
• Kuala Lumpur
• Ipoh
• Malacca

Yes, that's 8 cities in 22 days. Yes, I am a little crazy. Yes, there are 8 flights, three big bus rides and a pair of big train rides in there. But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

I'm taking myself right out of my comfort zone as although I've done three of these eight cities before, it was six years ago and I'm doing a bunch of new places and staying in different accommodation to last time! And did I mention I'm going by myself?

There's also a few massage and beauty treatments booked in and my needs for certainty and variety are being met with a great packed yet organised schedule with lots of new things to try.

Jealous yet?  Don't be - just decide to have more fun yourself and then book yourself an adventure somewhere awesome!

Pain is weakness leaving the body

I'm in a whole world of pain today, so I will be keeping this post kinda short as I can't type very well!

I was sore on waking yesterday after Vinyasa Yoga class, but I felt I had a little more emotion still to deal with so I strapped on some boxing gloves last night and took out the remaining negative states and emotions (left over from Friday night and that I was experiencing over the weekend) on a pair of focus pads held by my new Personal Trainer.  

It felt great to be able to box again, but my goodness I am so sore today that I can barely hold a pen, let alone control a mouse or type! I am pleased and proud that I lasted as long as I did and that my shoulder barely hurts.

I'm looking at the physical pain I'm feeling today as weakness leaving the body. Those negative states and emotions are leaving my body in the form of black smoke that I am visualising as I breathe out consciously today - and will not be returning. I had a very quick meltdown with a few tears on Sunday night for the length of half a verse of a U2 song, but for the most part I'm pretty much over it.

I also visited Maggie (my medium) today, who nearly had me in stitches when a few of the tarot cards came out of the pack. Cards appearing like intuition, worthiness and meditation were just priceless.  Maggie is always spot on and so are the cards. I have lots of great ideas that I need to channel into actions and I need to meditate, remind myself that I am a strong fierce warrior and trust my intuition because it's spot on. I am worthy, I am strong, I am fierce and I am worth it!

Everything I have been hearing and reading in NLP, Tony Robbins and my coaching courses came out of those cards today. Talk about appearance to mind! 

I'm on day 7 today of meditating every day for at least 5-10 minutes first thing in the morning, whether that be through guided meditations, Buddhist meditations, affirmations, chanted meditation or listening to music and focusing on the breath. Only 358 days to go!

I am feeling calmer, more focussed and a great sense of clarity as a result of meditating. I am also feeling more centred, grounded and balanced. The "hour of power" concept that I learnt from Tony Robbins years ago and from my coaching module last week is paying off. 

I am also proud to say that I ran 2km non-stop last night after all that boxing, for the first time in over two years (since blowing out the shoulder). I was just going to do 1km, then it was 1.5km, then I decided to stop at 2km. I probably could have kept going but that's okay, I just wanted to see what 2km felt like now that I'm tiny again!

I am now researching yoga and meditation classes in Malaysia and Singapore while I'm there for three weeks, as well as running trails and I have already bought lots of groupons for massages and facial/beauty treatments while I'm away.  Three weeks to go - getting excited now!

My question for you today is, what do you have to look forward to?

Vinyasa and movies - the perfect Sunday

Sometimes it's good to break your routine in favour of creating a new one. This morning I braved the (literally) freezing cold and walked down to the local yoga studio for Vinyasa yoga. The studio opened about six months ago and this was the first time I have made the effort to get back on the mat since blowing out my shoulder two years ago.  I wanted to go last week but slept in on purpose and didn't get  there. I promised myself I'd go today instead. And I did!

My physio told me a few weeks ago to get back into yoga for strength and flexibility and boxing for power, coordination and strength, so I've now got my yoga back on and will be actioning the boxing hopefully tomorrow night.  

Vinyasa is a style of yoga that I hadn't done before. I've done Hatha and and Iyengar before, but I'm thinking that I like the flowing style of Vinyasa. I'm sure my muscles will hate my guts tomorrow (I can feel my quads already, although my hammies are nice and loose) but that's just too bad. Lots of stretching, lots of movement, lots of breathing, a bit of Om chanting and some blankie time at the end - 1hr 15mins later I was struggling to get my shoes on because I was so darn relaxed!

I trotted home from class listening to Tibetan singing bowl recordings and then headed off to the movies.  I've been wanting to see a couple of movies that were released recently so today I saw The Hangover Part 3. It was a good way to lose a couple of hours with a few laughs at the sheer ridiculousness of the situations the characters find themselves in.  Resourceful drama, as Joe Pane would say. 

I have now decided that as part of my "have more fun" pledge to myself, I will go to the movies once a month. I think I've seen four or five movies since moving to Australia three years ago - two were events courtesy of workplaces - so this needs to change. 

I've also decided that I need more yoga, so I will be doing the studio's unlimited monthly membership so that I can do Vinyasa on Thursday nights, Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as a beginner's class straight after Saturday morning Vinyasa. I need the practice for my body, mind and spirit - it's been a hard seven months at work and it's time I started looking after myself properly with good things to focus on.

The unresourceful state I've been in since Friday night's events seems to be lifting and although I've still got some work to do around this space, making a list of all the stuff I have to organise and book for my upcoming holiday has reminded me that looking forward to stuff is far better than looking back. Why spend all my time looking in the rear view mirror when I need to be watching the speedo and the road ahead? I will be writing a list tomorrow during my hour of power of all the things I have to look forward to - believe me, there's lots of them!

Additionally, I will be encouraging a potential client to do the same this week. He is going through a marriage break up and is very wired up at the moment. I believe he needs resourceful things to channel his energies into or his mind will eat him alive. 

I'm up to module 7 of my coaching course and nearly halfway through the certified professional coach portion. I'd like to get it done before I go to Malaysia on holiday for three weeks and I dearly need to get the NLP side of things up to date also. I have downloaded all the remaining audio sessions for NLP and need to find some some NET (no extra time) to listen to it. 

I also need to find some coaching clients to work with.  Better make that a priority this week! 

I must away...work to do!