12/52 Weeks of Gratitude

52 Weeks of More gratitude. More hope. More love.

This week I'm grateful for...

blue skies

the thrill of airports...the comings and goings, the possibility of adventures and the anticipation of waiting for someone special to walk through arrivals

the tropics, palm trees, the smell in the air, afternoon storms and a walk along the beach after the storm had passed

opening up to living in a new place and finding new places to practice yoga, eat very good greek meze (mmm fried Saganaki with a squeeze of lime) and shop at Saturday morning farmers'  markets 

 limes! they've been getting a very good run in the kitchen (let's see there was trout with fresh ginger, lime and a crispy salad a turkey stir fry with lime and papaya, lime and yoghurt and that's only 2 limes down!)

little treats to make the home and office inviting spaces - goat's milk soap, fresh flowers (who's name escapes me..they are dainty and orange and very pretty) and a sweet hand poured soy candle infused with lavender. I feel calmer already

finding my favourite lil doll i've had since i was about 2 years old. Apparently I used to carry her everywhere for a while and became quite distraught if she was missing. it's a mystery how she ended up in a jewellery box named little gypsy but the name's a keeper 

being in the family cocoon for the next 2 weeks.

Writing and reflecting on all this I see even more clearly there has been and is so much to be grateful for. And more importantly I really do feel it this week.

As usual I'm Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Gratitude. I'm loving reading and finding new blogs that are playing along too.

11/52 Weeks of Gratitude

52 Weeks of More gratitude. More hope. More love.

It was a week that went from light, to heavy, to light again! Whilst I started off buzzing from my trip to Sydney I still felt strangely weighed down and heavy. It all made sense from Thursday onwards when I had a kick ass kinesio session and Anita gently shifted a few things and brought me to a balanced place of more understanding. Out of my head and into my body. I was smiling again. 

 So from Thursday I started to fear less and let life back in again and I found myself

... with an open heart, eager to engage with everyone..from new friends I met for a cuppa to the local banana farmer at the weekend organic markets

... finding beauty in the crescent shaped moon in the night sky

...loving that the weekend was clear blue skies and soaring temperatures

...enjoying an afternoon swim at Burleigh Heads

...meditating most nights right before sleep

...buying a bunch of sweet branches of wattle from a new fav vintage cafe. I've been loving Little Green Shed's Nature in the Home series and agree that having a little nature inside brings such joy. 

...thinking how sweet it is that my ma and pa still love each other

...feeling love again. 

Gratitude for all these experiences and for feeling the joy of life again. 

Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Gratitude.

10/52 Weeks of Gratitude

52 Weeks of More gratitude. More hope. More love.

Friends and lemon meringue pie.

Ah the sweet joys of good times with good old friends in beautiful Sydney.

Reminiscing about days, or more so nights,  spent getting up to silly things after the oh so late hour of 12am and still being perfectly fine to get up and enjoy the next day...

of a 30th birthday party with mountains of lebanese food and a little too much garlic sauce, a late night amateur drumming session and laughter into the wee hours...

the comfort of having friends who call me, and vice versa, ridiculous names that just seem normal (boobs and bertle comes to mind!)...

and the joy of having a heavenly little lemon meringue pie delivered to my doorstep on Sunday afternoon by a friend who knew my disappointment the night before when I ordered this same dessert and was served the worst lemon meringue pie ever (I moaned about it but still ate it!).

and to new friends who share and leave beautiful and thoughtful comments on this blog. I didn't really know what to expect when I started this blog, and I hadn't realised how awesome it would be to have conversations with people through commenting and sharing thoughts.  I'm loving being able to  exchange, share and connect with new people, near and far. 

A week grateful for the richness friends and community bring to my life.

Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Gratitude.

9/52 Weeks of Gratitude

52 Weeks of More gratitude. More love. More hope. 

...and more joy! Last week was a big one for joy (I was too busy meditating to post this post any earlier!). And you betcha! I'm feeling grateful for it. With the arrival of Autumn, I'm definitely starting to feel an internal shift, hard to put into words, but something along the lines of feeling ready to embrace change, to leave things behind that are serving no purpose. Being a lover of blue skies and warm weather I used to think I wanted Summer to stay year round, but I've realised I love the change each season brings, the way our bodies, our daily patterns and lives adapt to the seasons. And I love the gentle pull towards nature each new season brings. The first fallen leaves in Autumn,  the wild seas in Winter. 

You can probably tell by now that I'm on a bit of a high, loving life! Why you ask? I think it was all the breathing I did right down into my belly and out to my side ribs over the weekend at Spirit Festival in Mullumbimby. I immersed myself completely in the present moment practicing yoga, exploring meditation and pranayama, chanting, opening my heart and letting emotions flow freely.

The festival was a last minute decision for me, the right one though as everything flowed easily. I booked tickets and accommodation on Friday (Airbnb you are so good! I stayed at Anna and Steve's place in Myocum, I highly recommend it) and arrived Saturday ready for whatever was to come.  The feeling of ease continued and I floated from workshop to workshop. I ended up at Mark Breadner's ( he is an amazing man!) Pranayama workshop by way of recommendation from a few people and when I was at a point of indecision I overheard a well known yoga teacher talking about a Kundalini Yoga workshop he was going to so I jumped on board. And I wasn't disappointed.  I have limited Kundalini yoga experience but I can tell you repeating the mantra 'Sat Nam (meaning truth is my name) out loud for a good 10 minutes does awaken the soul. 

'Be brave' was the theme throughout the Kundalini class, and being my year to 'be courageous' I was thrilled. I felt like I pushed through my usual fear of overdoing it and ending up in pain. And you know what? It was all good in the end. And even the next day too. If you have ongoing health problems of the fatigue kind you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Worry about your health and your condition becomes a constant in your mind. One that needs to be regularly kept in check so it doesn't turn into a monster and take over. 

The pranayama workshop was a highlight, Mark shared with us the idea that really there is only one thing, and that is the breath. And it's so true. Breathing is the last thing we do in these bodies, yet we often don't give much thought to it. Pause on that for a moment. 

What also really struck me throughout the festival was how good it was just getting down to doing the practice! Less thinking, talking, reading about why yoga, meditation and the like are so good for you, and more just getting down to doing it! Nike sure knew what they were doing when they trademarked that slogan. I just wish they'd do something good with it.

What was probably the biggest 'take home message' if you like from the festival was the joy and inner peace I felt. I think I'm starting to understand the difference between joy and happiness. The internal versus the external. Through practices such as yoga and gratitude I'm experiencing more moments of lasting joy and inner contentment and once you know that it' s available to you, you keep going back for more.  

Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Gratitude.