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Starbucks Vanilla Latte at Brussels Airport (there is only one Starbucks in Brussels and it's at the airport, after the security gates, can you believe that? And we're so behind, there's no choice in milks, it's automatically cow's milk- ok enough rambling)

Oh dear these last few days have been flying by, again I'm writing in English only, again time is not on my side.


Last Saturday I had a full day of marketing class (yeah evening classes twice a week and sometimes, icing on the cake, a whole Saturday), this week my evening classes as usual, and in between a one-day trip to Manchester for work. So today (Thursday) is actually "rest" day (even if I'm blogging from work, naughty girl ;-)), before heading to London tomorrow afternoon for an intensive (and intense I think!) week end with Baron Baptiste!


When I was on the plane from Brussels to Manchester I started thinking a little bit of what home was. You see, I am French, I live in Belgium, and I love the UK. I mean, LOVE. At university, I spent a year over there as part of an exchange programme, it was like a dream come true. I also lived in Madrid, Spain, as an intern during my last year of university. So I know a few places in Europe ;-)
But no journey or place gives me the same feeling as the UK. Whenever I take the train to London or the plane to Manchester, I'm saying to myself "I'm going home" and it comes naturally. 
I can't explain it really, it's just a feeling from my guts.
Dijon, France, is the place that I'm from and where my family lives. Brussels, Belgium, is the place I live. They're home and in a way they're not. London is where my heart belongs.
Another place I feel this? My yoga mat.


Where is HOME to you? Is is the place you were born, the place you live, or some place else?

Off and on (the mat)

English only, not enough time to write both versions ;-)


Aaaaand the self-discovery show goes on, how cool is that?


First things first: breakfast on Monday was as planned vegan overnight oats, my recipe included:
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tsb chia seeds
- 1 tsb lucuma powder
- about 1/3 water

Back off little guy, this is MY breakfast!

added in the morning: peanut butter, what else?

These will make other appearances, there are so many flavours and options to try!

Off the mat

This weekend I realized I was not afraid of (small) spiders anymore. I know, sounds weird, but I HATE spiders. Or I thought I did. Now I end up talking to one. How's that for yoga in everyday life? I may sound too "out there", but I am positive this is a consequence of my practice. I mean, before yoga, I couldn't stand near a spider, let alone talk to it of course. Or maybe I am just going crazy? 

But then again, before yoga, I wouldn't have been able to ask my boyfriend to "judge" me. Let me explain: I am considering further training and courses to reach my career - and most importantly life - goal (the one I don't want to discuss too much right now, superstition!), bought some books, made a test which basically consisted in rating the presence of a list of qualities in my own self. Part of the test was asking someone you trust to rate you. To me this is scary. You see, my ego can sometimes inflate to the size of the ash cloud currently touring Europe, and I have trouble with criticism. Ok, I can't stand criticism. And now I had my Lovely Boyfriend "judging" me, WTF?!

Very interesting outcome: first I don't seem to have a twisted vision of myself, there were a few discrepancies in the ratings but nothing dramatic. Second, I listened to what he had to say, and did not throw a fit of anger or burst into tears. Then again, he did not say anything mean and was being non judgmental at all, and as I said, the ratings were more or less the same.

Yet I usually don't want to hear what people have to say about me, because I fear it will be negative stuff, and I don't take it very well.

Being able to ask my bf this and being ready to listen and learn, that doesn't sound much but it means a lot to me. It means I have become confident enough yet open to work on my weakest areas. 

On the mat


Oh, I tried Parsva Bakasana this week-end. And I did it. My mum wouldn't recognize me.


I don't want to come across as complacent or anything, but these little things make me proud of myself. Why shouldn't I be proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone after all?


What has made you proud of you lately? Come on, think about it, there is ALWAYS something :-)

Experience no.2

Cette semaine a été placée sous le signe de la découverte et de la nouveauté, à mon échelle mais c'est déjà pas mal ;-)

Mercredi et jeudi j'ai coiffé ma casquette d'étudiante et suis restée à la maison pour étudier (j'adoooore travailler de la maison et avoir mes propres horaires). La pause de mercredi a pris la forme d'un cours de BodyBalance à ma salle de sport. Alors, me direz-vous, en tant que pratiquante de yoga qu'est-ce qui m'a fait participer à ce cours? Tout est parti d'un post de Jamie, par rapport à ce que justement on pouvait penser et retirer d'un cours "hybride" qui mélange joyeusement tai chi, yoga et pilates. Ca m'a fait réfléchir, et j'ai décidé de tester.

A la base, le cours dure une heure, avec environ 45 minutes d'exercices suivant une "chorégraphie" et 10-15 minutes de relaxation. On a commencé par un échauffement tai chi (que j'ai assez apprécié à vrai dire), suivi de Salutations, postures debout (guerrier 1 & 2, triangle), postures d'équilibre (variation sur l'arbre, guerrier 3), postures pour ouvrir les hanches, travail sur le centre sur base d'exercice de Pilates, flexions avant et torsions douces, puis relaxation-méditation.

(source)

Globalement je n'ai pas trop "souffert" ;-), mes pratiques de yoga sont généralement plus intenses, donc pas de problèmes majeurs pour moi. J'ai apprécié l'échauffement tai chi, très doux et calmant aussi. Enfin très bonne méditation guidée et relaxation, j'avoue que ça m'a beaucoup surprise pour le coup, ça m'a fait énormément de bien.
Par contre, c'est un cours complètement écrit, qui ne laisse pas du tout de place aux ajustements éventuels à apporter, on enchaîne. La musique était relativement forte, et la prof qui chante sur certains endroits, ça peut être destabilisant!
Malgré ça, je dois admettre que ça m'a aéré l'esprit, et ça a constituée une pause bienvenue dans mon planning de mercredi, donc c'est tout à fait le genre de cours auquel je me vois bien aller, pas tout le temps, mais pendant mes examens par exemple. Ok, je pratique aussi le yoga chez moi, mais justement, aller à ce cours me donne l'opportunité de sortir de chez moi et donc d'avoir un véritable break.
Je serais aussi curieuse de savoir si ce genre de cours a poussé des gens à prendre des cours de yoga?
Mais ce qui m'a plu le plus, c'est de faire la démarche d'y aller. J'aime bien ma routine, mais essayer de nouvelles choses c'est marrant non?

Autre nouveauté: je vais enfin pouvoir tester les graines de chia, ouéééééé! J'ai du les faire livrer au boulot, accompagnées de graines de chanvre et de poudre de lucuma, je vous raconte pas la tête de mes collègues :-D Une de premières choses que je vais faire avec ces graines de chia c'est un petit dej du tonnerre , mais il y a tellement de possibilités à explorer! C'est normal d'être super enthousiaste rien qu'avec des graines de chia?

Enfin, dans la famille "découverte", ces deux jours hors du bureau m'ont permis de souffler un peu par rapport à mon travail, de prendre un peu de recul et de me concentrer sur mes projets et objectifs. Et je crois que je sais dans quelle direction je veux aller.
Quand j'ai commencé ma formation en cours du soir début février, j'avais une idée en tête, et je savais que j'aurais besoin de ces cours. Puis, j'ai commencé à douter de mon idée, et à remettre en question mes projets, à voir de nouvelles perspectives. "Confusion" a été mon mot favori pendant quelques semaines.
Maintenant je me suis recentrée, et j'ai mon projet de vie. Je l'ai déjà mis sur papier, avec les étapes qui seront nécessaires, et bon sang je me sens mieux parce que je sais où je vais! Et je sais aussi que je pourrai adapter et ajuster s'il le faut :-)
Je ne vais pas trop en parler pour l'instant, peut-être un zeste de superstition? En tous cas, le yoga aura sa place, définitivement!

Très bon week-end!

This week has so far been a week of discovery and novelty, well in my small world but that's already something ;-)

On Wednesday and Thursday I wore my student uniform and stayed home to study (I looooove working from home and having my own schedule). My break on Wednesday consisted in a BodyBalance (same as BodyFlow) class at my gym. So, I know you will ask me, what makes a yogini (=me) go to such a class? It all started with a post Jamie wrote, regarding this type of classes mixing tai chi, yoga and Pilates, and what a yogi practitioner could find in them. It got me thinking, so I gave it a try.

Basically the class is 1 hour long, with around 45 minutes of exercice following a "choreography" and 10-15 minutes of relaxation. We started with some tai chi warm up (which I enjoyed, to be honest), followed by Sun Salutes, standing postures (warrior I and II, triangle), balancing poses (tree variation, warrior III), hip openers, core work based on Pilates, forward bends and twists, then relaxation-meditation.

Overall I didn't "suffer" ;-), my yoga practices are generally more intense, so no major issues for me. I liked the tai chi warm up, very gentle and also soothing. Finally very good guided meditation and relaxation, I was a bit surprised actually, it felt really good.

On the other hand, the class is completely scripted and leaves no room for possible adjustments, you just do the exercices one after the other. The music was quite loud, and the teacher singing on bits of songs can be a bit disturbing!

But I have to admit that it cleared my mind a bit, and was a very welcome break in my schedule. I can see myself going to these classes on occasions, while studying for my exams for instance. OK, I practice yoga at home, but going to these classes gives me the opportunity to go out and have a proper break between long hours of study.

Actually I would like to know if these types of classes prompted people to try yoga?

Anyway, what I liked most about it, was to go, simple as that. I like my routine, but trying out new things is fun, right?

In other news: finally I'm gonna be able to try chia seeds, yay! I had them delivered at my office, along with hemp seeds and lucuma powder, the look on my coworkers' face was priceless :-D One of the first things I'm gonna be doing with my chia seeds is a super breakfast, but oh the possibilities! Is it normal to get excited over chia seeds?

Last but not least, in the "discovery" family, these two days away from the office allowed me to think about my job, gain some perspective, and focus on my plans and goals. And I think I found out what direction I want to take.

When I started my evening course back in February, I had an idea, and I knew I was going to need this course. Then I started doubting, questioning my plans, discovering other possibilities. "Confusion" was my favourite word for a few weeks.

Now I've refocused, and I have my project set. I've already written it down, including the steps to take, and boy do I feel better now that I know where I'm headed! And I also know that I can adapt and adjust along the way :-)

I will not talk about it too much for now, maybe a little bit of superstition here? Anyway, there will be some yoga involved, definitely!

Have a great week end!

Experience

Depuis que je suis rentrée de Dijon, j'ai décidé de euh alléger un peu ce que je mange, ou plutôt de changer un peu mon régime alimentaire pour disons contrebalancer les quelques inconvénients liés au fait de manger un peu trop lourd et trop gras. Attention, c'était super bon et je ne regrette absolument pas d'avoir dévoré de la tartiflette (l'originale, sans lardons ;-)), mais mon estomac et mes intestins ne me disent pas merci!
Le système digestif est mon point faible: je peux manger pas mal de choses de nature différente, mais un abus même léger, et je me retrouve avec un petit bidon de femme enceinte de 6 mois, sans parler de l'hébétude et la lourdeur qui en découlent. Dès que je stresse pour quelque chose, ce sont mes intestins qui dansent la gigue (et non, c'est pas drôle!).

Donc, on augmente encore la dose de légumes, on lève le pied sur les produits laitiers de vache (1 portion par jour max), les produits à base de soja ok mais à petite dose (max 1 fois par jour aussi), on évite les produits (trop) transformés, et on met l'accent sur d'autres sources de protéines. Exit Tofutti, bienvenue levure nutritionnelle.

Après quelques jours, voilà déjà deux conclusions:
- moins de lourdeurs d'estomac et de ballonnements;
- si je mange des produits laitiers de vache, éviter de les manger le soir, c'est le pire moment pour moi
Ca n'a l'air de rien mais mon confort digestif va en s'améliorant!

Et dans cette optique-là, voilà un petit déj qui va revenir souvent sur ma table: un Green Monster! J'en avalais déjà l'été dernier, les voilà qui reviennent avec les beaux jours :-)

Celui de ce matin, très simple, contenait (mesures américaines):
- Une bonne poignée de pousses d'épinards;
-  Une petite banane surgelée;
- 1/2 tasse de jus d'orange;
- 1/2 tasse de lait d'amande nature;
- Environ 1 CS de graines de lin germées moulues aux myrtilles
= love
Je l'ai accompagné d'une grosse tartine au beurre de cacahouète et confiture, je crevais de faim!

Parallèlement à ça j'ai envie de me bouger encore plus, je ne sais pas si c'est l'effet du soleil, mais j'aimerais:
- aller à la piscine et vraiment vaincre cette peur du vide qui m'empêche d'aller là où je n'ai pas pied (résultat: je nage comme une enclume);
- commencer à courir. Oui, moi, qui détestais ça en éducation physique. Ca ne sera pas pour maintenant, parce qu'entre mes cours du soir et les examens en juin, les cours et stages de yoga, bref le temps me manquera un peu. Mais pourquoi pas commencer cet été, avant de commencer officiellement mon YTTC? Et oui, un jour je participerai à un 5k :-);
- faire du vélo, mais dehors, pas seulement en salle ;-)

J'aime bien avoir des projets et des objectifs, quels sont les vôtres?

Since I came back from Dijon, I have decided to ahem lighten a bit what I eat, or more like change my diet a little bit to balance the inconvenience incurred by eating too much rich food. Now, I enjoyed a lot what I had, and I don't regret for one bit stuffing my face with tartiflette (the real one, without lardons ;-)), but my digestive system respectfully disagrees!

Digestive organs are my weakest spot: I can eat a lot of things, but indulging too much will result in me looking like a 6-month pregnant women, not to mention the discomfort and sluggishness associated with it. When I am stressed, my intestines are dancing inside (and that is not a funny feeling).

It means even more veggies, less dairy (1 serving a day max), soy-based products are ok but not too much (also 1 serving a day max), less processed food, and emphasis on other sources of protein. Exit Tofutti, enter nutritional yeast.

After a few days, I've come up with two conclusions:

- less stomach discomfort, and I haven't felt bloated in a few days;

- I also find out (or got the confirmation more like) that if I choose to have dairy, then it shouldn't be at dinner, dairy in the evening doesn't work for me!

And to go with this trend, here is a breakfast that will make an appearance often on my table: a Green Monster! I already had those last summer, but they're making a come back with the sun :-)

This one contained:

- A big handful of spinach;

- A small frozen banana;

- 1/2 cup orange juice;

- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk;

- about 1 TS of blueberry ground sprouted flax seed

= love

I paired it with a big pb&j toast, I was starving!

I also would like to move my a** even more, I don't know if it's the effect of the sun or what? but I'd love to:

- go to the swimming pool and really overcome this fear of emptiness which stops me from swimming in deeper waters (I can't swim to save my life, unless I can feel / see the floor / earth beneath me);

- start running. Yes, me, who hated it at school. I won't start now, as I have too much on my plate what with my evening classes, the exams, my yoga classes and workshops. But why not start this summer, before the official start of my YTTC? And yes, one day I will run a 5k :-);

- bike ride, outside, not only at the gym ;-)

I love having projects and goals, what are yours?

Graphic novel

A long Easter week end in Burgundy

It started with a lunch date with my mum

Soy milk, pineapple, coconut

Goat cheese salad

Gingerbread cake with custard (it was lighter and chewier than expected, great dessert! Gingerbread is also a Dijon specialty, we don't have only mustard ;-))

Then off to the country we were

My brother's doggie guarding my parents' little house in the country (not the prairie!)

And back to Dijon

Downtown Dijon today

Unpictured : the amount of food eaten during the weekend, my grandparents' surprise and emotion when they found out I was back in town (my mum had kept it a secret), my niece's joy when she found all the chocolate eggs the Easter Bunny had brought for her ;-), the feeling of contentment and gratitude I have had since I arrived "home" last Friday (another way of living yoga when you can't really practice asanas, right? ;-)).

Tomorrow I am going back to Brussels, and except for Lovely Boyfriend who is waiting for me there, I am not sure I want to. It is time change happened, will I be patient enough?