Each moment is a beautiful and unique gift...

Sometimes I feel we are like neverending books with so much depth to us…with every page we read we get more understanding into who we are and how we affect ourselves and other people, yet we never reach the end of our book…sometimes reading a particular page again and again, meeting the same experience in our lives over and over, doesn’t really help us to get further…we just can’t see what that experience holds for us…and we need to go through it on several occasions in our lives to understand that it is happening for a reason, and to be more open next time to what that particular experience is trying to tell us…life is a miraculous and a “well thought-out” process in a way, it will always bring our way the experiences we need to go through and present opportunities for us to grow…that’s the beauty of life…each moment is a beautiful and unique gift for us to keep learning about ourselves and life…and if we can do that without getting too attached to the experience itself, especially those ones creating negative emotions in us and see them still as light in darkness, we will be able to experience life on a much subtler, finer level…what a gift to wake up every morning and keep learning 💛

Why kindness and love are sometimes so hard to openly “show”?

I am thinking how strange it is that we live in the world where what should seem natural and easy often isn’t. How many times did you catch yourself wanting to do something kind and beautiful for another person, someone you maybe barely knew, yet your doubts and how your act might have been perceived by that person or others made to stop you? How many times you wanted to say to someone how beautiful person they seemed to be to you or how much you appreciated them being in your life but in the end you didn't? Why kindness and love are things that are sometimes so hard to openly “show”? Or is it that we live our lives so much for ourselves that we have stopped caring? Same as with abundance of everything else, do we take people in our lives too much for granted, believing that they will never leave or that there will be always new people coming into our lives? How many breaths do we still need to take to realize that our lives keep moving forward and that one day there will be our last breath left and we won’t have time to tell to the people we've loved and cared about that we always have? There is always a risk that there might not be ready to “welcome” the kindness or love we feel for them. But what is a bigger loss? Losing a face in front of people who are not ready to be a part of our lives or losing the opportunity to create some beautiful deep connections with people who would love to walk along but maybe we don’t create an opportunity for them to join us? Life should be rich, deep and blissful but how much do we give from ourselves to find that richness? I hope enough…🙏😊💜

"The love we give away is the only love we keep"

“There is always more to find, always something left in you when you would swear on your soul you’ve been emptied out.” A beautiful part of a poem by Tyler Knott Gregson (the whole poem at the end 😊) I can totally relate to. I absolutely love my job, teaching yoga and creating a beautiful experience for my students to light up their souls a bit more so that we can all share a bit more kindness and love in this world. As with every human, even us yoga teachers (no, we are not spiritual fairies who are zen all the time 😉) have days when we wake up and we feel like “how can I possibly teach a class and give to people when I feel like I don’t have more to give?” And it’s a beautiful experience to find out that even when you are at your lowest (maybe not the super lowest), with no sleep, with life being crazy, there’s always more we can give…not that I would feel low right now but there were definitely moments when I was feeling like I couldn’t possibly teach a nice class…but surprisingly I always did (at least what I can tell from the feedback of my students ;-)). It’s beautiful to realize that when we actually start giving, everything starts turning around and we start feeling better…as one of my favourite quotes says “The love we give away is the only love we keep” (by Elbert Hubbard) ❤ So keep sharing, keep giving, keep smiling because life is way more fun this way 🌼

Here is the beautiful poem:

“I have a few promises to offer you,
the believing is up to you,
the proof will emerge,
but I cannot say the when.
Here is what I have,
my sincere offering,
scar earned
and burned into me:
when you think you can’t,
you positively can,
when you think it’s over,
it may be beginning.
There is always more to find, 
always something left in you
when you would swear on your soul
you’ve been emptied out.
Finally, and most exquisitely important,
I promise you it is worth it,
it is always worth it,
every drop of ache and sorrow,
every perfect pinch of joy,
it is worth it.
Promise me you will keep waking up,
keep finding it,
and finding the strength in you
to believe me.”

Become true to yourself...

“Which part of yourself do you think is so precious that you will fully lose if you move forward?” I was watching a video the other day while doing something else and this few words from a preview of a recording at the end of the video “Rise of the Lightworkers” (by Lee Harris) had stuck in my head. We do really feel very precious about ourselves so many times in our lives and we often don’t make that step forward…and sometimes it is a wise thing for sure, sometimes we need more time to tune in and decide whether it is in alignment with our values, sometimes there are other living beings involved and it could cause more harm…but there’s also so many of the other times when we know deep inside with certainty that we want to move forward and we know it’s the right thing to do…and many times we don’t… our mind gets in the way…the fear of “losing face” gets in the way…in reality though what is really precious is not keeping our “status”, precious is OUR life…life is really quite short and I wonder how many of us will at the end of our journey say, “I didn’t do the things I wanted to but at least people loved me.”…while we don’t want to hurt other people, we don’t really live our lives for them, our lives are our own responsibility…we can decide in every moment if we “betray” ourselves by not doing what we want (or doing what we don’t want) or whether we fill it with meaningful things that nourish our soul…life is a beautiful thing but it will only feel this way and feel real when we become true to ourselves….and that takes some courage 💜

How much life can we perceive in that little moment?

The richness of our experience doesn’t really need to change with the experience itself…it can change with us…it changes with the depth of our presence…How much life can we perceive in that little moment?... truly the most beautiful moments for me or the most beautiful days are not those when I do something extraordinary, something special (even though I love those too)…it’s more those moments, those days when I do normal things but I feel more connected to everything around me and within…and the only way this happens is when we stay truly in that moment and perceive it, experience it as deeply as we can…life is actually quite simple and happiness is always within reach, we just often look for it too far away from ourselves…

Stay open, stay gentle to life...

A poppy flower…a gift to you…I love their crumpled petals when the flowers open to see the light of the world…there’s this beauty in being simple and fragile…I love their softness…they are to me like a reminder of fragility and impermanence of every life…a reminder that we can bring light and happiness to others by just being but also hurt other living souls by not acting from a place of love…we don’t always find that place within…but we can at least try…to love without conditions, to give without expecting something back in return, to see the world through eyes of kindness, to approach experiences in our lives with gentleness…stay open, stay gentle to life…it’s such a blessing to be here every day and to be “love”…🌸

Tune into your inner wisdom...

Last night I was thinking about my yoga practice and about all the energy and drive I have now after having a few weeks off when I was chilling back home in Europe :-) …and while the intention was to practise and meditate every day there, it only happened rarely in between all the celebrations and meeting some beautiful souls.

It’s interesting to feel now so much of the enthusiasm, but also so much impatience…I know deep inside that the best is to get into everything slowly and keep the practice nice and gentle…and trust that I will get stronger, more flexible and my body will open a bit more again with a consistent practice…not that it should be in anyway important to be strong but my ego is screaming “Yes, I want you to be super strong…NOW!”. It’s interesting to notice this impatience which comes and goes, almost like the ego has been testing its boundaries and pushing my inner wisdom away. Sometimes the lessons that meet us on our path are subtle but they may be sooo relevant in that particular moment…it’s easy to miss them in between all what the ego needs to say and it takes practice (still learning ;-) ) to stay tuned into our inner wisdom…this is our home where all the questions can be answered, this is where the growth happens 💜

Enjoy it without grasping...

“When we grasp after pleasure, the possibility of pain is always there because the law of nature is that what appears also disappears; but if we can welcome pleasure and indeed enjoy it without grasping, then pain does not arise.” …loving this gorgeous section from a beautiful book “Mindfulness and Compassion: Embracing Life with Loving-Kindness” by The Happy Buddha …it’s something I am still learning…learning to enjoy things as they come but also letting them be when they pass…it’s a beautiful feeling when we are able to fully enjoy something that brings us pleasure and happiness but it’s also a beautiful thing to be able to let it go when it’s not there at that moment and be able to move onto the next thing, stay present to what is unfolding in the here and now, even though it may not bring us as much pleasure or joy…there’s this beautiful feeling of freedom and being one with life when we follow the natural flow of life, instead of when we grasp after things and then being one with life for a moment but fighting against it in another…💜

Because love is everything...

Because love is beautiful…and everything ❤️

Sending heaps of love to you all from my home country, fields of poppy flowers, warm sunrays and late sunsets, and can’t wait to see you all very soon :-) Back to teaching next Friday the 23rd ❤️

The feeling of ease and flow...

Waiting for a connecting flight in Seoul, I am thinking how I am loving life right now…the feeling of ease and flow and the acceptance of everything being as it is…this overwhelming feeling of being more than this physical body I have been lent for this life, the feeling of connectedness with everything around me, love, gratefulness…a thought arises in my mind about how silly it is to try to interfere with how life decides to weave its path…and I catch a smile on my face feeling happy, not wanting to change anything…just wanting to be a part of it…🌼

"Why your life is not a journey"

A beautiful video I have come across a few weeks ago...if you haven't seen it, this one is definitely worth watching...but be careful, it may change your life…enjoy :-)

Blue Spirit Yoga and Healing Space

Such a privilege to teach in this gorgeous space…beautiful sweaty class this morning with some gorgeous souls, fire, love and laughter ❤️…if you have never taken a class here, it’s so worth it…this place has a special vibe…beautiful welcoming safe energy…Blue Spirit Yoga and Healing Space, one of the most beautiful spaces in the mountains, with gorgeous garden in every season…plus some super lovely and amazing teachers as well ❤️

To make the world a more beautiful peaceful place...

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,“ the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!” (adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley). 💕

……………………………

We may never know or find out but what if the kindness of doing something little for another soul will in the end grow into a beautiful big change…because kindness and love, and being caring have the tendency to travel from a person to another, at least for a little while…maybe it’s that ONE THING I or you, or both of us do today that will make the world a more beautiful peaceful place…:-)

Love is the little things we give...

We live in a world where we often think about how much we can get out of something…how much we can take…but what if life is not about “taking”…what if life is about sharing, giving…sometimes a smile can change another’s person world… sometimes a kind word can help someone to make it through a tough day…sometimes a hug can save someone’s life…LOVE is the little things we do…the little things we give…a smile, a kind word, a hug 🌸

"Our true, happy, nature can be discovered only when..."

I don’t particularly enjoy being sick (to be honest it makes me feel a little crazy as I love moving :-))…one of the good things though about being sick is that it gives us time to do things we otherwise rarely find time for…for me it is reading…I love finding a quiet moment and to read a little bit here and there but often my life gets filled with other activities and I just don't create time for it…when I was sick I reached for one of my favourite books “Happiness and How It Happens” by The Happy Buddha (I am pretty sure I raved about it before already :-))…I love reading little bits and pieces and then giving myself some time to think about it and process it…this book is perfect for it…on every page there’s so much beautiful wisdom shared…and it is also one of those books you can read over and over again and find new messages there which you hadn’t noticed before…I have come across this little section and just really enjoyed reading it ❤ Here it is:

“We bring an agenda to our spiritual practice as to how we want to be in the future, but if we practise well this agenda is doomed to failure. It’s OK to have an agenda for a while as it can motivate us to start to practise, but it will never be fulfilled, because agendas are of the ego: the little me. The ego always wants to become somebody, but practice is not about becoming somebody. Practice is about getting to know yourself and becoming free from suffering by doing so. This freedom can’t be achieved through our usual type of striving. Our true, happy, nature can be discovered only when we give up the struggle to be better, to be someone different.” 🌸💕

All the wealth is at our feet...

See what I’ve found this morning…a beauty covered in morning dew 💗…sometimes I feel we chase silly things in life while all the wealth is at our feet 🍁

What makes you feel nourished in life...?

Today is all about freedom…I’m stuck here in bed with flu so I am at least inspiring myself with pictures and stories that make me feel free 😉…being in bed for a few days has given me some time to reflect on my life and think about lots of things...among them, what makes people feel happy and what makes them feel unhappy…and I’ve come up with a few things but often I feel it is when our life values which are really important to us are fulfilled or not (the other part is being grateful for what we have).

For me, one of the most important life values is the feeling of freedom…I guess that’s why I love dance and movement in general, being creative, spontaneous, and all the crazy challenges and adventures💖…(I love though my routine too 😉). I thrive when I feel free but I cry inside when I am not (and I guess as a Sagittarius that’s kind of normal to expect…you can’t tie down a Sagittarius 😉).

Knowing what makes us feel nourished in life, what values are important to us, is a beautiful and easy way how to bring more of those things into our lives and feel happier. It’s good to check from time to time “What does freedom (or whatever value(s) you choose) mean to me?” The answer is just there…

Happy Sunday gorgeous souls 🌸💕

Our life doesn't start in that moment...

Often life is “enough” and pretty awesome the way it is…so many times we want more, we want to change, we want our life to change but the truth is if we can’t appreciate what we have in this moment, we will hardly appreciate when the change comes or when we have more…it’s great to be inspired, it’s awesome to have dreams and goals to chase but to live a happy and fulfilling life, we can’t wait for the moment when everything aligns, when everything will be perfect…because our life doesn’t start in that moment…our life, for most of us, has started quite some time ago…and it is happening right now…from moment to moment…and we can easily waste that moment and another by wanting it to be different…or we can appreciate it for what it is…cherish those beautiful happy ones and be grateful for those challenging ones which help us to grow and become better people 🌸💕

How to bring more positivity and contentment into your life :-)

While I do believe it is very important to experience and welcome all the emotions and learn to work with them, I feel that sometimes we allow them to take over our lives and to shape us…which is great if it’s the positive emotions of love, joy and peace, but not so awesome if they are on the negative spectrum of emotions, like fear, anger and sadness.

We all have days when we experience these negative emotions and it’s totally normal and human…it’s unrealistic to expect we will be happy from now on and nothing will shake us…we all have a belief system we have created usually quite early on in life and some situations will make us feel vulnerable and will unfortunately get the “worst” of us…not because we wanted to but because it is maybe the only way we know how to deal with that situation and the uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability, feeling exposed…

Also negative emotions are not always bad…sometimes it’s important to allow ourselves to feel sad, sometimes fear is really helping us to stay safe…

In the end everything comes back to awareness, noticing what is happening inside (in our body and mind) and checking it with what is happening outside…many times those two experiences are very different…we may be sitting in the garden with our kids and “watching” them to play but our mind may be reliving a challenging conversation with someone at work which happened a few days ago…as a result of what is happening in our mind we may be feeling some negative emotions and tension within our body, even though there is not an immediate “threat”, and immediate experience causing us to hurt…

While humans seem to be at the top of the intelligence chain (something I often doubt to be true though 😉), we often do things which seem so counterproductive and antisurvival…We are one of the rare species (if not the only one) who suffers for something that happened or something that has not happened yet (and may not even happen) MORE THAN ONCE…our mind loves to “indulge” in negativity and when it has the chance to play, to emphasize, to recreate, it will do that…

Most of our suffering is not actually related to the moment at hand…what we are experiencing are only THOUGHTS, reliving an experience from the past or creating an experience in our mind about something that may happen in the future.

It’s really helpful when we are experiencing some stirring inside, some resistance, to stop and notice…and take a few breaths (if there is time to do that)…by giving ourselves some distance from the experience and time to process it, we give ourselves an opportunity to understand whether our perception is true or not…

Apart from trying to be present and mindful about the experiences coming into my life, there are a few mindful exercises that really resonate with me and that I am trying to remind myself of in various situations…it is something I am still learning…some days or weeks I am better at them and some worse…and yes, I also have days when I feel grumpy (even yoga teachers are sometimes 😉).

Here they are…

1. Bring a gentler kinder perspective to what you are perceiving (this often helps me to be more objective and not judgemental).
2. Check whether what you are doing is bringing value into your life, whether it is nourishing you.
3. If you are facing a challenge, ask yourself if it is there because you need to learn something from it.
4. Same goes when we have to deal with people who make us feel challenged in some way. See if you can stay open and loving. I have written a post about this a while ago, those who follow me on Instagram/facebook or read my posts on my blog, may have seen it…you can find it here :-)
5. Focus on the bigger picture...when you feel overwhelmed, stop and breathe...take a few deep breaths into your belly and visualize softening through any tension in your body...breathing into the abdomen generates a relaxation response in the body and mind...there's a quote I am trying to remember in those moment when life is a bit hectic..."Almost everything can wait."...and it's true...rarely things that are causing us to feel stressed will in the end affect our lives or lives of others in a dramatic way, they are usually little things...so smile and breathe :-)

The list could go on and on...but I feel it's best to start with less and not to overwhelm ourselves with trying to do too much at once...

The more awareness we bring into our lives, the more we notice and realize that we are all vulnerable and we all have some weak spots. We become more compassionate and loving to each other and to ourselves, especially when we start seeing ourselves in actions and behaviours of other people. 🌷 🌸 🌿

"I vow to live fully in each moment..."

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” ~ by Thich Nhat Hanh 💚