Late Night? Early Morning? Ramblings....

Wowza! Flow training was marvelous, remarkable, scary, anxiety ridden, exhausting, and perfect.

It gave me hope and gave me peace.

And was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Every day I wanted to leave. Every day I stayed, I practiced, I breathed.

After 7 days I left with a new family unit and part of myself I haven't seen in a while.

The biggest take away from flow is that in my getting lost, in my journey, in all of this, it's okay to move one day at a time. It's okay to know that something is coming tomorrow but that today is where you are and what needs your attention.

I lived with three beautiful souls and yes, it was 7 days, but each one taught me something, gave me something and I hope I was able to reciprocate.

Funny side point: I really didn't think I was sleeping the best while there, and I wasn't, but since coming back my sleep has been horrendous. It's at a peak now which is why it's 4:45am and I'm writing. I've been awake since just after midnight. If my body gets three hours of solid sleep it feels nourished and ready to go until I start feeling sick, exhausted and crash again but only for three hours.

I'm going to try and not crash today, even if it means I stay up for 24 hours, I need to reset. I need to push harder to pull through.

Two flow practices a day made me realize I am strong. I am capable. I can persevere.

The trouble always is staying inspired. Staying motivated. And staying grateful.

I really think people mix up positivity and gratefulness...because at the end of the day, it's okay for me to say "Ya know what, today wasn't my best, but I get to start again tomorrow. I get to try again. I get to sleep in a bed, with a roof over my head, with a fully belly and friends who care and support me and that is enough for today." With gratefulness of each day, eventually (I hope) I'll get to "And I'm enough"And until then well, Fall TV is starting up. ;)

"Lazy doesn't exist. Lazy is a symptom of something else. The person who can't get up off their butt is just a person who's depressed. It's usually a pervasive lack of self-worth, or a feeling of helplessness."-Jillian Michaels

Reflection

So it is now November and I've been "not keeping" a gratitude journal for 6 days.

The best thing though is that even if I'm not writing things down in lists when my mind starts to jump to the negative-yes the thought is there BUT I can easily turn it into a positive. It's natural to go 'this sucks argh!" but now my "this sucks" have turned into "this may suck but I can't help the traffic so I'm going to be content moving slow-the world sometimes tells us when we need to slow down and look around" and then I see things I would have missed. Or when things are just challenging I  can look at those small things that brings a smile to my face regardless and once I acknowledge and send out that love I feel better and things "turn around."

I was skeptical but I do think this has helped to push my mind into a more peaceful state and because of that I know I have more to give back to my students and the world.

I truly believe that your life manifests your practice, but then your practice starts to manifest your life.

Happy Endings

Really this is just the beginning, I go to sleep, I think about this list throughout my day and THAT is something I'm grateful for. Pulling me back into the moment and seeing the goodness around me-even if it's a learning experience that can be the most beneficial.

So today I'm grateful for...
1. Be Peace
2. The distance learning portion of my training
3. Halloween. The ability to be creative and powerful.
4. The joy of carving pumpkins
5. Seeing children dressed up and excited for life
6. Candles in jack-o-lanterns
7. Working as a team to set up the Food4Kids event
8. Creating pitches for the play
9.Listening to my body and heading to bed at a decent hour
10.Appreciating the weather for what it is.
11. Tasty dinner
12. Milk for when tasty dinner was tooooo spicy
13.Live blogging with the rest of the TVD fandom
14.My parents safe arrival to their trip destination
15. My heart-literally and figuratively

Day before the end

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Waking up with breakfast
2. Tea-herbal, green, black
3. Moments of breathe
4. Productivity at work
5. Snack time
6. Warm socks
7. Cozy boots
8. Circle scarves
9. Creating time for work outs
10. Setting goals
11. Time away from the computer
12.Watching Criminal Minds
13. Spending time with Bobbin
14. Creating determination
15. Working with vices

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
― Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Gratitude flows

Today I'm grateful for...
1. My friend Emily
2. Sleeping deep
3. Only having to work one job today
4. Building relationships with co-workers
5. Finding time to breathe
6. The "record" button
7. My brain
8. My writing ability
9. How fully I'm beginning to feel again
10. Going to bed early
11. No line ups at the gas station
12. Crisp mornings
13. Hot and Sour Soup
14. Cozy pajamas
15. A soft place to lay my head

“Sometimes life knocks you on your ass... get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.” Steve Maraboli

Happy Monday!

Today has been busy!

Today I am grateful for...
1. Waking up before my alarm
2. The students I haven't seen in a while
3. Picking up another class
4. Showering after teaching a double
5. Easy traffic
6. Getting everything organized for the event smoothly
7. Leaving work early to get dinner and change
8. Leftover turkey dinner
9. Arriving early to set up for the event
10. Pretty dresses
11. Finding my Marilyn Monroe lipstick
12. Having chamomile tea
13. Clients having a good night
14. Getting a copious amount of pens!
15. Cuddles with Bobbin before bed

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” Thích Nhất Hạnh

Sometimes the best thing is to just sleep

Hitting the hay early tonight but first, today I am grateful for...

1. Morning classes to get my up and out of bed
2. Feeling stronger in yoga with weights
3. The song "Benny and the Jets"
4. Being able to read
5. Being able to write
6. Turkey dinners without any turkey business
7. Being able to step away from the internet to take mental breaks
8. Being able to catch up on business/personal work after mental breaks
9. Beads being on sale at Michael's
10. Creativity through mala creation
11. My dad being able to play Sunday hockey
12. My mum being able to visit with her parents
13. Soft rain
14. That break in the sky between storm clouds and white bliss
15. Having the knowledge that sometimes all that's needed is sleep.

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. Lionel Hampton

Who ya gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

Halloween season you are my favourite!

Today I am grateful for...
1. Teaching a double
2. Students who support me as a teacher
3. Silent Moksha classes where I kick my own ass
4. The breathe and movement created in silence
5. Allowing myself to cry in pigeon/savasana from the experience
6. An evening with Bobbin
7. Ghostbusters
8. Fitting into something unexpected
9. Not attaching to that 'ideal'
10. Finding motivation inside myself
11. Letting each day bring something new
12. Drinking water
13. Helping friends
14. Creativity
15. Desire

Find the peace

Today I'm grateful for...

1. That it's Friday
2. The start of Dracula
3. Halloween photos
4. Halloween candy
5. Quiet time by myself
6. Letting myself feel
7. Listening to those who care about me
8. Listening to sad songs in excess
9. Memories from a week ago and a year ago.
10. Dressing Bobbin up in faerie wings
11. Getting to bed at a decent hour
12. Perspective
13. Growth
14. My eyes
15. Slowing down

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude. A.A. Milne

Thumpin' Thursday

Throwing it back to Teacher Training in the title. ;)

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Short Days
2. 2pm Yoga classes
3. Finding my breathe in practice
4. Laughing as I fall out of poses
5. New inspiration to study for the GMAT
6. The Vampire Diaries
7. New followers on tumblr
8. My ability to type quickly
9. Seeing the beauty in the world-natural and constructed
10. Socks
11. Infinity scarves
12. Alarm clocks
13. 10 minute savasana's
14. My teachers
15. MYH

Happy Hump Day!

Sometimes it's just easier to jump right in.

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Having a job to go to in the AMs
2. Messaging with friends to get my through my day
3. Following my heart
4. Giving myself a break
5. Teaching a class full of energy
6. Replenishing my store by taking a class
7. Challenging myself with yoga with weights
8. Coming home to dinner
9. Being greeted by Bobbin
10. Catching up on tv shows
11. The chance to take a step back and breathe
12. Advice and support from friends
13. Warm showers
14. Hot tea
15. Internet access

Really feel the gratitude

Just keeping today simple.

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Long sleeps
2. AM classes
3. Seeing students so strong in their practice
4. Liveblogging with Emily
5. Catching up on TV
6. Buying Bobbin fairy wings
7. Having the ability to chat with friends all the time
8. Coming home to dinner being ready
9. Green Tea
10. Working with awesome people
11. Being able to laugh at myself
12. Taking risks
13. Wise advice
14. Quinoa
15. Clean rooms

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#SBX2X1ZyF0urJCam.99

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#SBX2X1ZyF0urJCam.99

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#SBX2X1ZyF0urJCam.99

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#SBX2X1ZyF0urJCam.99

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#SBX2X1ZyF0urJCam.99

Hello Monday...

Sometimes Monday's seem extra long when you've had a great weekend.

Regardless, everyday is a new day, and today I am grateful for...

1. Easy waking up
2. Bobbin in her bed
3. Turnips
4. Water
5. Green Tea
6. Schedules
7. Catching up on work
8. The potential for the next job posting to be "the one"
9. Online banking
10. Bobbin cuddles
11. Tasty eats
12. Happy memories
13.Realizations
14. Motivations
15. Determination

Sunday Peace

A long and amazing few days so today I'm grateful for...

1. Waking up with a smile
2. Ease of packing
3. Brunch's and storytelling
4. Finding the perfect necklace
5. Giving myself permission to treat myself
6. Walking in the sunshine
7. Exploring the market
8. Seeing my old apartment/home
9. Soothing lake waves
10. Making wishes
11. Photoshoots
12. Hanging in the ARC
13. QP's great service
14. Being so tired and still so happy
15. My own bed

Home is where the heart is

So many great things today.

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Kingston, ON. It's food, it's vibe, it's everything
2. Queen's University, campus, people, friends, education, social life
3. Football games
4. Crisp leaves to walk through
5. Trikonasana after a homecoming win
6. Tricolour everything
7. Bagpipes
8. Grant Hall
9. The "Welcome Home" sign in a ghetto house on Union
10. Laughing with friends
11. Laughing by myself
12. Being connected
13. Time travel
14. Smiles and smirks
15. Polka-dot dresses

Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on a Friday

That's only being used as a title because it was popular during Undergrad. ;)

So that being said, today I am grateful for...
1. Lemon and Ginger tea
2. Naps with Scout
3. Gluten free and local food
4. Sunshine on Fall days
5. Generosity of friends
6. My own legs for walking Princess Street
7. Problem Solving skills
8. Deep Breathes
9. Naps before dinner
10. Seeing Old Friends
11. Meeting new friends
12. Dancing
13. SO MUCH LAUGHTER
14. Coincidences
15. Confidence

Homecoming for insight

Sometimes you need a mini-escape to reconnect.

Today I'm grateful for...
1. My mum and her effort to help when I need it
2. My parents overarching generosity
3. Teaching a class full of beginners, reigniting my cues and why I come to the mat
4. New "moon" lights at the studio
5. Being able to let go of those pet peeves through breathe
6. Tears of joy
7. Using my brain to study for the GMAT
8. Being met by friends Skyping with friends
9. Inexpensive taxi rides
10. Drinks with friends
11.Cuddling with TWO cats at once!
12. Letting myself feel the sadness of missing Shrimpy
13. Down pours
14. Reconnecting with friends
15. Cozy blankets for sleeping

Short Week brings gratitude

I've been up since 5am, taught 2 Moksha classes and worked 8 hours, as well as practicing myself, so jumping into this and BEDTIME! :D

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Easy rides to teach
2. Quick sign-ins
3. Chatting with students
4. Projects at work
5. Long savasana's
6. Letting the feelings rise and fall
7. Challenges with those I work with-teaching me patience and other life skillz
8. Friends from around the world
9. Technology to connect to those I need
10. The movement in my joints
11. Tea breaks
12. Teachers to guide my practice
13. Seeing my Sangha blossom
14. New favourite songs
15. Enjoying silence

Grateful for sleep

I slept poorly last night but have a wonderfully cozy bed so that is just wonderful.

So I can get some good sleep tonight here is my list of what I'm grateful for today...
1. Comforters
2. Traffic moving well
3. Finding a single gummy worm in my purse
4. Pay day!
5. Saying 'I love you'
6. Being mindful of each task
7. Time moving at a steady pace
8. Time aside for editing
9. Mowing the lawn
10. Gilmore Girls
11. Cut up peppers to snack on
12. Sleep Tea
13. The feeling of purring on my belly
14. The Originals, Emily and our bi-weekly chats
15. Sharing with Bobbin

Long weekends say THANKS!

Let's get to it.

Today I'm grateful for...
1. Sleeping in
2. One less day of work
3. Teaching classes full of bodies breathing together
4. Being inspired by students
5. Laughing at the studio
6. Painting
7. Watching movies
8. Snuggles with the kitten
9. Paint under my fingernails
10. Old Cheddar cheese
11. Alarm clocks
12. Critical thinking
13. Determination
14. Check-ups with friends
15. Intuition