Striving for Balance

I am going to step into foreign territory here and go where no man/women has gone before – I am publicly declaring a change of name of my 2014 Focus to Striving For Balance.

PHEW! Am I glad to get that off my chest!

How are you all going with your theme this year?

By now you should be well on your way to ‘Moving it’, ‘Taking Action’, ‘Spending Thoughtfully’, ‘Just Doing it’ ‘Progressing’ etc…

I am not completely sure of the rules but, it was during Yoga last night I realised my first theme ‘Year of Sabbatical’ is just not sitting well for my 2014. I haven’t checked in with ‘Zen Ben’ yet to confirm if a name change is in fact allowed or not. When I have been unsure of things in the past his advise has been ‘Just Do It’ – so consider it done!

It was somewhere in between Upward Facing Dog and Hanging Dog at Yoga this week when I realised I couldn’t deny the name change any longer.  This year I have not been working on disappearing on Sabbatical (who was I kidding!) I have in fact been striving to balance all of my commitments.

Ensuring the ‘Have-To’s’ (as they say at Little Man’s school) are up to date, enjoying quality time with the children, scheduling date nights with my Husband, supporting people around me who need a hand, adding to my blog on a weekly basis, catching up with friends, as well as having some time out just for me.

Change of focus for 2014

So without any further ado, I am officially changing to:  2014 – The Year of Striving For Balance.

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Done!

I say it confidently when I say it out loud, without feeling like I need to explain myself – Striving for Balance is a much better fit!

Now that is out in the open, did I lose a few of you back at – “It was during Yoga…”

How I Intend To Start Striving For Balance

Yes I am the proud owner of my first ever ’10 pass’ card as, once a week my Husband arrives home from work on time so I can attend a Yoga Session.

Power Yoga got me with their marketing slogan – ‘Sweat, Stretch and Breath your way to a leaner more flexible body’.

You would have laughed your head off if you were a fly on the wall (who could read minds) on my first day.

The Yoga Studio was recommended to me by my wonderful Osteopath Sharnie, as she suggested I needed to do regular work on stretching my body. Ideally, I needed to start sooner rather than later if I ever wanted to stop visiting her as often as I do (secretly I don’t, as her massaging and manipulation is incredible!).

It was time to get out the shiny new Lorna Jane tights I got for Christmas. On night number one I left the house feeling like a complete fraud. I have never seen myself as one of those Lorna Jane fitness types but, my Sister-in-law assured me they were invaluable if I ever wanted to confidently bend and stretch in public.

A Rundown on my Introduction to Yoga

I arrived to class early so I could fill out my ‘newbie’ form, try to relax and just seamlessly fit in.

Impossible!

I was painfully aware of the invisible sign across my back saying ‘Hi, I’m new here, I feel vulnerable, completely out of my depth and have no idea what I am in for’. So I tackled it head on and made a public declaration…

“Yes I am new to this centre and what on earth do I do next?”

Once that awkward moment was over, I moved onto the next one – setting up on the Yoga mat, right down the back corner, with no idea what to do for the next 15 minutes while I watched the clock tick towards the 6.00pm start. Luckily(?) a regular Yoga-ite, who heard my introduction spiel, felt sorry for me and positioned herself next to me on the floor. She tried to get me to relax by introducing herself and telling me about her yoga journey. A welcome distraction as, by now, people were arriving and ‘warming up’ in all kinds of positions I wasn’t sure my body would ever be talked into conforming to.

The next 75 minutes was by far the biggest eye-opener of my week, maybe even month.

They are not kidding when they advertise Astanga Led Yoga as a ‘vigorous, athletic style of practice.’

Not the quiet meditative trance I was expecting to help me unwind after a hectic day running around doing chores – oh no! This group of men and women laid out in front of me turned themselves inside out and back again moving effortlessly into all kinds of shapes and sizes while all I could do was stumbled through, completely in awe.

I’m wondering if this really does help you stay out of Osteopathic Treatments or sends you in for more?

Turns out this style of Yoga supports the minimal air conditioner theory. It was turned off until I was well and truly warmed up and about to start with my embarrassing cough, signalling I am running out of air and my lungs aren’t happy about it. The instructor must have noticed this and with impeccable timing, chose that moment to turn on the cool air. This change I more than enjoyed for the next 15 minutes or so, while returning to a comfortable body temperature.

Vigorous – check
Athletic – check
Practice – absolutely necessary!!!

Goals Achieve While Striving For Balance

A few weeks down the track and I am still committed to Yoga (and myself) as once a week I have booked it in as ‘me’ time. I am even comfortable arriving early and look forward to finding my space to quietly unwind on the Yoga mat. I have, however, stepped back a level where positions are performed at a much slower pace. This is much better for me as I need time to manoeuvre and get settled during this early stage. Next, I have to work on stopping my mind from busily ticking over with idea’s for my next ‘blog post’ and both checking off and adding chores I need to get done, to my mental list.

And the Yoga tights? Thinking of getting a couple more pairs! Of course, my Sister-in-law was right on all accounts regarding the importance of good tights. not that I ever doubted her…

So how about all of you?

What have you achieved or put into place, to ensure you are being proactive and committing to your theme?

I would love to hear all about your journey so far. Scroll down for access to the comment section or hop onto the CWMS Social Media pages:

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I am, as always, looking forward to continuing the conversation with you….

Namaste,
– Shea

P.s Although the extremely talented lady posing in these photos wishes to remain anonymous, I just wanted to say a huge ‘Thank you’ to her for allowing me to use these photo’s for my post. Ox

Discoveries I have made so far…

Last week…Day #1 of Successful Plastic Bag-Free Shopping-Check!

The article which inspired me to Talk Rubbish

Our Five Year Old Environmentalist

The Great Plastic Bag Stoctake

Next week…Clean Up Australia Day