Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
New beginnings
Tomorrow I'm going to a new country, a new city with a new haircut and a new attitude to life. I am looking forward to this new adventure! So far this trip (since July), all the places I visited are places I've been to already and there's some sense of familiarity to it. Australia will be totally fresh, how exciting that will be! I look forward to analyzing just about every aspect of this country, learning the new lingo, meeting new people, identifying animals I've never seen in my life, trying out new food (kangaroo meat anyone?), and much much more I'm sure.
One of the things I'm currently most excited about though is.... the arrival of my iPhone4S! Hahahaha I know I know, I'm a big nerd, but really, it's going to be beautiful the moment we meet. Come to mama Siri~
Awesome!
After watching this clip by Neil Pasricha (http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html) recommended by a friend, which I agree with totally, and learning about this book called "The Book of Awesome", I don't think it was pure coincidence when I came across this book some days later. What a fun book it was!
To summarize his talk, Neil Pasricha talks about how attitude, awareness and authenticity can change your life. Whilst his book does not discuss this explicitly, it is implied in the way the book is laid out. It is just pages after pages of random simple things that he thinks are awesome, even though some of these things seem so trivial in our day to day life. He also has a website which is updated daily, a great place to visit for a little pick me up if you need one! Check out http://1000awesomethings.com/
I loved this book because this is what I've been doing on my travels. While others go sightseeing (which I do too), I enjoy sitting in the middle of a park and watch a mother playing with her child. I like roaming quiet streets of India and watch a man sweeping in front of his front door. I get a kick out of taking the bus in Hong Kong and looking out the window as the city passes by. Even every time I beep my octopus card I am amazed at how technology has advanced (gosh now I sound soooooo old). How we often overlook the small stuff, yet when we become more aware, how amazed we are by it.
The one awesome thing listed in the book that I remembered last night was - "Peeling an orange in one shot". He described it as "peeling an orange into only one big, swirly peel, it can be one of the greatest fruit-eating experiences of your life". He proceeds on to describing HOW to do it to guarantee success, and if you nailed it, then SHOW AND TELL! Guess I don't have to tell you what I did next... and guess what, it was AWESOME!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Bad yogi in Thailand
Laziness is a darn thing. Laziness causes to make excuses. Laziness makes you procrastinate. Laziness makes you fat and unfit. Laziness is I.
I've been so damn lazy since the start of my travels in July that I've hardly been yoga-ing in the past few months. "I don't have a mat", "I don't have time", "I'm meeting someone later and there's not enough time for a practice and shower", "I'm tired", BLAH BLAH BLAH. We all know those are excuses yet we make them all the time to postpone doing the things we know we love to do. Ironic, I know. So when I'm here on a beach (current location Koh Samui, Thailand) with so much time, some excess body fat, and my brand new travel-friendly yoga mat, there can be no more excuses to be made. It is time to break in that new mat.
After an action packed 2 weeks in Beijing along with many days and nights of gourmet food indulgence, it was so good to get back on the mat. The flow of the body in sun salutes, tuning your mind to the rhythm of your breath, feeling your long forgotten muscles, remembering those old injuries and how to push enough for some progress but not too far as to cause damage once again... OMW WHY do I keep making excuses not to get on the mat? What a bad yogi I am.
That said, I know many people who have similar problems to me, breaking in a new habit, or fitting in an old habit in a new routine, or in my case, the lack of a routine. I find it so much easier to get on my mat when I'm in a calm and peaceful place like this, because my body is channelled to a different type of energy as the city. However, isn't that the point of yoga as well, to find peace and serenity amongst our chaotic lifestyles. So what can we do to break in a habit when we are so used to making excuses for just about everything? How about this:
- Start with a shorter practice. Maybe 45min instead of an hour. Maybe even half an hour. Even 20 minutes is better than nothing, building up to a longer practice.
- Yoga-on-the-go. This is something I've been doing for a while now - observe your breath throughout the day. It can be while you're on the subway, at work, having a massage, eating lunch, on a dive, whatever! Just observe. Take in deeper, longer breaths. Focus on your excuse.
- Let's not forget that yoga is not just about asanas. It's also a way of life. Acceptance, forgiveness, patience, love. Those are things we can practise everyday, including forgiving ourselves for making excuses for not getting on the mat!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
