Des hauts et des bananes

I'm moving!

2010-12-17T17:11:00.002+01:00

People, it's time I moved to a bigger house, so I'm going where the cool kids are. Follow me on wordpress -> http://deshautsetdesbananes.wordpress.com/

Bye old home!

Thank you,

;)

Lesson learned

2010-12-17T13:54:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: lesson learned - What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

Mmmmh, er, well, quite a few things actually, but my sick body and brain are too tired to think too much, so I'll just write what I remember and then I'll go back to doing nothing if you don't mind.

I learned that I could write.
I learned that I could care.
I learned that I could not care.
I learned that I could run.
I learned that I had more resources than I thought I had.
I learned that I could bend my body in ways I'd never imagined before.
I learned that I was clinging to a vision of myself that is no longer accurate.
I learned that I was enough.
I learned that I could do whatever I wanted.

What choice do I have but to keep going?

Source

Friendship

2010-12-16T11:48:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: Friendship - How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

Let's reverse the proposition: everyone who's had an influence on me and my perspective on the world this year has become a friend, whether they know it or not, whether they like it or not.

'nuff said.

5 Minutes

2010-12-15T12:34:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: 5 minutes - Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

o_O again.

Allow me to set an imaginary timer, as I am not in a location particularly prone to setting alarms, go figure.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

The email confirming I was accepted on the YTT: I was off sick that day, needless to say it made my day.
Exams for my business course, the feeling of being a student, and graduating.
A yoga weekend in London in May.
The night of Earth Hour.
Another yoga weekend in London in July with my YTT teacher.
The trip to Tokyo, a dream come true.
Whole Foods London (yeah I know...).
The YTT weekends.
The trip to Montreal, kind of a "let's do it" idea, the colours of the Parc Mont-Royal.
The writing.
The gut-wrenching fears, the painful and joyful path leading me to where I am now.
The support.
The love.

You know what? I'll take everything.

Nothing better to do - take 2

2010-12-14T22:36:00.000+01:00

Wanna get some yoga? Wanna get creative? Wanna do something nice?

So check out my new blog, www.thecreativesadhana.com, and join me :)

Appreciate

2010-12-14T13:55:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

I can think of not one thing but two: being able to travel far far away, and being a student again.
How I express gratitude for it? By making the most of it, enjoying each and every moment, and working my a** off of course :)

Action

2010-12-13T10:50:00.001+01:00

Prompt of the day: Action - When it comes to aspirations, it's not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen. What's your next step?

ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME? THAT'S THE HARDEST PART!

*Inhale exhale*

Ok rewind: once upon a time, I used to believe I had no idea. Now I'm starting to realize I had ideas, I just kept burying them with a nice "that's impossible" epitath engraved on their tombstone.
Now I'm starting to realize I have loads of ideas, that are not necessarily utter c**p, that might actually be worth exploring.

So the first step is to acknowledge the idea and listen to my intuition and creativity much more. And give the ideas a go.

The next step would be, well, I can't say right now, that would be revealing my plans for world domination and I can't do that. Call this superstition (am I the only one who will now sing Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" all day long?).

But change there will be :)

Source

Body integration

2010-12-12T22:12:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: Body integration - This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn't mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

Man, it's Sunday and I haven't stopped one minute. It's 10:08 pm, and I'm finally sitting down with laptop on, well, lap. Maybe it isn't such a great idea actually. So I'll make this one short, because, ya know, I just wanna sip my cup of organic nettle and peppermint herbal tea (happy hippie me!) and surf the net and do nothing.

One moment?
1. Yogaing
2. Running
3. Sleeping (yes I'm alive and present, thank you very much).

Hasta la vista baby, I'll be back, present, alive and kicking!

11 Things

2010-12-11T21:37:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: 11 things - What are 11 things your life doesn't need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

I don't need lack of time, I don't need multiple pair of shoes, I don't need self doubt, I don't need people getting poorer, I don't need clothes I don't wear, I don't need war, I don't need clutter, I don't need watching that much TV, I don't need chains, I don't need disrespect, I don't need giving up. Never.

Donate, empower, give, open, free.

Source

Wisdom

2010-12-10T12:06:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: wisdom - What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

Let me pause and reflect... This year I have been doing a lot of things, according to my own standards. The key word here is "doing". Because it all boils down to one thing: this year, I have decided that it was time to stop thinking and start doing.

Which is why you have seen on the blog a wide variety of activities such as:
- taking a course - evening classes - in business management. I guess deep down I've always known I was not made to sit at a desk all day every day, working for someone else, and I've been preparing... My fear has been keeping me chained to this desk, but its voice has been slowly fading...
- travelling to Japan and Canada after years of dreaming about it;
- signing up for yoga teacher trainings and not chicken out;
- actually agreeing to teaching a one-on-one and not chicken out;
- writing - a lot;
- attending the European Summit for Global Transformation in Amsterdam and launching a second blog right away;
- new: applying for a freelance translator job with a translating agency - ok that was yesterday, so maybe it will work out, maybe it won't, but at least I've tried.

Now let's see how all this will play out in 2011!

For those of you stumbling upon this, playing catch up, and not knowing what I'm talking about, check this out, you might even want to join :) :

http://www.reverb10.com

HTML linking has been playing weird lately on this little blog, can't seem to be able to link directly, but that's better than nowt :)

Party

2010-12-09T15:19:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day : Party - What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Do satsangs qualify as yoga parties?

Yeah, thought so too.

Then I've been partying all year long.

Source

Beautifully different

2010-12-08T15:49:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day : beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

o_O
This has been my secret facial expression since I read this prompt this morning. For my American readers: the morning has been over for 3 hours here. And this is still my secret facial expression. Secret because I obviously can't walk on the street and go to work looking like I've just seen E.T. and been hit by a truck simultaneously.

Anyway this is not an easy one. There's "beautiful"and there's "different" in there....

Ultimately, I am as unique and similar as anybody else. We are all, in the end, beautifully different :)

Community

2010-12-07T11:00:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: community - where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create, or more deeply connect with in 2011?

Community - such a great discovery this year for me, threefold:

- online: helloo, reader :) I can't begin to say how grateful I am for all the amazing bloggers out there, I have learned a lot - and that's an understatement - connecting with you all, so thank you!
- offline: satsang in London, with my fellow YTT trainees. We are all so different, yet we connect during these intensive weekends in a way I've never thought possible. Compassionate, supportive, great teachers in the making, I love them.
- offline take 2: the community of changemakers I met at the European Summit for Global Transformation in October. Nonprofit grassroot activists, social entrepreneurs, people of service to others, working in collaboration because, let's face it, that's the only way to go.

In 2011 who knows what will happen? Not quite sure as I'm typing this...

Source

Make

2010-12-06T21:14:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

Oh I make a lot of things. For instance I am a skilled builder. I build great mind constructions.
For the foundations I use mainly Whatifs and Maybes materials, but I'm trying to switch to something else, as I found out these are porous and tend to crumble in the rain.
There's some new material available, I'm trying to get my head around using it, it's called "Letseffingdoit", heard great things about it but I'm a bit nervous. Anyone there that could give me some feedback?

I am the Queen of the land of Mindsandcastles.

Serendipity: next YTT weekend is end of January. Meanwhile we have to do a 30-day Sadhana project, meaning practicing anything for 30 consecutive days, and journal about it. I see creative journaling in the near future, sounds like fun :)

Moment

2010-12-03T11:52:00.000+01:00

Prompt of the day : "Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors)".

I've been staring at this prompt for an hour. My mind went blank when I first read it. I'm going back and forth with this one, so I'd better start typing and see what comes out of it.

I could write about this yoga weekend, the one that changed my life, like an earthquake in my foundations, where I broke down in savasana.

I could write about going back to school for evening classes, feeling and feeding my brain, graduating.

I could write about travelling to Japan with Lovely Boyfriend, making a lifelong dream come true.

Or the moment I started my yoga teacher training.

But truly, now is when I feel more alive. I'm sitting at my desk, struggling with my work, searching for any and every excuse not to do it, instead searching the net to check if it would be possible to work as a freelance admin consultant / translator - proofreader / yoga teacher (yes, all in one - and that's only a brief summary - office yoga classes for the well being of employees, oh yeah!), wearing countless layers in this freezing office, and I can hear my soul screaming. I hear it telling me it's alive and that we need to get out.

My soul is still here, it's alive, I'm alive.

Now I need to give me that slap in the face and that kick in the ass ;)

Writing

2010-12-02T18:21:00.006+01:00

Prompt of the day : "Writing - what do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing - and can you eliminate it?"

I could write a novel on writing. I won't, you would be snoring by the end of paragraph 1. So let's get to the point:

Day job: feels like I'm wasting my time at my desk while I could be doing something else more meaningful. Oh wait, I am sitting at this desk. But time will come, peeps, time will come... Or maybe it already is time, I just still need that slap in the face and that kick in the butt. I'll be the one giving them, nobody's gonna do that for me;
Self doubt: am I a writer? I have 2 blogs, I write on several websites and platforms, does that make me a writer? Is my level of English good enough? (told you I was crazy, I'm not even writing in my mother tongue, le français) I don't know. What I do know though, is that I love it. Ain't gonna stop. So there.

Music Wednesday - One Word

2010-12-01T14:28:00.004+01:00

2010: change

Blind Melon, "Change"

"keep on dreaming, boy, 'cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die"

2011: freedom

George Michael, "Freedom"
"But today the way I play the game is not the same, no way, think I'm gonna get me some happy"

http://www.reverb10.com/

Reverb10 : reflect and manifest

2010-11-30T16:38:00.000+01:00

I must be crazy. That's it. I've gone complètement folle (ooooh, helloooo French, long time no see!).

As if I didn't have enough on my plate. And yet, I've added something. Something I first heard of about two weeks ago, something that appealed to me but I feared I would not keep up.

And yet... See that new lovely button on the right? Yes, the one tagged "Reverb 10". I gave in, I signed up for #reverb10, launched by the amazing Gwen Bell. For one month, starting tomorrow, I will reflect on the year 2010 and manifest what's next.
I know why I finally signed up: because I need it.

This year has been fabulous, this year change has begun, in waves and with an impact I can't even assess myself at this stage. As you all know I've been struggling a lot in my "day job". Calling it my "day job" is not a good sign in and of itself, is it? So I hope that next year, change will manifest in the form of a way out of this situation, and a way in to freedom and to the life I KNOW I'm worth living (I'm not saying "I deserve", that would mean we have to work to deserve a worthy life, while we're all already gods and goddesses, our worth is innate. Oops, sorry, I digress).

Aaaaanyway, I need the writing, in English, and why not take this opportunity to reconnect with my mother tongue (even if only I understand)? Every day of December, daily creative prompts will be sent, and every day, every participant will respond, in form of blog posts, via Twitter of Facebook, or simply journaling, whatever suits your fancy.

I won't share on the blog every day, I'll be away for a week end of December (family time!), but I WILL do something every day. Along with the 30-day sadhana project for my YTT. Yeah I'm a goddess AND a warrior.

I can't wait.

Interested? Check out the reverb10 website, and sign up too! :)

Do you remember the first time?

2010-11-28T22:10:00.000+01:00

Do you remember the first yoga class you took?

I kind of don't, actually. I mean, I can't remember what we did exactly. I don't remember thinking that it felt like coming home, it felt more like "what the hell have I got myself into?!".
It was hard, my whole body was tight and not flexible at all, I couldn't follow the sun salutations despite all the pre warm-ups and all that leg stretching, that "your-body-should-look-like-an-inverted V" asathingy was bloody hard, I mean how is that supposed to look like a dog stretching?

I remember missing the second class I was supposed to take, thanks to starting a brand new job on the other side of town (yes the one I still have today) and not knowing how easy it was to walk back home (yoga was literally 5 minutes away from home) when there was a public transportation strike.

I remember going the week after though, because then I remembered how I had felt AFTER that first class. Yes it was hard, and I was never going to put my foot behind my head, but I felt good. I could live with that.

Do you remember the first class you taught, one-on-one or group class?

I remember. Mind you, I would be worried if I didn't, as it happened yesterday.
I remember being more excited than scared the days before, then slightly nervous 5 minutes before. And then really good :)
So I thank my first official student for trusting me and letting me guide her, and for showing me I could do this.

Wanna know the best part for me? In savasana I covered her with a blanket. She said afterwards that she loved it, because since her husband left her with their 2 daughters almost 2 years ago, nobody had done that for her. Such a simple thing.
I guess that was as much yoga as giving her hands-on assists in that "your-body-should-look-like-an-inverted V" asathingy.

Yesterday I learned as much as I taught :)

Music Wednesday - I'm grateful

2010-11-24T13:06:00.000+01:00

Today, although we Europeans don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for songs that can be sung everywhere and anywhere, no matter what language you speak.

(and come on, an all-girl Japanese pop-rock band? Bring it on!)

(oh, and please check www.epicthanks.org, and my latest post over at http://thechangeuwish.blogspot.com - yep that one's mine too :))

A Manifesto

2010-11-22T12:10:00.000+01:00

*WARNING = this post is kindly brought to you by Full Moon Angst, available worldwide for free*

ROAR! Like me, except I wear no mustache and my armpits are less hairy. And I'm no man either.
Source

Dear peeps, I am tired, in a way. I am tired of reading or being told how and who I should be as a yoga student and teacher trainee. I am tired of reading or being told that I should act in a certain way as a yoga student and teacher trainee.

I live by and respect mostly the yamas and niyamas, which has been a natural process anyway. I don't always *think* about them when I do something, thank whoever or whatever you believe in!

But.

Yes there is a but, and here's how it breaks down:

I am by no means a CareBear, and that's fine. I claim my right to be a b**ch sometimes;
I claim my right to be my grumpy cranky self and not wanting to hear to "look at the positive side and send good vibrations to the Universe" flowery talk;
That said, I claim my right to sometimes be in the mood to accept the flowery talk too, and utter it myself;
I reclaim my right to cry when I listen to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, as cheesy as that last song may be;
I claim my right to have my own discipline, and I would appreciate if people would stop calling me crazy. Only *I* am entitled to call me crazy, muahahahaha!
I claim my right to be who the f*** I want to be, I guess that sums it all.

I've written countless times about change, hell I wrote about it yesterday. But again, it's been a long, sometimes painful, but completely natural evolution.

Getting guidelines and structure is good, but then it's a question of balance and acceptance, first and foremost of who you are and what you are ready to take in.

No one holds the universal truth. Only you do own your own truth, sometimes you don't know what it is yet. It requires some soul searching and study, but in the end, you're the one deciding for yourself. And if something doesn't feel right for you, then it's not right for you now.

I guess this is me, then, round 2 :)

And in the words of the famous (!) Degeneration X, "if you're not down with it, suck it!" (no shame, told ya)

Who am I? - Sunday thoughts part 4

2010-11-21T16:28:00.000+01:00

("Oh no, here she is again with her ramblings *sigh*" - yes, I know what you think! But it's my blog, my own, MY PRECIOUS, just like my yoga mat :D)

Aaaanyway, I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a dear friend of mine, and she made an interesting comment that got me thinking. Again.

Source

Here is how this part of the conversation went:

Me: I'm teaching my first yoga class next week.
DF (Dear Friend): wheeeee! so exciting!
Me: yeah, and the fact that I'm more excited than scared by it means it must be right, knowing the coward I usually am.
DF: well you might have been, but you're not anymore. You still view yourself this way, that's all.
Me: ... o_O ...
She had a point.

I've been clinging to old patterns, still viewing myself as the 20-year old me, but that's not who I am anymore. Which is not a bad thing if you ask me, except that my 20 years old are gone forever but hey, nothing I can do about it!

You know what I used to believe?
- I used to think I was that shy girl who would stand in her corner of the room in social gatherings and wish she could teleport home; I used to be that girl, but lately I found out that I can be a chatterbox if no one stops me, and that includes talking to people I just met. Oops.
- I used to think that safety and staying in my comfort zone would be just fine, why bother taking risks? Answer: because you die inside and your brain shuts down from boredom, that's why. There is so much potential within a human being!
- I used to think I could't run, turns out I can. I'm no marathon runner, but the thought of running half an hour doesn't make me want to pull out my hair one by one, make a rope and hang myself anymore;
- The one you've been waiting for: I used to think that because I couldn't touch my toes, then I couldn't "do yoga". You know where that one's got me.

Take a look at yourself: what did you find out about yourself lately that you did not know / suspect? what is it you think about yourself that is really not true anymore?

Music Wednesday - dance and be happy

2010-11-17T23:59:00.000+01:00

Ok, technically it's more of a performance, and it's been around for ages, but it still makes me warm and fuzzy inside (and not because it happened in Belgium, honest)

Best.flashmob.ever.

Yoga 101 - Kleshas illustrated

2010-11-15T11:41:00.002+01:00

Hello dear readers, today we are going to review the kleshas with a couple of real-life examples directly based on my own experience.
For non-yogis / -yoginis, the kleshas are afflictions of the mind, they cause an agitated mind and in yoga, quiet mind = good, agitated mind = bad.
But let's take a closer look, shall we?

The 5 kleshas

The first klesha is avidya, or ignorance. Example: "oh, I didn't know I could do that. Well for someone that takes pride in knowing herself, that's not very good is it? Hold on a sec... I know myself from 15 years ago, isn't it time to move on and check out who is "myself" today? And let go of the perception that others have of me? Yes, let's do that".

The second klesha is asmita, or ego, as in "I am". Example: "I can't get into pincha mayurasana, I am not good enough (to be training as a yoga teacher, to be on this course, etc etc)". (Beating yourself up then because you think you're not good enough, thus making things worse, is a nice one too: "I shouldn't think that I'm not good enough, therefore I'm not good enough")

I'll take a detour before getting to the third one by illustrating the fourth one (you'll see my point), dvesha, or aversion. Example: "that girl is STEPPING ON MY MAT, I mean, excuse me?!?! Argh, I HATE that!"

And so here is the third one, raga, or attachment. Example: "Bloody hell this mat is my private space, my sacred space, MY PRECIOUS *gollum cough gollum*". (see why the third before the fourth now?)

The fifth and last one is abhinivesha, or fear. Example: "Holy Shiva, this taxi driver is driving way too fast, he's going to KILL ME! Oh dear that was close. Ok breathe, this is your fear of dying manifesting here, and typically you can't control the way you're going to die, so if that's your way to go then so be it. Ahh, feels better now. And if we make it home, I'll tip him for making me reflect on abhinivesha and breaking a record, Brussels station to home in less than 10 minutes is quite impressive, even on a late Sunday evening". I think I got that one covered (and that's how you can tell I spent a weekend totally immersed in yoga, I guess my thinking otherwise would have stopped at "KILL ME!").

Disclaimer: I didn't use the proper Sanskrit spelling, but my computer doesn't want to cooperate with me and put the dots and accents where they should be.

I'm curious peeps, what is your take on kleshas? :)

Edited to add: for those of you who are wondering "OMG did she tip the taxi driver? What a cliffhanger, I'm biting my nails now!" - well obviously I made it in one piece, and the experience's given me writing material. I guess I should've given him more...

A Friday before Yoga Teacher Training in the life of...

2010-11-12T15:14:00.000+01:00

Today I'm going to London again ("yes we knoooow, stop it already!") for yet another YTT weekend. You have no idea how much I need this. Truth be told, I may have no idea myself how much I need this!

The last YTT weekend was 5 weeks ago. Only 5 weeks, and yet it feels like it was in another life. So much has happened between then and now, I even don't see everything clearly yet. A trip to Amsterdam for a life-changing weekend, a trip to Canada, more yoga off the mat clearly, and a whirlwind of things-to-do-I-can't-just-sit-here-and-wait.

I have seen, heard, felt a lot of things. My perceptions have changed, or have evolved more like. I have chosen to have a closer look at the world we're living in. I have dug stuff from inside of me that I thought were no longer there, I've been experimenting, I've been learning, I have opened up. A whole lot.

Now I have to pause and reflect, carefully considering what is important. To me.

So yeah, I need a weekend full of yoga, it will be like a retreat, except yoga-study-bootcamp style. I need the satsang, I need the community, I need the focus. But you know what? I also need time on my own, with nothing else to do than watch X-Factor munching on dried mango (is X-Factor still on by the way? Oh well...). My London hotel room is my take of a cave in India. Honest. Except way more expensive. And there's song-butchering involved.

I feel somehow that everything will make more sense, everything will tie in together, everything will fall into place. Or maybe not. Que sera, sera :)

(What a year it's been, franky I can't wait to read my end-of-year recap post :D)

Have a great wonderful enlightening joyful weekend!

Music Wednesday - have a guess

2010-11-10T15:00:00.002+01:00

This should let you know where I'm going this weekend (that changes from yelling it over the rooftops don't you think?)

Enjoy the lightness!

"London, London" video by Cibelle feat. Devendra Banhart

(Devendra: you can totally call me. I have tons of chocolate ya know. Tx)

A monkey in the making - Sunday thoughts part 3

2010-11-07T12:41:00.001+01:00

A monkey?

Don't worry peeps, I'm not growing hair all over my body, I haven't started picking the lice off Lovely Boyfriend's head (to set the record straight, he hasn't got any), and I'm not feeding exclusively off bananas - wait... oh no, I still eat hummus, carrots and dried mango too. And dark chocolate.

No I'm talking about the monkey god, Hanuman, Rama's devotee who took the leap off a mountain to cross the ocean and find Sita. I'm not turning into a goddess either, and certainly not pretending to.

Source

Let me explain.

Leap of faith and fears

A few posts have got me thinking lately. Mind you, I always think too much. Well let's just say they got me thinking even harder.

Two of them were written by the wonderful Marianne Elliott, sharing with us the tools that have allowed her to leap, giving more credit to faith than to self doubt, and the follow up asking what space should we give to our fear.
The always inspirational Danielle Laporte wrote the third one a few weeks ago already, but I discovered it yesterday only. Or to rephrase, I got slapped in the face. "All of you grinding gears in a day job while you heart is spinning bigger dreams", wow was that written for me?
But this part struck me particularly: "If you start to tell me why it's not possible or how bad you want it but you don't know how to get it - then you don't want it bad enough. Maybe isn't going to cut it." Slap in the face and kick in the butt.

For ages I've struggled with the fact that I didn't know what I wanted. Now I'm getting a clearer idea, it's not a definite plan yet but it's not something unattainable. It needs shaping up, it needs preparation, it needs planning. But I'm willing and able.

The thing is, I listen too much to the damn fears. As I've mentioned already, I was raised to believe in security and safety over taking risks. Case in point, you should see how I handle my personal finance, I get cold sweat when I go beneath a certain amount on my bank account. And I'm not talking about overdraft, I don't even know what the word means. I've always chosen comfort over being on the edge, making sure I always have enough at the bank, and settling for jobs that I knew were below what I could offer. I've always functioned up to 80% of my capabilities. It's not bragging, it's being honest.
I know it, so why is that? Comfort people, and the negative side of knowing oneself too much. Knowing that I'm capable of more, but lacking the trust and faith to just do it. And anxious about my bank account.

Safe or sane?

Now I'm in a place where what I do for a living doesn't feel right, where I can't settle for second best and just accept that that's what life is all about. Wake up, go to work, come back from work, pay the bills, settle down. That's never been me, but I shut up the voices that told me so. Now they're really, really loud, believe me!

It's unbearable, and my sanity is at stake. But I'm now standing on the cliff, watching the waves of the ocean crashing below, and the woods behind. Still scared and attached. What will it take for me to just take the leap and look forward?

I'm kind of scared of hitting the publish button right now, I'm putting myself a lot out there. Oh well, so be it!

Have a nice Sunday peeps!

Montreal

2010-11-02T16:56:00.001+01:00

or the American experience in French and English :)

Short but intense trip, we walked and walked and walked some more, ate and ate and ate some more, swam in a hotel swimming pool, had brunch with a lovely lady, got snowed on (I can't quiet figure out why we didn't get a cold), got jumped on by a hungry squirrel, had countless pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks (no, we don't have pumpkin spice lattes in Europe), walked through wonderful parks, saw many houses for sale we said we'd buy, and saw a lot of vampires we would not buy. And yoga was, once again, more practiced off the mat than on :)

Yesterday was spent travelling back to Brussels, we landed this morning way too early for my liking, and I'm functioning on a two-hours sleep night, so if you allow me, I will show you some pictures before my brain shuts down.

Enjoy :)

Rue Sainte-Catherine

Pecan pie - 'nuff said

Frites!

Port of Montreal

Can't help taking photos of paths in woods - this and lamp posts, don't ask

If by any chance you want to read more of my musings, as promised you can find me over there!

Maple syrup covered banana

2010-10-26T23:19:00.000+02:00

Source

No that's not something I ate today, but that gives you an idea of where I'm going to.

Ok ok, more than a hint, I already wrote it several times in previous posts, so it's not much of a secret is it?

I cannot believe that tomorrow at this hour I will be in Montreal, Canada. The other side of the world. I mean the other other (ie not Japan this time - it's late here and I still have to pack so humor me please)

That doesn't mean you will be left alone until next week, at some point in the week you will find me over there, so look out peeps!

Have a great week and Halloween :)

A weekend in the life of...

2010-10-24T16:31:00.000+02:00

Oh dear, Sunday afternoon already, where does the time go? Ah yes I know, here is how it goes:

Saturday:
7:28am: wha..? Oh no, gonna sleep some more, mmmmllllffrrr tired.
9:51am: WHAT? Oh dear, time to get up! The famous duo "Bladder & Belly" are singing again... Kriya time, then breakfast.
10:30am: man, I was hungry. Time to shower.
11:15am: whoa, I took my time! What, Lovely Boyfriend is still in his pyjamas? Ok, let's do something useful and get these summer clothes down to the basement and move up the winter coats *cry*, oh while I'm at it summer shoes down (see you next year, lovely sandals), and what a mess in this cupboard, maybe I should declutter a bit in here...
12:30pm: guess it's time to go food shopping, our fridge is empty.
2pm: time for some lunch don't you think?
Pm: read "Heart of Yoga" for YTT, getting inspired, jotting down some notes, oh it looks my book report is almost done here and only needs typing, blogging on Change U Wish, reminds me I have to translate into French one of my posts there for a friend who doesn't understand English, then Twitter, Facebook, yadda yadda yadda...
6:15pm: crap, I was supposed to go running!
6:37pm: off running, 5 minutes walk, 30 minutes run, 5 minutes walk.
7:18pm: aaaaaaaaah, I'm soaking wet because of the pouring rain, but whoa I feel GREAT! Let's stretch a bit (yoga!) and quick shower, then back in my pyjamas and back to the couch.
8pm: Lovely Boyfriend: "eat?". Me: "Yeaaaaaaaaah!" (meaning I'm preparing dinner).
8:30pm: let's watch a movie while eating dinner, why not "Twilight" that we, err, borrowed from the net. Didn't want to go the theatre for this but we're curious.
9:00pm: if I was 15, I would totally drool over this Edward Cullen character. But I'm not 15, so let's behave (and Lovely Boyfriend's sitting right next to me).
9:30pm: WILL THESE 2 KISS ALREADY!?!
10:30pm: a last surf on the net, and I'm off to bed.
1am Sunday: WTF?!!

Sunday:
8:58am: decent time to get up, to "Bladder & Belly"'s last song. Kriya time, breakfast.
9:30am: I know I say that every morning, but man, I was hungry. Time to clean the apartment, yes in pyjamas, don't care, dirty laundry's waiting for them to join the club.
11:02am: we're done. On to some yoga, but first this paperwork stuff that's been bothering me. My fault, I'm late.
11:15am: I should really organize all these papers, sorting them out is a pain in the a**.
11:30am: "return this form electronically", okaaaaay, but where, how, how do I do this?
11:45am: *crying* it's not workiiiiiiiiiiing, the bloody site won't accept my passwooooooord, I'm gonna get fiiiiiiiiiined, I don't understand anythiiiiiiiiiiiing, I want to diiiiiiiiiiiiiie! Oh wait, what does it say here?
12:00pm: maybe I panicked a bit too soon. Maybe. It was easy after all.
12:30pm: yogaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
2:02pm: showeeeeeeer!
2:30pm: eeeeeeaaaaaaaaaat! (yeah Sundays have their own rhythm, we have a different perception of time). Oh yeah, "Life" is on TV, nice. Lovely Boyfriend wants to make the most of the sunny weather to take some photographs, see you later!
3:15pm: let's finish "Heart of Yoga". Watching "Trauma" at the same time might not be a good idea. Oh, it's raining now, Lovely Boyfriend must be loving this. I'm not grinning at all thinking about him outside.
3:45pm: yeah, "Heart of Yoga" finished, hello Wet Lovely Boyfriend! Time to blog a little, let's do something fun. Oh, I'll tell them about the first weekend at home in almost a month, might not be really interesting but I'm doing what I want on my blog, so there.

....

Yeah, that's pretty much where the time goes :)

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

Be kind, rewind

2010-10-20T14:46:00.001+02:00

*So finally I'm landing* - let's take it where we left off, where was it again?

Let me see, so Friday I left you with a note saying I was off to the European Summit for Global Transformation. And Sunday I announced the birth of a new blog. Like, what?

What happened in the meantime? I won't tell you that what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam, but I won't bore you with the details, plus you will get to know a bit more the amazing people I met on the other side :-) Let me just tell you about 10 things I've learned:

- Self discovery can be painful, but you have to go through it to be of service to others;

- Corollary : being of service to others is much more efficient when you do it out of love, not out of guilt and pity. Get rid if the guilt, and let the love in;

- You don't have to be a multimillionaire to help people, you have to be you. Whatever you think, you do have skills, there's always a way you can use them;

- Even the smallest act can have great consequences;

- It's fun to find out that you can do things you never thought you could do just because you put your heart into them;

- Confirmation: yoga is awesome - yeah I knew that already, but I'm still amazed at its powers;

- Opening up and breaking down are not weaknesses, know how to use the energy behind, and learn;

- Don't forget to take care of yourself, you are your most powerful ally;

- The world needs some hugs peeps, but there are amazing people who work their a** off to mend a few things and create hope. There is hope, and so much energy :-)

- Nothing is impossible, never give up!

Now if you allow me, I'm just going to get back in horizontal position on my couch, nasty cold has taken over my body. Self care, peeps!

Nothing better to do

2010-10-17T23:13:00.000+02:00

than this: http://thechangeuwish.blogspot.com/

Help me spread the word peeps!

THANK YOU!

Water : life

2010-10-15T11:11:00.000+02:00

Water... in our industrialized and "modern" society, do we ever question water and its availability? Do we ever stop to think about water? Do we even realize how powerful water is?

Water is life and death. Too much of it, you die. Too little of it, you die. Too much water consumed, the Earth dies, you die.

A water crisis is on our doorstep. Soon water will be fought over, if it's not the case already. Our resources are endangered. Our overuse of water has impacted the environment. Sounds daunting, right?

Good news is, we can do something to address this crisis. Great organizations are working towards solutions and we, on a personal level, can be a part of the solutions.

Why am I writing about water, on this blog, today? Because today is Blog Action Day and this is my own action, and remember people: together we can move moutains!

Side note: this weekend I'll be in Amsterdam for the European Summit for Global Transformation, I guess Global Transformation starts here :)

Balancing pose

2010-10-11T23:29:00.000+02:00

Image found over there - check out the Ananta series, it's absolutely beautiful. I want a mold of the Shiva Nataraja 3D rendering for my future pooja table.

Balancing poses are bloody hard. That is stating the obvious, yes, but sometimes it's good to write it out loud (how can one write something out loud? well I just did).

Balancing poses require strength in the legs and arms, depending on which limb you choose to, er, balance. They also require core strength. They require focus. They require freedom. They require trust. They require that you take a leap of faith at some point.

Now take all these elements off the mat and bring them to your life. Don't you believe that sometimes life is a big mo'fo' balancing pose? Sometimes you feel free, tall, dare I say grand, like standing on the shoulders of giants. And sometimes your tree is wobbly. Your crow is crumbling and the floor is looking dangerously close.

On and off the mat, there is just one thing to do: breathe and find your tadasana. Let go of the fear, and focus.
And have some chocolate.

Who we are, and where we're going to

2010-10-08T17:25:00.000+02:00

It's a time for reflection, transition and changes, a time to check on one's Self, can you feel it too? Delve deeper :-)

Fink - "Sort of Revolution"

We've come so far, it feels so real

All this time, that we've waited for it

And who we are, and where we're going to

All this time, preparing for it.

Come so far

So let me know when we get there, if we get there

Let me know when we get there, if we get there

In the dark it feels so real

And all this time, we've been sleeping on it

And who we are, and where we're going to

All this time, spent saving for it

Come so far

Come so far, yeah

So just let me know when we get there, if we get there

Let me know when we get there, if we get there

Come so far, there's no going back

All this time, we've been running from it

And where we are, and where we're going to

We'll organize a sort of revolution

One year

2010-10-06T11:54:00.000+02:00

One year. How long is one year?

One year is a teeny tiny moment in the life of our Planet Earth. Yet it can seem so long and so short at the same time from a human point of view. So much can happen in one year, and so little too if we choose status quo over movement, satisfaction over risk.

Today my blog turns one. Incidentally my brother turns 28 (full disclosure: yes, he is younger than me). Which gives me two excuses to celebrate, even from afar as far as Baby Brother is concerned.

When I started blogging a year ago, I had been reading blogs for a while, I had been practicing yoga and was toying with the idea of signing up on a teacher training course, I was not very happy in my job, Lovely Boyfriend had been around for several years and still made me laugh. I started this blog as an outlet, it wasn't meant to address one topic in particular, I posted whatever and whenever I felt like it. Oh, and it was in French.

A lot happened over the course of this blogging year: I took a business management course, travelled to London several times for yoga workshops, travelled to Japan thus fulfilling a dream I'd had for as long as I can remember, I did sign up for yoga teacher training.
In the meantime, my blog evolved, from being an embryo of journal to being a yoga blog as I delved even deeper in a yoga-infused life, from French to bilingual to English, which was not a bad move considering my latest and ongoing adventure with The Magazine of Yoga.
That is a lot, to me.

That list is not complete though: over the year I have come to virtually meet a whole community of wonderful people, I don't dare typing the words "friends" here but I strongly feel it. I have learned so much in one year, reading and exchanging, that it is impossible to describe. The conversations and discussions held recently over certain "yoga fails" (you all know what I'm talking about) have also given me a lot of food for thought, and truth be told, looking back, I am glad for these controversies.
Because for one it means the yoga blogging community is not made of brainwashed clones, but of smart articulate beings, and second it made me question my own opinions and reactions. Still processing them, by the way :)
So a big thank you to all of you readers / bloggers / yogis and yoginis!

Today? Well today I'm getting ready for my second teacher training weekend (excited is an understatement). I'm getting ready to travel to Montreal, Canada with Lovely Boyfriend in 3 weeks. Yes Lovely Boyfriend is still around, kudos to him, and still making me laugh. I'm getting ready to change jobs within my company. Again, to be completely honest, I view this job as temporary. More and more I feel I had my time and fun with the corporate world, and now it's time to consider other options.

This is precisely how I envision the coming year. Considering other options. Moving on and forward. My corporate self is slowly coming to its life's end, but I'm not ready yet to take the plunge. I don't know what I would do though, but one day this situation will be unbearable, I know it, it's already showing. I was raised to believe in security over risk, I am now starting to believe that risk is way sexier.
So what I hope for the coming year is that I can be at peace with who I really am, have the courage to let my creative self surface, let go of fear so I can be who I'm meant to be, and be of service to others the very best I can. Starting now!

What are your intentions for the year to come?

The "Kiss Cool Effect"

2010-09-30T11:20:00.000+02:00

Do you know these minty treats called "Kiss Cool"? When I was a teenager living in France, the Kiss Cool commercials were just the most hilarious thing you would see on TV. They based their marketing campaign on the so-called "2nd Kiss Cool Effect": the 1st one would be the refreshing feeling induced by having one of those sweets, the 2nd one could be, well, anything.

I got the 1st Kiss Cool Effect when the Magazine of Yoga asked me if they could feature my blog on their site last August. My first reaction? "What, MY blog?". It dawned on me that I had more readers than I thought, that was already enough to feed my ego ;-)

Then came the 2nd Kiss Cool Effect: they actually invited me to write a monthly column about something that has always played a huge part in my life, music. When I got their lovely email I almost fell off my couch (yeah, the couch). I mean, English is not even my mother tongue, I'm happy with my level for my blog, but would it be enough for the Magazine of Yoga?
At first I doubted, hesitated, got scared. Then I realized that they wouldn't ask if they didn't believe my writing was worth something. I started to believe that maybe indeed it was worth something, and it would be a nice challenge to take up after all. So I told my fear to shut the hell up already, and I chose to go for it.

Today, may I present you with my first column at the Magazine of Yoga. Check it out, and let me know what you think! Oh, and thanks for reading :-)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T12:19:00.001+02:00

I almost forgot about this beautiful wonderful singer that is PJ Harvey. I'll make that up by sharing this jewel with you (does this say anything about my contemplative mood?)
Enjoy the beauty and surrender...

Bummed & blanks

2010-09-27T17:18:00.001+02:00

Yeah, I too noticed the irony, a record called "Bummed" by the Happy Mondays. Yeah, I chose this on purpose, thus paying homage to one of the greatest high-on-drugs bands ever

Yep, one of those days...

Nothing serious, really. Sometimes things don't go according to plans, and there's nothing you can do about it. This is when the famous twins Disappointment and Frustration choose to pay a visit.
You're a good yogini, so you try to not pay attention, you don't want to answer their knock on your door.
But you can't. And you end up ruminating. For almost nothing. There's nothing really serious, no family emergency, no accident, no catastrophe. But still, you can't let go.

Because when all these sris and swamis and gurus wrote their books or delivered their teachings, they didn't plan on having occidental female yoga practitioners coming in herds to yoga, which is why they overlooked something important: PMS.

...

Let's move on shall we?

To make up for the bummed part, let's fill in the blank part! (as seen at Lauren's, Rachel's and Jamie's)

1. In the story of my life the actor who would play me would be Natalie Portman. Ok we look nothing alike but she's short and a brunette, for one part, and I just *love* the girl. Or quirky-pre-skinny Cristina Ricci.

2. If I could change one thing about the world it would be tearing down all borders so people realize we were all made the same to begin with, whatever colour / religion / etc etc. Borders are overrated.

3. Yesterday we ran 25 minutes without stopping to walk. I know, doesn't look like a big achievement. Trust me, at my level, it is. And I got to do it with Lovely Boyfriend. I'm proud of us :)

4. My favourite comfort food is chocolate. Dark. Very dark. I need some right now.

5. My new favourite blog find is ah hum yeah tough one. I'm discovering so many right now that I can't keep track. There are so many talented writers out there sharing their passion, it's impossible naming just one.

6. If I could meet any blog friend (who I haven't met yet) in real life, I'd choose to meet all the people behind my blog roll. That would involve flying over to the US at some point, whoa!

7. My favourite breakfast food is peanut butter banana toast, stick to my ribs. A bowl of good granola with yogurt (dairy or soy) and a banana is also a winner, although it doesn't hold me over as well. Lately I've had weird concoctions, I won't go into details here (typical Lovely Boyfriend line when we manage to have breakfast together: "what is THIS you're eating?"

Have a great week folks!

YTT - weekend 1

2010-09-22T22:24:00.002+02:00

Yes, I'm back. I got back on Sunday, but work, life, and feelings all over the place got in the way of my blogging.

What can I say really, what can I tell you that you yoga teachers don't already know?

I won't bore you with a hour-by-hour recap and all the details, most of you have already been there, but allow me to say that it was intense. As in, "it's 7pm I'm in London I could go out but I just want to veg around in my hotel room" intense.

The feelings of anxiety and inadequacy, sort of, disappeared as soon as I got to the studio where the training is taking place. Maybe because of something my teacher said: "you are where you are because where you are is where you should be". It always has more impact when someone else said it, right?

My fellow teacher trainees and I practiced, discussed, listened, absorbed, and left overwhelmed but wanting more at the same time.
Overwhelmed because there is so much to learn, so much to integrate in a class and make it work, and so much to do (homework, anyone?). Rachel is spot on in her latest post! But wanting more, more practice, more knowledge, more of everything.
Ever since I've been back, I want more of this. If truth be told, I feel that yoga is my real job, and my day job is just a supporting activity, I'm drifting away from what was once my whole life. And it is scary and exciting at the same time.

My feelings are still all over the place as everything we did is still sinking in, so I'll keep this post short. Plus, I have to sort out my papers and notes, and squeeze in some reading before I go to bed. Current reading: Hatha Yoga Pradipika (translation of Bihar School of Yoga). Rock on!

PS: on top of that, full moon tonight. After dropping (and breaking) a small jar of china gel stuff, having on curtain fall on my face, and pouring a cup of tea not quite in the cup but more like right next to it, I'm afraid I might drop my laptop or delete the whole post by mistake. Better stop here out of safety reasons.

Freshman

2010-09-17T16:31:00.001+02:00

Source

Two blog posts in two days? I'm on a blogging roll!

Thing is, I won't bother you this weekend, because this weekend, I will not be here, I will be in London, starting my yoga teacher training programme.

Why London when I live in Brussels, Belgium? Because, as much as I love Belgium, let's just say that Vinyasa flow, my main practice, is virtually non-existent. I came to Vinyasa thanks to podcasts and videos. Yes I went to live Vinyasa classes in Brussels, given by a Canadian yoga teacher who was here for her post-graduate studies. These lasted only a few months.
There are Vinyasa classes in Flanders, in Antwerp and Ghent namely, but it's not exactly next door for me (hopping on a train after work and coming back home around 11pm at best is not my idea of fun).
There are a few yoga teacher trainings in Belgium, and I'm sure they are great, but I don't think they're right for me.

I attended a workshop in October last year with Claire, and loved it. When I checked out her website and learned about her teacher training, something just clicked. It had to be. I went to her intensive training in July, and it just reinforced that feeling.
Not to mention, as I already wrote countless times, I love London and the UK, so give me any excuse to go there and I'm in :-D

And tomorrow, at 9am London time, it's starting.

Now I know most of you dear readers are already yoga teachers, you already went through the anticipation, excitement, even anxiety before the start. So you know what I'm feeling right now.
And of course, my ball-of-stress, control-freak, ego-monster self is taking over :-D

The question "will I be good enough?" is popping incessantly in my mind. Even though I DO know that "good" is a very elusive concept when it comes to yoga, even though I DO know that it doesn't matter if I can't balance in handstand for the life of me (even against a wall, for f***'s sake!), even though I DO know the studio (same place as in July), obviously the teacher, and a couple of fellow students who were there in July too, even though I DO know that I'll be able to follow language-wise (I'm not saying my English is perfect people, I'm just saying that so far I've been doing ok with podcasts/classes/blogs/intensives/books in English)...

So yes, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, and needed to vent, but you know what? What I also DO know, is that once I get on my mat tomorrow morning, everything will be fine :-)

...

On a lighter note, I will leave you with something to do, if that's of interest to you: submit your information to be part of the Healthy Living Blogs community! Yes, healthy goes beyond healthy diet, yoga blogs are healthy living blogs too, body+mind+spirit alike :-) Some words from the founders:

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. If you're interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.com and check the site out for yourself!

Email subject line: MEMBERS
Your name (please share if you prefer to go by first name, first and last, or however you prefer to be known on the Internet)
Blog Name
Blog URL (please start with http://, not www.)
Your twitter handle, if applicable
Your location (if you prefer not to disclose this information for privacy's sake, that is completely understandable. We'll simply include your blog listing in the A-Z listing, not by location, too)
Any specific labels (i.e. vegan, gluten-free, weight loss, running, etc.)

Sounds nice, huh?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Confession post

2010-09-16T13:13:00.002+02:00

Source

I promised it in a previous post. Wrote it, black on white. Now it's time. Time to disclose stuff that you probably don't want to know but what the heck (read = twisted satya-).
Here we go:

1. In the aforementioned post, I put up this link. Ugly truth is I know exactly what I was doing. I know who Jeff Hardy is, I know who Edge is, I know what the WWE is. Because I watch the bloody shows (no pun intended... although I'm lame like that). Lovely Boyfriend and I even went to the Smackdown live show in Brussels last year, while they were touring the whole world. Yes, I'm proud to say I saw the Undertaker live. Not so much ahimsa right there, but it's fake and funny!

2. I have a weird and twisted sense of humour (see above). No really, I'm not very kind. And I like lame jokes and puns. Lovely Boyfriend often says he's lucky to have me so someone can laugh at his jokes.

3. I groan and moan and sometimes have the hardest time letting go and feeling the bliss of contentment shining through me. Yes, some people still piss me off big time. There, I said it.

4. I have an ego the size of France. You know why I hate playing games? Because I don't want to lose. I hate losing. Which is one the reasons I stick with yoga: I learn a lesson in humility every time I step on the mat, in class or at home. Because I've learned to accept that a. I can't put my foot behind my head, and it will probably never happen, b. It's ok.

5. I used to hate / despise / loathe any kind of physical activity. When I lived in Dijon I used to walk anywhere but never considered it exercise. With hindsight I realized that that's what kept me from ballooning, possibly.

6. Because I was not a healthy happy camper. I was a meat-and-potato-and-anything-with-sugar eater. And around twenty I was a binge eater. Not fun.

7. Lovely Boyfriend, amongst many other things, has nicknamed me Brainiac 5. Now, don't be afraid, I am not a green-skinned alien. But I have a brain that works like a database: read, store, spit it out when requested. I freak myself out sometimes.

I believe there are a lot of other things I could get out there, but I like the number 7, so I'll stop right there.

If there's anything embarrassing you want to share, please go ahead, this is a safe space for you, I promise :-)

EDITED TO ADD: official claim from Lovely Boyfriend: all his jokes are NOT lame, they can also be smart, intelligent, genius. (the things you have to do sometimes...)

Sunday thoughts, chapter 2

2010-09-12T18:12:00.001+02:00

Yay for Michelangelo

I am selfish. I know it, I've never concealed it. Not selfish in a "I'll march on your head to get what I want" way, but selfish in a "charity begins at home" way.
See, I know myself pretty well, and I know what works for me. I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses, I know how to take care of myself and I know that by doing so, I'll be in a better place to take care of others.

Knowing this doesn't mean I'm wary or reluctant to change. Although change is not quite the right word here, let's just say evolve, grow, and open. As I know myself pretty well, I can see myself the way I am, get perspective and see what's unfolding. And something has been unfolding.

The latest debate in the yoga blogosphere (the yoga blogosphere... can't believe I'm even typing these words! - oh, and I'm not going to go further into this debate, unless you've lived under a rock for the last few weeks you all know what I'm talking about) has, among other things, addressed the divide between individual and social (you should read this great post by Carol Horton over here).
Now bear with me while I'm trying to explain how I relate to this, it might seem a bit out there and farfetched but my brain sometimes has its own twisted ways to reach conclusions.

Since I started practicing yoga, I have evolved, grown, opened. I am still selfish, but I am more aware. I am kinder, less judgmental (although there is still some work to do there ;-) ), more tolerant. I am not yet a Care Bear though, don't worry! I've stepped out of my comfort zone a lot this year only, and I guess I'm not done here. I am a disciplined type A personality with a sense of humour, which means yamas and niyamas are not so difficult to implement for me in everyday life. So far I've remained on a very personal plan, living yoga off the mat for me and those around me, being of service to basically myself.

For a few months though, I've been thinking about making it more "social", being of service to others. I still don't know which shape and form this will take, but I'll make it happen. There are so many things to do, and to be honest I am a bit overwhelmed and discouraged sometimes when I see all there is we can do. I can help here in Brussels for the time we have left to live here, I can help on a European, or global, whatever, level.
Now I can't imagine my practice not being connected to some kind of social / political action. I just can't stay here and watch, and not care. This is my awakening, this is my own transformation and evolution, and it has been interesting, to say the least, to watch.
To bring some order back to this crazy brainstorming, Lovely Boyfriend and I* are going to the European Summit for Global Transformation in Amsterdam next month, hoping to be inspired and focused. We can't wait!
And if we have to make, say, adjustments to the way we live now, like moving and / or not working full time anymore, then so be it. We're kind of looking forward to find our purpose :-)

Again, this is my own way, and I am absolutely not saying I am better than anyone, we are all different in our approach or life. But I'm curious people, what is your practice off the mat, in life, what's your yoga?

* For the record, Lovely Boyfriend doesn't practice yoga, on a mat anyway (apart from attempting crow pose when he sees me doing it, because he thinks he's fun. Makes him my first student while I try to cue him so he doesn't fall flat on his face and telling him it's ok if he does), but he's considering changing careers and being of service to others too. He's a yogi in his own right!

Twist and run

2010-09-08T22:47:00.001+02:00

source

Some time ago I set a "fitness" goal for myself: I said I would start running. As in, running regularly and being able to run for one minute without stopping and, as we say in French, spitting my lungs out (classy I know).

This was a real challenge to me. I always hated running. Hated with a passion. Speed running for 100 meters, ok. Endurance running, not ok. I remember in high school dreading PE, even more so as our teacher was a female version of Sgt. Hartman. She would have us run for what seemed like ages, and every time I believed I was going to die.

Anyway, back to the now. Let's call this a twist of fate**, or some crazy thought from my twisted mind, but I figured that if I hated it so much years ago, why not give it a try now that I'm in much better shape than I was back then*? You know, just for fun (I have a strange idea of "fun"). And no, I don't run to lose weight I don't need to lose ;-)
Also, to give me an extra kick in the asana, I signed up for a race. A small one (5k), a real one, attainable, not too soon so I can train properly. What makes it even better is that this 5k is in December. DECEMBER, of all months, people. Which means I have to get used to running in the cold. Oh it's not cold yet, but it will come. It's Belgium, so it might as well rain. I have to be ready to face any kind of weather, so running outside it is. I'm ready to cancel my gym membership.

I started running about 3 weeks ago, and I have learned a couple of things (I'm a fast learner):
- Much to my surprise, I like it. No, wait, scratch that, I love it. I don't know how this happened, but I'm actually looking forward to my runs. I never ever thought I would say that, let alone write it for the whole world to contemplate;
- Stepping out of my comfort zone is not killing me;
- Running is moving meditation. I swear. I focus on my breath, and there I go, forgetting everything for 30 minutes and above all quieting my mind;
- It's a breathing exercise, first and foremost. My body is able to follow, my legs are strong enough to carry me where I want to go, but if I don't pay attention to my breath, I stop and die. Ok not literally but man do I feel it;
- Yoga asanas come in handy when it's time to stretch;
- I'm stronger than I thought I was.

Not bad after three weeks, eh?

What have YOU learned lately?

* confession: by "back then" I mean when I was 18 - 15 bloody years ago.
** one day I'll make a confession post, and I'll explain.

"Your head must bow to your heart"

2010-09-05T17:13:00.001+02:00

This is what my Yogi Tea of the day says, isn't it beautiful?

What I find beautiful too is you the wonderful response to my last post I got from you, dear readers, and the great posts by Linda-Sama, Y is for Yogini, Svasti, and many many others. Thank you everyone for your posts / comments, I guess somehow we should all thank Tara Stiles for the inspiration, it's been a great week of yoga blog reading :-)

Let's not forget that we can react, let's not forget that words are powerful, let's not forget not to take things for granted, let's not accept everything and anything, let's not forget to take a stance, let's not forget who we are and where we come from.

But now on to lighter stuff as we need to get some rest too, right? When I saw this list on Rachel's blog, I figured it would make a nice weekend blog post, so here we go :-)

1) What is your favourite time of day?

I love the morning, because it's yoga and breakfast time. I absolutely love breakfast.

I also enjoy the evening, when the light starts changing and the sun sets over the rooftops, so beautiful...

2) Where and when did you meet the love of your life?

I met him in Brussels, 8 years ago. But he's French too (oh the irony!). I had been living in Brussels for a couple of years, and I went to a party. He had come over from Paris just for the evening, and we hooked up straight away. It took another three months before we became a couple, and a few months after he left his job and apartment in Paris to come over to Brussels and live with me, "because I'm worth it" :-D

3) What three words would your friends outside the blogging world use to describe you?

Funny, smart, reliable. I guess. You would have to ask them!

4) What country would you like to visit and why?

Japan: done; Canada: we're going to Montreal end of October (yeah we're crazy like that). Lovely Boyfriend has always wanted to visit Canada, especially Montreal and Quebec City. Full disclosure: we are considering moving all the way there, so we're going to check it out :-D It will not happen right now obviously, but we're starting to prepare. We'll see...

5) What is your favourite dish to cook?

I have no idea. I would say quiches, I've become quite good, crust and all. But come to think of it, I love cooking my cashew coconut risotto, always a hit. I think I wrote some time ago that I would post the recipe, I promise I will!

6) Salt or sweet?

Sweet. To be more specific, really dark chocolate always wins me over.

7) What are your must have make-up or beauty items?

I love Nuxe products, but they're not cheap. I'm fond of the "Huile prodigieuse", not cheap but it lasts quite some time, so good investment. Got to get myself a new bottle by the way. I also love their lip balm.

And Lush's "I should coco" soap, love it!

8 ) What are your favourite flowers?

I have absolutely no idea, honestly. I think I love most the flowers that remind me of my childhood, nothing fancy, just the flowers that you can find everywhere in the country: forget-me-nots, daisies, etc. I also love orchids.

9) What do you think are your worst vices, honestly?

Let's see... I am not patient, ouch. And my ego can have trouble shutting up sometimes. And I love dark chocolate, but is this really a vice?

10) At what time of your life were you happiest and why?

When I travel, especially with Lovely Boyfriend. But here and now is also a good place :-)

Have a nice Sunday!

Enoshima, Japan

This is me, then

2010-08-31T10:21:00.001+02:00

Some of you might have already seen this picture here, but as I am all for recycling and sustainability, including digital photos, so there you go.

I used to wish I were tall, lean and skinny. But I'm not.

I am short, I am not fat, I am not skinny either.

I have boobs, I have a belly with a life of its own no matter how hard I try and do abs (hellooo, muffin top!), I have wide hips, I have strong thighs. Hell, I might even have bra fat but I didn't bother to check in the mirror.
I will never be tall and lean and skinny. But that's ok.

I practice yoga because it keeps me grounded. I practice yoga because my body, my mind, my heart, open. I practice yoga because it makes me a better person. Not perfect, only better, according to my own perception of what "better" is.
I don't practice yoga to lose weight. I will never be tall and lean and skinny, and it's ok.

This is me, then.

You? You might be tall and lean and skinny. You might be short, and skinny. You might be short and bigger than me. You might be taller and bigger than me. You might be a blonde, a brunette, a red head. You might have smaller boobs and wider hips. Or tiny boobs and tiny hips.
You might not look that way you want to look, but you know what? You are enough. You are beautiful the way you are. You are you, and it's ok.

This is you, then.

Blanks

2010-08-29T17:24:00.000+02:00

I'm a crazy list maker, you already know that. I won't go grocery shopping without a list (doesn't stop me from buying stuff that is not on the list, though), I make to-do lists at work, I make lists for goals, I should maybe make a list of lists.
When I so this list here and here, among others, I knew I had to fill in the blanks too, you know, sounds like fun, because lists are my idea of fun.

1. The most adventurous thing I've ever done is... going to the UK for a year on an exchange programme when I was a student. I was seriously shy and had never got away from home, as my local university offered the studies I wanted to take. They also were part of an European exchange programme, and I took a shot at it. I already loved the UK back then so no wonder I signed up, hell yeah! And I had to, wait for it, TALK TO PEOPLE so I wouldn't spend a whole academic year miserable on my own.
This and stepping on a yoga mat for the first time, truly had no idea what was in for me. That said, I still have no idea!

2. If I were a pair of shoes I would be... a pair of Doc Martens. These ones, the originals:

Ok embarrassing confession: I used to have a pair of those, I got them when I was 17 and would wear them every day. I mean, EVERY day, until 5 years later I had to throw them away. So I cut out the little tags at the back and kept them as a souvenir. For years.

3. My preferred mode of digital communication is... email, definitely.

4. I feel happiest when... I'm having a good laugh with Lovely Boyfriend. He's my boyfriend, my lover, my best friend, and I think being able to laugh with your partner is essential in this kind of relationship. It's easier of course when you have the same lame humour.

5. A little dream I have for my life is to...travel the world, fall in love with a place and move there, and be my own boss.

6. The one modern convenience I could NOT do without is... Fridge or washing machine? Tricky one...
How about the internet?

7. Music, movies, TV or books: if I could only choose one to enjoy I would pick... books. I've always been a huge book lover, reading is my hobby of choice, too sad I can't read as much as I would like to but hey, choices... Music is close though.

Enough ramblings for today, I have to take care of my kitchen turned into a baking lab. "And it burns, burns burns", you know...

Take care.

Sunday thoughts

2010-08-22T16:58:00.000+02:00

I've been thinking a lot lately, my mind is racing in full gear, and I've been excited and overwhelmed.

Excited because I have a lot of ideas, that might turn into proper projects, because at some point acting and doing is the way to go. Overwhelmed because there are so many things I want to do, and so little time, not to mention little money (oh the ugly word ;-)).

See I started this blog because I had been thinking a lot about my life, I had started taking steps towards changes, and yoga has played a tremendous part in this direction (or better said, I let yoga play a huge part).
I'm feeling now that I've gone up a gear, and that this whole change thing is not only about me, about who I want to be, but also what difference I can make and how other people's lives can benefit from my actions. How can I step off my mat and make this difference, how can I help?

Yesterday I got caught up in this whirlwind of thoughts again, you know, how? when? where? what about my full-time job? what are we going to do?
And today it's kind of fallen into place. I stepped on my mat, chose to do a podcast, aimed at simplicity, you breathe, you move, no questions, no drama, and I went with the flow. I realized that you don't have to look for change for it to happen, because eventually, as your perspective is shifting, change does happen, and then comes a time when you have no choice but feel compelled to act, because that's what you are.

Enoshima, Japan

Meanwhile things might be a bit uncomfortable but you learn, you learn to be happy where you are, because where you are is the right place to be at this moment. It doesn't mean settling in indefinitely because you've been told that that is what life is. It means appreciate what you have at this very moment, while you move forward, and you will appreciate where you'll be in a day, a week, a month, while everything's unfolding. You're enjoying the journey and fully embracing the stage you're in, I guess that's my take on santosha :-)

So I'll be happy where I am, and I'll keep going my way. It will all fall into place, it's the natural evolution, I definitely believe it.

Have a nice Sunday :-)

Enoshima, Japan

Tokyo Part 2 - tradition

2010-08-18T20:11:00.000+02:00

Yep, yogis' favourite flower, the beautiful lotus

Not only did we see the "bright lights, big city" that Tokyo is, we also got to see some older gems embedded between the tall buildings and the public transportation network.

The purification fountain, important step not to be missed before going further in the Meiji Jingu sanctuary

First the Meiji Jingu sanctuary, dedicated to Emperor Meiji, and a Shinto shrine. Shinto is the oldest religious tradition in Japan, in which there is no one God but a myriad of spirits, nature-related, called Kami.

"Prayer tree" at Meiji Jingu

The most important Kami is Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Fellow yogis and yoginis, when you salute the sun, send a prayer to Amaterasu, can't hurt ;-)

Shinto is the most important religion in Japan, along with, of course, Buddhism.

"Red Lantern" shrine in Asakusa

Buddhism, contrary to Shinto, was imported to Japan. It appeared in the 6th century via China and Korea, and despite small conflicts at the beginning between the two traditions, they have been "countrymates" for centuries now.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura, 13,35 meters tall, impressive and so peaceful!

A vast majority of Japanese people believe and happily mix the two traditions. Our guide Eri, a middle-aged Japanese woman who spoke a verey good French, prayed in all the shrines and temples we visited. After all, the more you believe, the more your are protected right?

Onto a whole different subject but it belongs to tradition to:

Traditional meal in Kamakura

Now, confession time: you see this lovely bowl of sashimi, with all kinds of fish and fixings? I ate it all. And I had even more fish during our stay.
It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was to me, as I am a vegetarian and have been for about a year and a half. I know finding the right food for us would be difficult, especially as we went to traditional restaurants with our guide, so we decided to just let go and adapt.
I didn't go vegetarian because of yoga, but I think it fits in the way I practice yoga, this is part of my way of respecting ahimsa. That said, what also fits in my way of practicing yoga is to be alive and not die from starvation. Food was offered to me, it would have been plain rude to turn it down, not to mention how hungry I was after all the walking, and I ate it. And to be completely honest, it was the best fish I've ever had. Ever. Melt-in-your-mouth fish. I figured that if I was to have fish for the last time, it would have to be in Japan, of all places. The only thing I couldn't bring myself to eat was meat. The mere sight of meat made my stomach pull an ice-skating programme, triple axels and all.
I don't feel guilty, I feel ok, and now that I overdosed on fish I'm back to vegetarianism. And it suits me fine.

Other confession: I stayed off the mat most of the time. Easy, given that technically I didn't have a yoga mat, but the carpet of the room floor at the hotel. My practice consisted in enjoying, seeing, feeling, spending quality time with Lovely Boyfriend and just taking care. Great practice if you ask me :-)

Tokyo Part 1 - modernity

2010-08-16T22:24:00.000+02:00

So, Tokyo, Japan...
As you know, Japan has been a dream of mine (and Lovely Boyfriend's actually) for, like, ever. And we decided this year would be the year we would go. And we went!

We were there for a little over a week, we flew to Tokyo on August 4th and came back last Friday, August 13th. I wont bore you with how long the journey was and how uncomfortable plane seats are when you really want to sleep (and I'm short. Can't imagine what it's like for tall people).

We stayed in and around Tokyo, but there was so much and so little time that we just walked and walked all over the place. And then we did some walking, and we saw this:

Ikebukuro

View of Tokyo from Sumitomo Building in Shinjuku

Harajuku

Shibuya by day

Shibuya by night

Akihabara - there's a place full of these things, with I don't know how many floors...

This place is amazing. Truly. It is crowded, loud, lit all day long, and yet... yet you never feel stressed out or overwhelmed by noise, it is a really strange feeling. The Japanese society is a very complex one, with so many codes and rules, yet this is the place where you enter a shop thinking you will find there some comics you know or some fun stuff, and then when you go up one floor every shelf is covered with porn (live or animated). The people here are so polite and respectful that the control freak inside of me has started glowing with contentment.

We loved every second of it, and it all went too fast. But we are already making plans to go back there, probable when we win the lottery :-)

Part 2? Traditional side of the city, plus a few confessions, so stay tuned!

Teaser

2010-08-14T19:11:00.000+02:00

Hello dear friends, here I am, back in Brussels. Already, some might say (this means me actually), I can't believe this trip is over, it all went so fast. Forgive me for not posting a proper recap right now, but I am still tired from the journey back and I really need to sort out all the photos. I'll give you a glimpse on what I saw to keep you waiting:

Buddha Kannon, Kamakura, Japan

Also, don't worry I will not leave you without some reading to do: check out The Magazine of Yoga's post on yours truly's blog, while I get some rest and try to stop blushing and pinching myself :-)

Be back soon!

Sayonara for now

2010-08-04T11:40:00.000+02:00

So, today is the day. The day when a lifetime dream is being fulfilled.
We are so excited, you cannot even begin to imagine! We're leaving our apartment in less than 20 minutes, first to catch a train to Paris' airport Charles de Gaulle, where we will meet our group, and then we're flying to Tokyo, landing tomorrow at around 2pm local time (yay jetlag!).

I won't be posting from there (mind you, not that I post everyday anyway), but I'll make sure to be back with plenty of photos and amazing experiences to share with you.

I don't know what my yoga practice will be, I guess I will stick to love, contentment, and soaking it all in!

So for now, have a great time, and I'll be back with some funny and exciting stuff :-)

source

She sells sea shells by the sea shore

2010-08-02T21:15:00.000+02:00

After Brussels, Belgium, and Anost, Burgundy, France, let me introduce you to Ostende, Belgium. So after the city, the country, here is the sea (and now the National Geographic should be begging me to work for them - 'tis the season I guess! wait, where are the mountains?).

Our holidays began officially last Friday evening, but we're not flying to Japan before Wednesday, so we figured that in the midst of the preparations of our dream trip, we would take a break and go to the seaside. Belgium is a small country, by train it would only take us a little over an hour.

I love the city, I love the country, but the sea... the sea is different. I've always loved the sea, especially the Atlantic Ocean in Brittany. It's a little bit further away though, so I'll make do with the Belgian seaside. The sea is what truly reminds me of the greatness of nature, this is the element that we human beings have always tried to tame but which eventually always breaks free.

That would be fried goat's cheese with mango dressing. As I've declared it my duty to taste every vegetarian goat's cheese salad under the sun, I had to have this one. Not the healthiest, but definitely one the best I've ever had!

See, this divine stuff we're always rambling about in yoga? To me it's nature, and the last little trips I've been taking lately have reminded me why I believe what I believe :-)

B to B

2010-07-29T22:49:00.000+02:00

I live in the city, I've always been, I enjoy cities, and when I was a teenager I thought I could never live in the country. I mean, country is boring and full of cows, what's to like about the country?

I still live in the city, the "capital of Europe" even. I enjoy going to London, and I can't wait to go there once a month for a whole weekend of yoga teacher training as of September.

Yet, from time to time, I enjoy a retreat far away, deep in the country, with cows and all.

End of 2008, my parents, who still live in Dijon, bought a small house in Morvan, a rural area in Burgundy. Not the most glamourous part of the Burgundy countryside (wineries!), but the place where you can almost feel still what it was like to live in rural France a century ago while promoting its traditions with the modern IT tools of the society we live in. A place where someone can play the accordion on the street just because they feel like it but also where you can listen to the local American guy sing a Leadbelly song at the pub. A place when goofing around trying to kick into headstand on the crooked ground in the backyard can turn out to be the most fun yoga practice you had lately. A place where you can really, really feel the earth. And reground.

I was there last week, for the weekend, with my parents. I wanted to visit them before leaving for Japan for the holidays. And it was literally like taking a slow, long, nice deep breathe in, and then let it all out.

(yes I like woods. And paths in woods)

B-Day

2010-07-21T17:30:00.000+02:00

Today is Belgium's "Fête Nationale", Belgium Day so to speak.

As you already know (or if you didn't now you do) I am French, but I have been living in Belgium for what will be 10 years in September. 10 years already, and it's been a hell of a ride.
10 years ago I came here originally for work, I had been hired back in France by a young Belgian company with offices in Paris, and after a couple of weeks they sent me here, "only for 3 weeks". My job was interesting, I was young and enthusiastic, I decided to stay here, in the Belgian countryside, not far from Brussels, and meanwhile I had broken up with my then-boyfriend who had stayed in France. I fell in love not long after that, much to my surprise, with a young Belgian boy.

Then the company I was working for went bankrupt. I made the choice to stay in Belgium and relocated to Brussels, found a temp job, broke up with my boyfriend. I met Lovely Boyfriend a couple of months later, the irony being that he is also French and he was in Brussels this day for a party I was also going to!

My work contract came to an end, I found another job at a law office, Lovely Boyfriend became officially Lovely Boyfriend, and moved to Brussels from Paris within six months, and we moved in together.

After a few years we moved in to a bigger apartment, then I changed jobs again (my lawyer boss was driving me insane). Since then I have started practicing yoga, and have embarked on yet another journey.

So, 10 years for me, 7 years for Lovely Boyfriend, Belgium has been our home for quite some time now. Yet, as our perspective about our life is shifting, we are considering moving, this time for another country. We don't know which one yet, but we know we don't want to live the same life as we are living now.

That said, Belgium has been the place of all transformations, the incubator I could say, and it has opened its arms and hugged us as long as we have wanted. I have learned to know this little country and yet I don't understand it. Actually I challenge all foreigners to understand Belgium! It breaks my heart to see the little country that was one of the first to build the European Community not being able to overcome its own community problems and contradictions. Maybe I am being pessimistic, but I honestly don't know whether Belgium will still exist in say 10 years. Or it will still exist, but not as we know it. Is it a good or bad thing? I don't know. But there's one thing I know: the people of this country will not give up :-)

So here is for B.!

The "Bois de la Cambre", right across the street from our apartment, in the middle of the city!

Hey ho, let's go!

2010-07-13T23:08:00.000+02:00

Back from my weekend in London, well to be honest I was back in Brussels yesterday morning but work got in the way of blogging, life happens I guess (oh and I'm lazy sometimes).

My yoga mat and me, all set and ready to go (and obviously food, never forget the food...)

Well, where to start? It was a great, fantastic, exhilarating, uplifting, challenging and inspiring intensive.
We started both days with a great practice, which left me a happy sweaty mess, followed by theory, philosophy, sequencing, use of music, and overall so much to absorb and so little at the same time...

For two days, we managed to build a small community of like-minded individuals, so different and at the same time sharing the same passion and vision, creating such a great atmosphere. I have to say I was - and still am - amazed at my fellow yogis and yoginis' kindness and heart: one of them offered me to stay at her place every time I come over for the TTC, how amazing is that?

I left wanting more, and ready to absorb all the knowledge I can, ready to start the TTC in September, ready to full embrace it, and ready to work my a** off. What a fantastic journey this will be!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it

2010-07-08T18:02:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow night I'll be heading to London (yay!) for a Yoga Teacher Training Immersion, that's the pre-kick-off to the programme I'll be starting in September, the "weekend zero" as I call it.

Now for a little game: am I:
- Beyond excited
- Increasingly nervous
- Violently happy
- All of the above and much more that words can't even begin to describe? (such a disgrace, I'm writing on a blog and I "can't find the words"? oh the nerve)
?

Yup, that's the introduction to the new chapter, I.CAN'T.WAIT!
(and you all know already how much I love London, so don't even get me started on this. Just two words though: WHOLE.FOODS)

"See" you next week!

An end and a start

2010-07-02T22:52:00.000+02:00

July already... I celebrated half 2010 with this:

Times 2. Love champagne!

also because I got this:

Yup, that would be my diploma, I'm smarter and I can be a boss now. Oh and no, the strawberry and cherry stickers didn't come with it, I'm just trying to hide my name in the most graceful and colourful way possible. Lame, I know, but this is me then.

"Grande distinction" means I can be the boss of the world, no less.

This marks the end of my evening course, in the best possible way. New knowledge, new friends, new confidence, new job in the end, it all works out nicely.

It is also the moment to start a new chapter, one I'm beyond excited to open: yoga teacher training. I won't lie, I am also a little bit nervous. Just a little bit. I am expecting a lot and at the same time I don't know what to expect. All that I know is that I'm about to embark on what will certainly be a life-changing journey! I will have a first glimpse with an immersion weekend next week, and then starting September I'll be going to yoga school once a month (which means spending a whole weekend in London once a month, my bank account has been rushed to the hospital for depression but with some support it will make it through the training, and I will be a happy London camper, yes yes yes. I mean, London baby!).

To add up to the fun, to help transitioning between business management evening course and yoga teacher training, Lovely Boyfriend and I will be taking a break in the form of a trip to Japan next month, fulfilling a life-long dream. Could it get any better?

What a year it's been so far, and what it will be!

14 days of night

2010-06-21T10:57:00.000+02:00

Oh dear I've been a bad blogger, a bad bad blogger. Ok, "soon" is not a proper deadline, but in blogland it doesn't mean 2 weeks either, baaad blogger!

Nothing wrong happened, do not worry my friends, I just hibernated in my cave during exam weeks and concentrated almost exclusively on trying to pass with flying colours (and trying not to forget about my day job). I don't have the results yet, this is for next week, but it should be ok.

I have learned a lot in 4 months of being a student again. Of course, I am talking about the mere classes, but not only. This course has been an opportunity to practice yoga off the mat, in a twisted and unconscious way.

You see, one of my problems on the mat is letting go. You always here "let go", which is fine by me but how the hell do I do that? Off the mat it's all a matter of accepting the way things are and not try to force anything into what you think they should be. Working with other people on a presentation has been a big eye opener here: the perfectionist in me had to let go to let other people do their part, not only to give myself some rest but also to let them express themselves. I cringed sometimes at what they had done, or what they hadn't done for that matter. But in the end, even if the result was not exactly the way I wanted it to be, it was the result of a real team work.

I also met people from all kinds of backgrounds, psychology, sea engineering, furniture design, marketing, legal (and this one guy was a count, the heir of one of the oldest noble families in Europe, what are the odds?), you name it. Each one of them taught me something, each one of them had knowledge I didn't have, each one has been a true companion.

As I wrote in my last post, I also finally accepted that I am a ball of stress. I knew it, but I had tried to fight the symptoms, and getting stressed because I was stressed, definitely not a solution! So while I recognized these symptoms (argh abdominal pains), I knew what they were, and didn't pretend they were not here. They were here, I breathed, told them I acknowledged them, and they finally went low profile. Good.

Oh, and very important also : I had fun :-)

What my life has been looking like lately

(source)

On to new projects: in 3 weeks, I will go to London for the weekend zero of yoga teacher training course, yay!

Lesson learned

2010-06-07T23:49:00.000+02:00

Did you know I'm a crazy list maker? Oh yeah you knew ;-) So easy when you can't be bothered to write a full blown post run out of time because of a crazy schedule ("once more unto the breach my friend", and it will soon be over)

A couple of random things:
- I'm quoting Shakespeare because I want to and I love "Henry V".
- I am good at accounting. Yeah, I know. So exciting.
- I am a ball of stress when I have exams / have to travel (not because of getting on a plane or a train, but because my worst fear in traveling is missing said plane or train - yes I am extreme like that), and there's nothing I can do about it (you don't want to know the symptoms, let's just say I have to turn a special room in my apartment into my secondary residence on those days).
- But there's one thing yoga has taught me: acceptance. They (who?) say yoga is good for stress management. At least I have learned to manage by accepting and letting things be. Stress (and subsequent abdominal pains) does not define me, but it's part of me. Fighting it will make it worse, so I'll just breathe and acknowledge it's here. In a way it makes me feel better.
- This, and not having dairy.
- I love working from home. I have to negotiate this more often :-D
- I love dried mango, but you knew this already.
- I have to go to bed, or I won't be able to wake up tomorrow.
- I will write a real post soon, I promise.

Relaaaaax

2010-06-01T21:56:00.002+02:00

Done:
- Finance presentation : check;
- Start studying for exams: check;
- Speak to HR about job change: check;
- Hurt my calf muscle and not be able to work out: check;
- Getting really tired: check;
- Practice yoga: check

To do:
- Keep studying. Ugh, when?
- Stop losing my marbles at work: working on it;
- Prepare job evolution. Patience patience patience, it will happen, transition will last a few months, patience patience patience;
- Practice yoga: more than ever. I need my time on the mat to keep my sanity and keep my life off the mat in check;
- Try not to let my sweet tooth lead completely when stressed. Oh come on, dark hazelnut chocolate never hurt anyone. Please?
- Get some sleep. Right;
- Get a social life back. Don't even remember what it is;
- Remember to spend some QT with Lovely Boyfriend. The only moments we're getting together are when we are food shopping and cleaning the apartment, and we still manage to have some fun and laugh. Did I mention he's the best?
- And remember to breathe :-)

I am tired, juggling a full time job and evening classes even if only twice a week (and a couple of Saturdays) can be tough. Especially when said job is no longer satisfying and it takes me twice as long to accomplish simple tasks. But in two weeks my exams will be almost over, and i will change jobs, still working at the same company but having a different position (thank you universe!), not exactly what I want to be in the long term but it is one step closer. i just have to hold on a little bit more and everything will fall into place.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Check.

Manic Monday... not

2010-05-24T17:08:00.000+02:00

Uh oh, I almost forgot I had a blog there!
These last few days have been exhausting, as I had planned, what with work, classes, yoga workshops, oh and trying to find some moments with Lovely Boyfriend too! I'm glad today is a public holiday here, I can tell you...

But it seems this week is starting on the right foot:
- as you know my job is slowly getting my brain to shut down, but there might be an opportunity for me to evolve in the future, in the same company. It's ok, I love working there, it's just the JOB I do I'm starting to hate. Let's see how it unravels, meeting with HR tomorrow... this won't be my life-long goal, but it's a nice step towards it.

- evening classes: the second-to-last week is now starting, and the exams are looming. Which means it will be over soon and my schedule will be a bit lighter (and my resume a little bit heavier ;-)). First exam: next Saturday, presentation of a business plan in group. I thought we would never be done on time, but it seems now that I was wrong. Still some work to do, but we'll get there!

Home office

Oops, wrong window!

- I had an amazing yoga workshop this weekend, on Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. It was hard after the third practice, but it also felt so good! My teacher here in Brussels is just great :-)

It's beautiful here today, I think my terrace is calling my name. Have a great week!

I like food, food tastes good

2010-05-15T17:53:00.001+02:00

*Beware, totally random post written between setting a business plan and drafting a HR dissertation, all for my evening classes final - don't expect anything coherent and super wise*

I would love to tell you that Emma's post on eating more when practicing yoga got me thinking and that I came up with deep thoughts on diet and yoga and that I now am a great swami and can start a yoga style of my own.
Oh yeah, I would love to tour the world promoting my style and books and make major bucks out of it and inspire people.

But I will not tell you this, because it didn't happen. I will only reiterate my love of food and say it loud: I like food, food tastes good (maybe not "greasy burgers greasy fries", but you get the idea).
I have a healthy balanced vegetarian diet, making sure I eat enough to get me going through the crazy days of work/evening classes/yoga practice/workouts/what's left to live. But first and foremost, I eat food I love, I don't eat food I barely enjoy just because "it's good for my health". I eat to live and because I love it :-)

This is my plate from yesterday evening, after working out. Yes I devoured it all. And then I had a small pack of dried mango. And some chocolate. Because I'm worth it.

Enough with the randomness, I have to get some work done. Or yoga. Or work. Or yoga.

*EDIT: yoga 1 - work 0*

London and Bruss'hell

2010-05-10T14:15:00.000+02:00

Oh my, last week was awful, maybe I should have stayed in London ;-)
I almost forgot to show you where I spent the whole weekend last week, so here we go:

First Whole Foods experience - I will never get over it. Why isn't there one in Brussels?

First Whole Foods loot - it was not the last my friends

One thing was already eaten when the picture was taken, can you spot it?

See that place with the purple logo? That was the yoga studio (www.triyoga.co.uk). Lovely!

And that little tea salon is where I sipped a nice cup of green Earl Grey tea, in front of the studio, on the very first day. Nice way to start the weekend!

It was hard to come back to Brussels, I've just felt out of place since. The Baron Baptiste weekend left me tired not only physically but also emotionally, I felt drained. And last week at work was horrible. I won't go into details but I'm getting more and more frustrated in my job, I'm not the only one here so in a way it kind of makes things more bearable. In a way...
The thing is, I know what I want to do but it will take some time and additional training to do it. Or maybe I should start acting and stop planning? Maybe ;-)

In one month I will already be in exam period, and I have some homework to do before that, it's a bit overwhelming but I will get things done. And I will pass with flying colours, because I said it :-D
I hope to be blogging more often but I have a lot of work to do, so I'll do my best!

No words

2010-05-03T15:33:00.000+02:00

can truly truly describe what I experienced this week end.

(source)

I cannot just write a proper recap, it would not do justice to what really happened. Actually I am not sure I know what really happened, it's still sinking it.
The funny thing is, when I signed for this training I was more intrigued than excited, a bit skeptical maybe, but I wanted to see for myself and learn (and practice yoga in London? where do I sign?). So I went with an open mind. Ok, I still have some perspective here, but I have to admit that nothing could have prepared me for this.

I didn't expect to be so touched and moved, I didn't expect to dig so deep into my own self, I didn't expect to sweat so much (oh yeah!), I didn't expect to stand on my hands (with great assists may I add), I didn't expect to break down in savasana, I didn't expect to have such a powerful meditation, connected with all the people around me and yet being out there, "seeing" beyond the very room, I didn't expect to stand up and share my meditation experience with this yoga community I was part of for the week end. I didn't expect all of this, yet it all happened and I'm still in shock ;-)

I can sense more happened, deep down, but it has yet to be shown to be.

I am tired, physically and emotionally, and yet I feel so empowered now.

I'll leave you with what I wrote on my notebook when Baron asked what our new way of being was: my new way of being is of confidence, openness, and fearlessness. The possibilities for me now would be to connect with people, and show people that it is possible to let go of fear. This is what inspires me, and this is the message I will send out there when I teach.

I can't wait to go back to London and start my teacher training!

Home

2010-04-29T12:15:00.003+02:00

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)

2010-04-20T14:51:00.001+02:00

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

2010-04-16T14:44:00.000+02:00

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

2010-04-12T11:15:00.000+02:00

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

2010-04-06T18:23:00.000+02:00

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?

(H)eart(h) hour

2010-03-29T12:40:00.009+02:00

Il semblerait que ce week-end ait été le week-end de l'heure en Europe, avec un passage à l'heure d'été et surtout Earth Hour.Avec cher et tendre on avait décidé de joindre le mouvement et d'éteindre les lumières pendant une heure, de 20h30 à 21h30 heure locale. La question était donc: qu'est-ce qu'on va faire? Et pourquoi pas un dîner aux chandelles, avec le moins de travail en cuisine possible pour ne pas utiliser les appareils électriques?

Facile : plats à emporter de chez O Liban, traiteur libanais au coin de la rue, ouééé! Pour 13 euros on peut se construire son assiette végétarienne avec un assortiment de 8 bonnes choses. Et c'est un délice!

His plate: tomato radish and cucumber salad x2; Lebanese tabbouleh; broad bean salad; hummus; moussaka sans meat; roasted spicy potatoes; spinach turnover

My plate, more or less the same, without the tomato and radish salad, with veggie omelette

On a même eu à manger pour le lendemain :-)

Glorious hummus

Mais ce que je retire de cette heure, au-delà de l'engagement personnel et de la bonne bouffe ;-), c'est que ça a été le moment le plus paisible, calme et reposant qu'on ait eu de la semaine, et qui plus est un moment partagé. Quand l'heure s'est officiellement terminée, nous n'avons pas rallumé les lumières tout de suite, nous avons continué à parler pendant de longs instants, de la façon la plus ouverte qui soit. Et c'était bien. On s'est dit qu'on devrait faire ça plus souvent ;-)

Et vous, avez-vous pris part à cette heure pour la terre?

It seems that last week end was placed under the sign of time in Europe, what with daylight savings and Earth Hour.

Lovely Boyfriend and I had already decided to join the movement and turn the lights off for one hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm loca

l time. But then the question was: what are we going to do? Why not have a candle-lit dinner with minimum work involved, not turning on the kitchen appliances?

Easy peasy: take-away food from O Liban, small Lebanese restaurant at the corner of the street, yay!

For 13 euros you can choose 8 yummu foods to build your own vegetarian plate. And it is so good!

We even had leftovers for lunch the next day :-)

But what I loved the most about this hour, beyond personal involvement and the yummy food ;-) was that it was the most peaceful, quiet and soothing moment we had in the entire week, and on top of it we shared it together. When the hour officially came to its end, we didn't turn the lights back on, we kept talking and having the most open and best conversation. And it felt good. We figured we should turn the lights off more often ;-)

What about you, did your turn the lights off?

Let the sun shine in

2010-03-23T11:52:00.010+01:00

Enfin un rayon de soleil, oui même ici en Belgique, il était temps je crois!

Le premier trimestre de 2010 s'achève déjà, c'est fou comme le temps passe vite...

Pour célébrer l'arrivée du printemps et les 3 mois de 2010, prenons un peu de recul, avec 10 petites choses qui me font dire merci:

- Un bel hiver. Alors oui il a été long, mais ce fut un vrai hiver froid, neigeux et magnifique. Quoi de mieux que passer les fêtes sous un manteau blanc?

- Ma formation en gestion: ça peut paraître un peu rébarbatif, mais c'est super intéressant, j'apprends énormément. Ca servira à mon futur business ;-) mais ça me sert déjà maintenant. Et je rencontre des gens, mes professeurs ou mes camarades étudiants, d'une richesse incroyable;

- La noix de coco, sous toutes ses formes, oh yeah!

- On part au Japon (bon ok c'est en août mais c'est réservé, ça compte non?!)

- Etre acceptée à ma formation de professeur de yoga qui démarre en septembre, youhou! D'ailleurs je viens juste de recevoir les bouquins que je devrai lire, plus quelques autres que j'ai commandés pour ma propre culture, je sais déjà quelles seront mes lectures d'été!

- D'une façon plus générale, le voyage de découverte personnelle que j'ai entamé, et continué cette année avec le yoga. Je me sens une meilleure personne, pas par rapport à un jugement extérieur qui finalement m'importe peu, mais c'est un ressenti vraiment personnel;

- Réussir à passer du temps avec mon cher et tendre, au milieu de toute cette folie. Il est mon ancre, voilà;

- La mangue séchée. Je me nourris de mangue séchée. Je vis de mangue séchée;

- Ma famille: mes parents, mon frère. Ils sont loin, et ils doivent me prendre pour une espèce de folle, mais ils me soutiennent dans mes choix. Retour aux racines prévu bientôt pour quelques jours :-)

- Enfin, la blogosphère: tous les jours en vous lisant j'apprends quelque chose, tous les jours je souris et je ris grâce à vous, tous les jours j'ai l'impression d'avoir des amis aux quatre coins du monde. Merci à vous qui commentez, merci à vous qui écrivez même si vous ne savez même pas que j'existe ;-), merci!

Et vous, qu'est-ce qui vous fait dire merci?

At last a ray of sunshine, yes even here in Belgium, it was high time!

The first quarter of 2010 is nearing its end, where did the time go?

To celebrate spring and the fist 3 months of 2010, let's take some perspective, with a list of 10 small things I am thankful for:

- A beautiful winter. Yes it was long, but it was a real cold wintry and amazing winter. What's better than Christmas under a blanket of snow?

- My management course: it may sound boring, but it is indeed interesting, I am learning a lot. It will help for my future business ;-) but it already is useful. Not to mention the people I have met, teachers and students alike, who are all beautiful people;

- Coconut, in all shapes, oh yeah!

- We-re going to Japan (ok it's in August, but it is booked, so it counts right?)

- To be accepted in the yoga teacher training course starting in September, wooza! I have juste received the books I will have to read, and others I ordered just for me, I already know what my summer reads will be!

- In general the self-discovery journey I have embarked on, with yoga. I feel I am a better person, not because of someone else's opinion or judgment, it's just a very personal feeling;

- Being able to spend some quality time with my lovely boyfriend in the midst of all this madness. He's my anchor, that's it.

- Dried mango. I feed off dried mango. I live off dried mango;

- My family: my parents, my brother. They're a bit far, and they must think I am some kind of lunatic, but they respect my choices and support me. Back to my roots soon for a few days :-)

- And the blogosphere: every day when I read you I learn something, everyday I smile and laugh thanks to you, everyday it's like I have friends around the world. Thanks to you who leave comments, thanks to you who write even though you don't even know I exist ;-); thank you!

What about you, what are you grateful for?

I had a dream

2010-03-16T10:53:00.008+01:00

Quand j'étais petite, j'étais fan de dessins animés. J'ai même fait un an de volleyball à cause d'un dessin animé, moi qui n'étais pas sportive du tout. Je fais partie de cette génération "Club Dorothée", qui a grandi avec Goldorak, les Chevaliers du Zodiaque, et qui a développé une certaine fascination pour le Japon.

Quand j'étais petite, j'avais fait une petite liste de rêves à réaliser, je ne me souviens que de deux: apprendre à piloter un hélicoptère (ben oui... ahem) et aller un jour au Japon.

Quand j'ai grandi, j'ai gardé cette attirance pour le Japon, sans aller jusqu'à l'extrême non plus : je ne suis pas une cosplayer, je n'ai pas trois tonnes de manga dans ma chambre, je ne suis pas une otaku non plus, bref... mais y aller, ah ça oui c'est resté bien ancré! Mais ça coûte cher, d'aller au Japon...

Quand j'ai rencontré cher et tendre, c'est une des choses qui nous a rapprochés. Avant même qu'il ne devienne "cher et tendre", on parlait d'aller au Japon ensemble. Quand nous sommes devenus un couple, c'est devenu un de nos projets de couple. Nous on veut pas se marier, avoir des enfants, acheter une maison-un break-un chien, nous on veut aller au Japon!

Mais c'est resté un rêve, pendant des années...

Jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Ou plutôt samedi dernier.

Samedi dernier, nous avons fait l'aller-retour Bruxelles-Paris juste pour aller voir une agence de voyages spécialisée Japon, qui propose 1) un circuit intéressant avec option manga ;-) 2) pas trop trop cher, enfin pour le Japon, 3) à des dates possibles pour nous deux. Bon ok c'est en groupe et il faut au moins 4 personnes pour que le voyage soit confirmé, mais à nous deux on est déjà la moitié du minimum requis, ça va aller non?

JE SUIS SUPER CONTENTE, YOUHOU!!

Pour fêter ça, comme on se trouvait dans le quartier japonais, on est allés manger des sushis :-)

D'abord une petite soupe miso et une petite salade de chou pour commencer:

Ensuite des sushi végés à l'avocat avec un bon thé vert (je ne vous ferai pas l'affront de charger la photo, elle est complètement floue et horrible, vive l'iphone), puis une brochette de champignons et un bol de riz:

Après ça une petite marche digestive s'imposait, et après la marche un bon café dans un vrai café parisien nous a tenu chaud, jusqu'au train de retour à Bruxelles.

Un projet, un rêve qui se concrétise, ça fait bizarre, mais qu'est-ce que ça fait du bien! (et 2010 est officiellement l'année où j'explose mes économies, mais on ne vit qu'une fois n'est-ce pas?)

When I was young, I used to watch TV animes, a lot. I even practiced volleyball for one year because of an anime, even though I hated sports. I am a offspring of the "Club Dorothée" (a show for children) generation, I grew up with UFO Robot Grendizer, Saint Seiya and the likes, and developed a certain attraction towards Japan.

When I was young I wrote a list of dreams, I can only remember two: train to be a helicopter pilot (yeah I know...), and travel to Japan someday.

As I grew up, this love for Japan remained, but I was not an extremist of sorts: I am not a cosplayer , I don't keep 3 tons of manga books in my room, I am not an otaku , anyway... but going there, oh yeah! It's expensive though, going to Japan...

When I met my lovely bf, it was one of those things that drew us closer. Even before he was "lovely bf", we spoke about going to Japan together. When we became a couple, going to Japan became one of our projects. We don't want to get married, we don't want to have kids, we don't want to buy a house-a SUV-get a dog, we want to go to Japan!

But it remained a dream, for years...

That is, until today. Or until last Saturday, more like. Saturday we went to Paris only to visit a Japan-only travel agency, which offers 1) very interesting organized trip, with option "manga" ;-), 2) not too expensive, I mean for Japan, 3) when both of us will be able to take days off. Ok, we have to have 4 people in the group to confirm the trip, but with the 2 of us it's already one half, so it should be fine right?

I AM OVER THE MOON!!

To celebrate, as we were in the Japanese neighbourhood, we had sushi :-)

First miso soup and cabbage salad to start.

Then avocado rolls with nice green tea (no picture here, I took one but it's so blurry and horrible I can't put it up, thanks iphone), then marinated mushroom brochette and a bowl of rice.

All this yumminess called for a digestive walk, which in turn called for a nice warm coffee in a real Parisian café, and it was time to take the train back to Brussels already.

A project, a dream coming true, feels weird, but it feels so good! (and 2010 is officially the year when I blow all my savings, but we only live once right?)

Economicsasana

2010-03-10T10:44:00.004+01:00

(source)

(2 posts dans la même semaine, mais que se passe-t-il?)

On a coutume de dire en yoga que les postures que l'on aime le moins sont celles dont on a le plus besoin, celles qu'il faudrait travailler...

Comme vous le savez (ou pas, d'ailleurs), je suis une formation "en outils de gestion", en cours du soir, et dans cette formation, il y a cours avec lequel mes petits camarades et moi avons vraiment du mal: le cours d'économie (*soupir*). 4 cours étaient prévus au planning de la formation, plus 1 qu'on nous a rajouté, hier soir.

J'ai décidé d'aborder ce cours comme une posture de yoga qui ne ferait pas partie de mes préférées: en y allant, tout simplement. Et en me concentrant sur ce que disait notre professeur, en faisant de mon mieux pour comprendre, en essayant d'assimiler ("inspire, respire, installe-toi dans la posture et sens l'alignement, inspire, expire, ressens").

En fin de compte, je me suis rendu compte que même si le cours n'est pas le plus attractif au monde, ce professeur est un homme d'une immense culture, auprès duquel nous aurions beaucoup à apprendre. Et un professeur qui mentionne les écritures védiques pendant un cours d'économie ne peut être foncièrement mauvais ;-)

Merci Monsieur P.!

(2 posts in a week, what's going on?)

They say in yoga that the postures you dislike the most are the ones you need the most, the ones you have to work on...

As you may (or may not actually) know, I am pursuing a evening course in "business management tools" until June, and in this course there is a particular class my little friends and I don't really enjoy: economics (*sigh*). We had 4 evenings planned, but another one was added last night.

I decided to approach this class the same way I would a yoga pose that is not part of my favourites: by going, simple as that. And concentrating on what the teacher said, doing my best to understand, trying to soak it in ("inhale, exhale, sink deeper in the pose and feel the alignment, inhale, exhale, feel").

In the end, I realized that even if the class is not the most attractive class in the whole world, this teacher is a wise man with a huge knowledge on a lot of topics, and we could definitely learn a lot from him. And a teacher mentioning vedic scriptures in an economics class can't be bad ;-)

Thanks Mr. P.!

"Did you do ballet?"

2010-03-08T10:30:00.003+01:00

Samedi matin je suis allée à un cours de yoga. Du hatha yoga, qui n'est pas mon style habituel, mais après des semaines à courir partout et à commencer à fatiguer quand même un peu, un peu de douceur était la bienvenue. Plus de deux heures à respirer, s'étirer, bouger en douceur, puis se relaxer...Et à la fin du cours, une de mes "camarades" m'a demandé: "did you do ballet?" ("est-ce que tu as fait de la danse?"). A moi, qui il y a quelques années n'aurais jamais imaginé toucher mes orteils, qui dans sa jeunesse rejetais toute idée d'activité physique, qui étais aussi souple qu'un manche à balai, et qui aurais pu passer pour le Bossu de Notre-Dame tellement je me tenais bien. Elle m'a posé la question, "because of your posture in the poses, straight, tall and shoulders down the back".

1ere leçon: les changements les plus significatifs ne sont pas forcément les plus visibles. Alors oui, je ne maîtrise pas vraiment encore la posture sur la tête au milieu de la pièce, mais je me tiens mieux, je respire mieux, et au quotidien c'est important;

2e leçon: quand j'ai répondu que non je n'avais jamais fait de danse de ma vie, elle m'a répondu que ça lui donnait de l'espoir. Et ça, ça m'a fait plaisir. C'est ça que je veux arriver à transmettre quand je donnerai des cours: que ce que nous croyons impossible est possible, que nous pouvons aller au-delà des limites que nous nous fixons, qu'il faut avoir confiance en soi et son potentiel. J'en suis d'une certaine façon un exemple, même si je n'arrive pas encore à me mettre le pied derrière la tête ;-) j'ai parcouru beaucoup de chemin. Ca commence sur un tapis yoga, mais c'est complètement applicable dans tous les domaines.

Après ces considérations très profondes, continuons dans le thème de la douceur avec des "browmuffins", complètement vegan, complètement santé!

Je me suis inspirée d'une recette que j'ai trouvée il y a longtemps déjà, et je ne sais plus où du tout :-( (si la personne se reconnaît, qu'elle me fasse signe!), et je l'ai un peu adaptée en fonction de ce que j'avais à la maison:

1 1/4 tasse de farine, j'ai utilisée de la farine blanche bio et de la farine d'avoine

1/2 tasse de poudre de cacao (de la vraie, pas du Nesquik!)

Environ 1 cuillère à café de cannelle

1/2 cc de levure

1/2 cc de sel

1/2 tasse de sirop d'agave + 1/2 tasse de sirop d'érable (la recette originale est 1 tasse de sirop d'agave, mais j'arrivais presque à la fin de ma bouteille et j'avais aussi envie d'un goût plus "terrien")

1/3 tasse d'huile végétale (ai utilisé de l'huile de tournesol)

extrait de vanille

1/2 à 3/4 de tasse de cerneaux de noix en petits morceaux

Préchauffer le four à 180°C / 350°C.

Dans un premier bol, mélanger les ingrédients secs. Dans un deuxième bol, mélanger les ingrédients liquides. Ajouter les ingrédients liquides aux secs et mélanger jusqu'à former une pâte homogène. Rajouter les noix. Verser la préparation dans des moules à muffins et faire cuire pendant 15 minutes (on peut aussi, comme dans la recette originale, en faire un brownie classique et utiliser un moule à gâteaux carré ou rectangulaire, et faire cuire 20 minutes).

Etre fort et attendre que ça refroidisse un peu avant d'en engloutir un avec un bon thé!

On Saturday morning I went to a yoga class. Hatha yoga, which is not my usual style, but after weeks of running around like a headless chicken I needed something gentle and soothing. More than two hours breathing, stretching, moving slowly, and relaxing...

And then at the end of the class, one of the ladies asked me: "did you do ballet?". Of all people, me, who a few years ago couldn't touch my toes to save my life, who rejected vehemently any kind of physical activity, who was as flexible as a broomstick, who could have played the Hunchback of Notre-Dame because of poor posture. She asked me she said, "because of your posture in the poses, straight, tall, and shoulders down the back".

1st lesson: the most important changes are not the most visible ones. Yes, I still need to work on headstand, but I stand and sit taller, I breathe better, and that's what matters in everyday life;

2nd lesson: when I answered no, I never did ballet, she said "then it gives me hope for the future". And I felt so happy. This is what I want to convey when I start teaching, that what you believe is impossible is actually possible, that you can go beyond the limitations you set, that you have to trust yourself and your potential. I am in a way an example of that, even if I can't yet put my foot behind my head ;-) I have come a long way. It starts on a yoga mat, but it doesn't stop there.

After all the deep thoughts, let's continue being gentle with ourselves with these "browmuffins", completely vegan, completely healthy!

I used a recipe I've had for some time but never used, I can't remember where I got it from :-( (if you recognize your recipe, drop me a line!), and I tweaked it a little bit according what I had at home:

1 1/4 cup flour, I used organic white pastry flour and oat flour

1/2 cup cacao powder

About 1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cc salt

1/2 cup agave nectar + 1/2 cup maple syrup (the original recipe calls for 1 cup agave, but I was almost running out of it and wanted more of a "earthy" taste)

1/3 cup vegetal oil (I used sunflower, but I bet coconut would add a lovely taste here, why not?)

vanilla extract

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.

In one bowl, mix dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add in the walnuts. Pour in muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes (you can also, as in the original recipe, pour into a 8x8-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes)

Be strong and let cool before enjoying one with a nice cup of tea!

Déjà mars!

2010-03-02T10:58:00.005+01:00

Oulala ça fait une semaine, même plus, que je n'ai pas posté, ouch!

Par quoi je commence, hum hum... Plutôt que de faire un loooong post sur tout et rien, je vais faire une petite liste sur toutes les choses qui m'ont fait sourire et rire ces derniers temps, ça fait du bien quelquefois!

- Ma superbe salade de vendredi soir, restes + improvisation + imagination = miam

salade, olives vertes, tomates séchées, noix de macadamia, raisins secs, hoummous, falafels, levure nutritionnelle - oh et du booon pain à l'épeautre

lettuce, green olives, dried tomatoes, macadamia nuts, raisins, hummus, falafels, nutritional yeast, and goood spelt bread

- Mon superbe risotto au lait de coco et aux noix de cajou de dimanche soir, recette testée et approuvée = miam (y'aurait-il un thème là?)

- Ma formation en outils de gestion. Alors oui c'est 3 heures de cours 2 soirs par semaine après une journée de boulot, c'est un samedi entier par mois, c'est beaucoup de choses à assimiler, et dans mon souci de perfectionnisme quelques heures de boulot à la maison pour relire les cours. Mais j'en suis très contente, c'est vraiment intéressant, et oui ce sont vraiment des outils dans le sens où je sais déjà que je vais pouvoir appliquer tout ce que j'apprends dans mes projets à venir. Donc fatiguée mais contente :-)

- Le soleil qui se montre un peu depuis quelques jours, ça fait un bien fou!

- Est-ce que je dois encore mentionner le yoga?

Je jongle et je cours, mais j'avance dans mes projets, peut-être plus vite que je ne le pensais, mais ça booste!

Ouch I haven't posted in more than a week, not good!

Where do I start? Instead of writing a long post on anything and nothing, i'll just draw a list of the things that have made me smile lately, it's always nice to get a little perspective!

- My lovely Friday night salad: leftovers + improvisation + imagination = yummy

- My lovely Sunday night coconut milk and cashew risotto: tried and true recipe = yummy

- My evening course in "management tools": yes it's 3 hours two times a week, after work. A full Saturday once a month. And being the perfectionnist that I am, a few hours of homework. But I am glad i have signed up for this course, it is really interesting, and I already know I will implement what I am learning in my upcoming project. So tired but happy :-)

- It's been sunny for a couple of days now, feels good!

- Do I really need to mention yoga?

I'm juggling and running, but my projects are moving forward, faster than I thought they would, and it's great!

Week end, really?

2010-02-22T11:18:00.008+01:00

Oulala, voilà un week-end qui fut productif! Et ça ne risque pas de s'arrêter, je me prépare déjà mentalement pour les semaines à venir... En résumé, entre les courses/le ménage/le repassage, il y a eu un peu de yoga,

un peu de lecture qui fait du bien aux zygomatiques,

un peu d'étude,

un peu de chocolat maison à l'huile de coco, yummy! Sérieusement je me demande maintenant pourquoi acheter des tablettes de chocolat alors que je peux en faire du meilleur, avec des superingrédients, en 5 minutes chrono! Allez voir ce blog les amis, vous ne le regretterez pas! J'ai juste ajouté un peu de noix de coco sur le dessus du chocolat parce que j'ai un amoureux de la noix de coco à la maison ;-)

Et aujourd'hui on repart pour une semaine bien chargée, d'autant plus que j'ai cours (droit et compta) toute la journée samedi, argh!

Well, what a productive weekend! And this week and the weeks to come will be no different, I am already mentally preparing... To summarize, in between grocery shopping / cleaning / ironing, there was some yoga practicing

some fun reading

some studying

some homemade chocolate loving! Seriously I don't see the point anymore in buying ready-made chocolate bars when I can make much better chocolate, only with a few super ingredients, and in 5 minutes flat! Check out this blog, you will not regret it! All I added was some shredded coconut as there's a coconut lover at home ;-)

And today first day of another busy week, all the more so since I have class (law and accounts) all day on Saturday, yikes!

Du vin et des flocons d'avoine

2010-02-15T10:23:00.005+01:00

Wine and oats

Un week-end doux...

La semaine dernière a donné lieu à un changement de rythme, vu que j'ai maintenant deux soirées de cours par semaine: oui, j'ai commencé ma formation en gestion! C'est super intéressant, ça me remet en tête des notions connues et ça m'apprend de nouvelles choses. Pour l'instant ça va, avec un minimum de flexibilité j'arrive à jongler entre le boulot, les cours, le yoga, le sport, et mon cher et tendre qui me soutient et qui supporte cette frénésie.

Et ce week-end nous avons profité d'un petit cadeau que l'on nous a fait: une nuit dans un hôtel tout ce qu'il y a de plus charmant, avec dîner le soir et petit-déj le lendemain. Chambre, salon, bar, restaurant, le tout super design, repas plus qu'agréable malgré le peu d'options végétariennes (mais un risotto aux champignons crémeux à souhait), et un petit-déjeûner pour un régiment!

Ca a fait du bien de se retrouver un peu, de partager un vrai repas sans distraction, de prendre du temps tous les deux...

Et une bonne façon de démarrer une autre semaine de folie: porridge sans cuisson, préparé la veille = fabuleux petit-déj ce matin!

Dans un pot de cottage cheese qui arrive à sa fin: 1/2 tasse flocons d'avoine, cottage cheese, 1/2 tasse de lait de soja, 1/2 banane, le tout couvert et au frigo pendant la nuit. Ajouts du matin: 1/2 banane, papaye séchée, beurre de noix de coco, beurre de cacahouète crunchy

Et en route pour une nouvelle semaine, qui commence fort puisque le lundi est un des jours où je retourne à l'école :-)

Sweet week-end...

Last week marked the beginning of a new rhythm for me, as I have now two classes in the evening: yes, I have started my course in management! It's really interesting, reviewing stuff I know and learning new things. For the time being I'm fine, with some flexibility I manage to squeeze everything, my day job, classes, yoga, work out, and of course my lovely boyfriend who supports me and puts up with this frenzy.

And this week end we took advantage of a gift we were give: a night in a lovely hotel, with dinner and breakfast the next morning. The room, the lounge, the bar, the restaurant, everything beautiful, great meal even though there weren't a lot of vegetarian options (but a supa creamy mushroom risotto), a breakfast for a whole army!

It felt good to reconnect a little, to share a real meal without distraction, take some time together...

And what better way to start another crazy week but overnight oats! This morning = yummy breakfast!

And a new week begins full throttle, as on Mondays I go back to school :-)

De l'art de choisir ses réactions

2010-02-12T11:45:00.006+01:00

Il y a à mon boulot une personne qui systématiquement me rend dingue. Mais vraiment. Une personne que pourtant j'apprécie par ailleurs mais qui a l'art d'user et d'abuser de la gentillesse et de la bonne volonté des autres. Elle a une position particulière, et elle en profite.

Et elle me rend dingue.

J'arrive en général à être plus détachée par rapport aux évènements, aux demandes, aux mails qui arrivent dans ma boîte ;-), aux changements de dernière minute, j'ai tendance à dire que "I go with the flow". Mais avec cette personne, rien à faire, elle me fera toujours râââââler. Ou plutôt, je n'arrive pas à m'empêcher de râler. Et c'est là que ce n'est pas facile.

Ma pratique du yoga m'a appris (et m'apprend toujours) la patience, l'humilité, le détachement, et je rencontre une de mes plus grandes épreuves au contact de cette personne (une autre étant faire taire ce fichu ego!). J'ai réfléchi longuement à cette lutte constante entre le fait d'essayer de contrôler mes réactions, et mes râleries constantes qui me font certainement plus de mal qu'à elle (vu qu'elle n'est pas au courant que je râle - ou s'en fout peut-être complètement). Je me demande quelle est la limite entre le détachement ("j'ai le choix de ma réaction") et le renoncement ("whatevaaaa..."), j'oscille entre "on respire et on oublie" et "oui mais zut crotte quand est-ce qu'elle va comprendre, faut quand même lui dire qu'on vit en société blablabla".

Je me rends compte maintenant en écrivant que d'une certaine façon c'est cela qui m'apprendra vraiment à ne pas faire des autres mon problème, à être plus "zen" si je puis dire...

Peut-être qu'au fond je devrais lui être reconnaissante d'être une chieuse finie, parce que c'est l'apprentissage par la pratique ;-)

Oulala malôcrane!

Black trousers (a yoga story)

2010-02-04T15:51:00.009+01:00

(English version below)

Plus d'une semaine sans bloguer, il était temps!

Depuis un moment j'aurais envie de venir raconter tout et n'importe quoi, je sautille de joie à l'intérieur tellement j'ai hâte de commencer mon TTC. Donc on va se calmer, et on va reprendre au début, ou plutôt on va commencer par la fin, donc aujourd'hui.

Aujourd'hui je porte mon pantalon noir que j'aime d'amour, mon pantalon préféré, un que je n'ai jamais eu à retoucher en bas (les joies d'être un peu pas grande...), qui m'enserre bien la taille mais qui a les jambes larges, pas le plus sexy des pantalons mais je l'aime, voilà.

Aujourd'hui je l'ai remis après l'avoir laissé vivre sa vie quelques temps, genre euh plusieurs mois. Et aujourd'hui, je sens que mon pantalon se laisse aller, qu'il ne m'étreint plus aussi bien, que je dois resserrer ma ceinture d'un cran. Et pourtant j'ai pris ces derniers mois un petit peu, juste un petit peu, de poids, on pourrait trouver ça bizarre non?

J'ai commencé le yoga il y a environ 2 ans et demi. A l'époque je prenais un cours par semaine, puis mon cours a été annulé, et j'ai continué à la maison, toujours une fois par semaine, le dimanche... A côté de ça, j'allais deux fois par semaine à la salle de sport pour deux bonnes séances de cardio / muscu, et puis j'ai commencé le pilates.

Et l'année dernière, si je me souviens bien ça devait être vers le mois de mai, j'ai commencé à vouloir approfondir le yoga, à me plonger dedans. Comme un ami qu'on a dans sa vie, avec qui on passe de bons moments, et puis un jour on se rend compte qu'on en est follement amoureuse!

Depuis j'ai laissé tomber le pilates (pas le temps), je ne vais plus à la salle de sport qu'une fois par semaine, quelquefois deux mais c'est rare (pas le temps pour plus, mais une bonne suée de temps en temps ça fait du bien), et ma pratique du yoga a pris une ampleur que je n'aurais jamais soupçonnée il y a même un an.

Et depuis je me renforce, je m'affine, je me muscle, je prends un peu de poids :-D, et moi qui étais aussi souple qu'un lampadaire qui aurait eu un balai dans le c**, j'arrive à toucher mes pieds, ouééééééé! Et ce ne sont là que les aspects purement physiques de la pratique.

A côté de ça, je suis plus tolérante, plus détachée par rapport aux petits énervements du quotidien, plus cool quoi. Bon ok, je serai toujours une râleuse de toutes façons hein ;-), mais je crois que je prends les choses avec plus de philosophie. Et je garde un peu plus facilement le sourire...

Et ma taille s'affine alors que je mange des trucs comme ça:

sous la banane, les baies de goji, les céréales, y'a du porridge (avoine + lait de soja + eau) (underneath the banana, goji berries and granola, there's oatmeal, cooked with soy milk and water)

dessert d'un soir: cottage cheese + cerises en bocal + beurre de cacahouète + confiture (cottage cheese + canned cherries + peanut butter + jam, as dessert)

risotto sauce tomate et champignons avec de la levure alimentaire (tomato and mushroom risotto, covered with nutritional yeast, oh yeah!)

Le poids n'est qu'un numéro, et pas forcément le seul indicateur de minceur et de bonne santé. Aujourd'hui je pèse mon poids le plus élevé depuis des années, et je n'ai jamais été en meilleure forme, physiquement, mentalement, spirituellement!

More than a week without blogging, it was high time!

I've been wanting to write just about anything and everything, I'm jumping inside looking forward to my TTC. So I'll just calm down, and start from the beginning, or rather the end, that is today.

Today I'm wearing black trousers I looove, my favourite pair, one I never had to shorten (I'm not exactly tall, you see..), which is tight at the waist, with flared legs. Not the most sexy of trousers, but I love it, so there. Today I'm wearing them after letting them live their life for a while, a couple of months maybe. And today, I feel like they are not hugging me at the waist like they used to, my belt is buckled up tighter. Still over the last months I have put on a little bit of weight, not much, but still. Weird, huh?

I started yoga about two and a half years ago. At the time I was taking a yoga class once a week, then this class got cancelled, and I kept practicing at home, once a wee, on Sundays... I also went to the gym for a good cardio/weight sesh twice a week, I started going to pilates classes too.

Then last year, I think it was around May, I started wanting to delve deeper in yoga. Just like a friend you enjoy hanging out without, and one day you wake up and realize that your are in fact madly in love with them!

I don't do pilates anymore (don't have time), I am going to the gym only once a week, sometimes two but not often (don't have time for more, still enjoy breaking a good ol' sweat from time to time), and my yoga practice has taken off, and is now such a great part of my life, I would have never imagined that even a year ago.

I'm getting stronger, thinner, heavier :-D, and while I was as flexible as (how dear how am I going to translate this? ok here we go) a lamp post with a broomstick shoved up his a**, wow I can touch my toes! And I am only talking about the physical aspects of the practice.

On top of that, I am more open, more detached. Ok I'll still rant sometimes anyway ;-), but I think I'm taking things more lightly. And I am smiling more easily... And my waist is still getting thinner while I eat the yummy things pictured above :-)

Weight is only a number, and doesn't have to be the only indicator of good health. Today I'm at my highest weight in years, and still I have never been feeling so great, physically, mentally, spiritually!

Par ici la bonne soupe!

2010-01-27T11:53:00.008+01:00

J'ai l'impression quelquefois d'avoir tellement à dire mais sans savoir comment, que finalement je n'écris rien.

Je vais donc passer par la bande, et parler miam plutôt :-)

Depuis quelques temps il y a beaucoup de "premières" dans notre cuisine, on s'amuse, on explore, on ose plus... Je ne suis pas une grande cuisinière, loin de là, mais de plus en plus je tente de nouvelles choses. Et à chaque fois je me dis "zut flûte crotte j'aurais du prendre des photos, c'était quand même super bon ça, ça m'aurait fait un chouette post!".

Et enfin! hier soir j'y ai pensé, comme quoi tout arrive!

Voici donc notre miam d'hier soir, une soupe de lentilles au lait de coco, yummy et complètement vegan les amis!

Soupe de lentilles au lait de coco (English version below):

- 1 boîte de lentilles cuites (+/- 265 g, poids égoûté - la mienne faisait dans les 240 g);

- 3 carottes moyennes;

- 1 grosse pomme de terre;

- 1 oignon;

- 1 briquette de lait de coco (20 cl);

- 2 cubes de bouillon dégraissé (j'ai pris deux bouillons de légumes Knorr, pas particulièrement dégraissés vu qu'ils étaient à l'huile d'olive mais c'est pas très grave :-));

- 2 cuillères à soupe d'huile d'olive;

- 1 cuillère à café de cumin en poudre;

- 1 cuillère à café de curry en poudre;

- sel et poivre;

- éventuellement de la coriandre fraîche hâchée (j'ai du faire sans)

Faire revenir l'oignon hâché à feu doux dans une cocotte contenant l'huile.

Saupoudrer les oignons avec le curry et le cumin, mélanger, puis ajouter l

es carottes coupées en rondelles et les pommes de terre taillées en cubes.

Bien mélanger, verser 1 litre d'eau chaude et les bouillons cube émiettés. Couvrir et porter à ébullition, puis laisser mijoter environ 20 minutes à feu doux.

Verser les lentilles égoutées et rincées dans la cocotte, la retirer du feu. Ajouter le lait de coco, bien mélanger, puis tout passer au mixeur.

Porter de nouveau à ébullition, et rectifier l'assaisonnement.

Servir très chaud, avec du pain naan réchauffé, un vrai délice! Si vous avez de la coriandre, vous pouvez saupoudrez la soupe avec, ça doit être encore meilleur (mais mon adorable supermarché affichait un emplacement plein de vide à l'endroit où la coriandre aur

ait du se trouver).

Bon ok ça n'a pas l'air super appétissant comme ça mais si si c'est vach'ment bon!

English version : lentil and coconut soup

- 1 can cooked lentils, drained and rinsed;

- 3 carrots;

- 1 big potato;

- 1 small package of coconut milk, that's about 6.7 oz for the US;

- vegetable broth: 1 liter, so about 33.8 oz for the US;

- 2 TSB olive oil;

- 1 tsp cumin powder;

- 1 tsp curry powder;

- fresh coriander (optional);

- pinch salt and pepper.

First cook the onion on low heat in the oil for five minutes.

Add the cumin and curry, stir well, then add the chopped carrots and onions.

Stir well, pour the vegetable broth in, cover and bring to boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the lentils, take off the heat, add coconut milk, and mix the whole lot :-)

Then bring to boil again, season to taste.

Serve with some chopped coriander if you have any, and with yummy toasted naan bread on the side!

I'll be back!

Comment pratiquer le yoga sur un vélo elliptique

2010-01-21T18:24:00.003+01:00

Très simple: pendant que vous êtes en train d'"elliptiquer" comme un cobaye sur sa roue, prenez le temps de respirer à fond, de scanner votre corps, de vous rendre compte à quel point celui-ci est précieux, de le remercier de vous propulser comme il le fait, de s'émerveiller de la perfection de la machine "corps physique", et de sentir l'énergie du souffle qui alimente ce corps.

Sentez-vous vivre, souriez, soyez présents, dans l'instant.

Just be :-)

L'attente...

2010-01-19T11:44:00.002+01:00

L'attente de la réponse, l'attente après avoir posé mon deuxième jalon, l'attente qui m'a fait trépigner depuis même en sachant que je n'aurais la réponse qu'en janvier...

Et enfin un mail, LE mail, qui me dit que oui, c'est bon ma fille, nous te confirmons ta place. Ma place? Oui, ma place dans un YTTC, pour les non-initiés "Yoga Teacher Training Course", yéééééééé!

A partir de septembre, je vais donc suivre une formation pour être professeur de yoga Vinyasa, le temps d'une année académique! Ca se passera à Londres (double yééééééé) un we par mois, ça va me coûter un pont, mais je suis prête à faire ce "sacrifice" qui à mon sens n'en est pas un tellement je vais apprendre...

Pour récapituler, voilà donc une année bien sympathique que je me prépare:

- De février à juin: formation en gestion;

- A partir de septembre: TTC

sans compter toutes les jolies choses qui s'annoncent de part et d'autre...

Va falloir prendre des vitamines!

Un dimanche en hiver...

2010-01-11T10:36:00.003+01:00

Dimanche matin, la ville se réveille sous une couette blanche, et on démarre la journée avec des pancakes à la noix de coco, what else? :-)

Beaucoup de premières en cuisine ce week-end: des panais au four (yummy!), du tempeh mariné et revenu à la poële (yummy!), et donc ces pancakes à la noix de coco, végétaliennes de surcroit (recette de "Vegan with a vengeance", encore yummy!), j'ai adoré!

Une nouvelle semaine commence, avec un peu de chance elle apportera aussi son lot de nouveautés :-)

Happy new year

2010-01-06T15:00:00.004+01:00

Il est temps non? :-)

Une fin d'année speed au boulot, des vacances pendant lesquelles j'ai dormi, vu des gens, bien mangé, trop mangé, et surtout surtout je ne me suis pas approché trop près d'un ordinateur, et une reprise somme toute assez soft, en tous cas pour l'instant...

Et de la bonne galette des rois pour ne pas arrêter les fêtes trop brutalement, miam!

Et ensuite, après un dîner pro ce soir et mon anniversaire cette semaine, j'arrête de manger comme une vache, je vais exploser là!

J'aimerais que cette année soit la concrétisation, ou en tous cas le prolongement, du changement entamé l'année dernière. Que cette année soit mémorable, en positif si possible hein... Pas de résolutions vraiment, je n'en fais jamais.

Mais il m'est arrivé une petite expérience assez surprenante et très révélatrice, alors qu'il y a deux jours je renouais enfin avec la méditation: on dit que la méditation c'est "sit still and forget the world", et pourtant mon cerveau continue à turbiner à 100 000 tours/minute. Et là j'ai laissé faire, laissé les pensées arriver et repartir, et quelque chose en est ressorti, une espèce de formule définitive qui s'est ancrée dans mon esprit et que je n'ai pas oubliée, en me disant "CA c'est ma résolution 2010!". Donc c'est année mon mantra sera "affirmer ma personnalité et oublier mon ego", et non ce n'est pas antinomique...

"Affirmer ma personnalité" parce que très souvent je suis un peu trop gentille et j'ai du mal à dire non, notamment au boulot. J'ai aussi quelquefois du mal à faire complètement fi du regard des autres, et très souvent j'arrondis les angles pour, je ne sais pas, rencontrer une espèce d'approbation? Eh bien cette année j'ai décrété que ça ne serait pas le cas, que la perception que les autres ont de ma vie n'est pas mon problème.

Et "oublier mon ego", ça j'en ai déjà parlé, j'ai tendance à me comparer aux autres, par exemple pendant les cours de yoga, au lieu de me concentrer sur ma pratique. Je suis contente quand j'arrive à faire une posture mieux que les autres, et je râle quand c'est l'inverse. Et je ne devrais même pas les regarder, après tout...

Voilà le travail pour cette année, ça promet!

Bonne année!

Je reviens

2009-12-14T11:39:00.002+01:00

Eh bien, deux semaines, même plus, que je n'ai pas posté...

Entretemps il y a eu la semaine à Paris, avec en point d'orgue cet évènement qui m'a presque fait changer d'avis sur la voie que je prends... pour à peu près deux heures. Et ensuite de nouveau je me suis dit que oui il fallait que je change...

Et ce week-end... j'ai fait quelque chose que j'avais dit que je ferais cette année (il est temps!), et j'en suis heureuse. Enfin j'ai fait ma petite retraite de yoga, enfin un week-end entier immergée dans le yoga, et même si en arrivant vendredi après-midi j'étais un peu perdue et je me demandais ce que je faisais là, le reste du week-end a été super, avec des nouvelles expériences d'un côté (méditation, chants, conférences...) et approfondissement de l'autre (asanas), le tout à un rythme auquel malgré tout on s'habitue vite (lever à 5h30 un we, jamais fait ça moi!). Et alors la nourriture (végétarienne of course) ... miami miam miam!

Ca fait tellement de bien! Maintenant je dois me programmer le prochain we là-bas :-)

Om shanti ;-)

Paris by day, Paris by night...

2009-11-27T10:26:00.002+01:00

Et me voilà à Paris pour le boulot, jusqu'à mercredi prochain.

Ca ne m'amuse pas d'être séparée de cher et tendre pendant ces quelques jours, mais je dois avouer que c'est plutôt amusant.

Bon ok, j'ai des journées de dingue, j'ai tout le temps faim mais j'essaie de ne

pas manger trop de cochonneries, je sais pas ce que je pourrai coller comme sport dans ces journées, sans parler de ma pratique yogesque qui est mise à mal on va dire (le soir: dodo direct, le matin: lever le plus tard possible pour profiter du lit encore un piti peu s'il vous plaît).

Mais il y a des bons côtés quand même, et passer tous les matins par le Jardin des Tuileries n'est pas complètement désagréable....

J'hésite

2009-11-23T12:41:00.002+01:00

J'hésite à écrire, mais ça fait un petit temps maintenant que je n'ai rien écrit. J'hésite malgré tout parce que je ne suis pas la plus positive et enthousiaste des personnes pour l'instant.

Mais d'une certaine façon j'ai besoin que ça sorte, et quand j'en aurai assez de me plaindre alors j'arrêterai :-)

J'ai du mal, j'ai énormément de mal à apprécier les bonnes choses, parce que journées longues, stress pesant, ras-le-bol permanent, il faut que ça change, il faut que JE change les choses parce que personne ne va le faire à ma place. Je sais que j'ai déjà commencé le processus, mais je dois encore attendre que ça commence vraiment et ça ne sera pas avant l'année prochaine.

En attendant je me traîne et j'ai l'impression de perdre mon temps, mon énergie et ma santé, parce que oui ça se répercute sur ma santé maintenant.

Je dois encore tenir, et enfin ça bougera, enfin enfin enfin!

Et en plus là j'ai faim :-D

L'ego n'a pas sa place

2009-11-13T11:22:00.004+01:00

Ah ça fait du bien de revenir...

Je vais pas faire un récap détaillé du week-end, mais qu'est-ce que c'était bien! Du temps pour nous, et du quality time, mais voui... Soleil, mer, bon miam, tout y était, c'était court mais bon. Et si vous cherchez un restaurant végétarien à Malaga, allez à Canadu, plaza de la Merced 21, ils ont un hoummous rouge (avec betterave) à tomber, miam miam!

Sorry pour la photo pourrie made in iPhone. Nous avons donc croquettes de pommes et pignons sur une assiette, et sur l'autre endives et hoummous à la betterave, yummy!

A Malaga j'ai à peine pratiqué le yoga, je n'ai pas exactement pris le temps, et j'ai donc recommencé mercredi, après quasiment une semaine d'arrêt. C'est là d'où vient mon titre, même si ce n'est pas tellement évident :-D

J'ai d'abord fait un podcast de Wade Zinter mercredi. Puis hier soir je suis allée à mon cours habituel de yoga Indian, sans oublier ma petite séquence au lever. Entretemps je suis tombée sur l'histoire de la posture du guerrier . Et alors?

Et alors hier soir je n'étais pas contente de moi. D'une part parce que je n'ai pas réussi à faire certaines postures que j'ai déjà réussi dans le passé (mon équilibre est resté en Espagne il faut croire), et d'autre part parce que je n'avais pas à ne pas être contente de moi. Mon corps m'a dit "pas ce soir chérie" et c'est tout, mais je n'arrivais pas à me défaire de cette insatisfaction.

Et ce matin, au moment de ma petite séquence matinale, alors que je bougeais en guerrier, tout s'est mis en place. Tout a "fait sens": je me suis rappelée de l'histoire du guerrier Virabadra, de la parabole et de ce qu'elle signifiait, du combat mené par le coeur contre l'ego.

Et ce matin ma pratique a eu d'un coup plus de sens, et j'ai mené mon combat.

Je l'ai gagné, temporairement du moins. Mon plus gros problème dans la pratique du yoga n'est pas le fait de ne pas arriver à prendre des postures correctement, ce n'est pas un problème du reste. Mon plus gros problème, c'est de mettre ce fichu ego en veilleuse :-D Pour ça le yoga est une vraie école d'humilité, et ça, ça me plaît :-)

Loooooooong week-end

2009-11-06T16:13:00.003+01:00

qui s'annonce, rha ça va faire du bien!

Malaga, nous voilà! Plus l'heure tourne, plus j'ai hâte, même si ce n'est que pour 2-3 jours, ça va faire du bien avant la frénésie qui s'annonce au bureau.

Comment je vais faire pour tout combiner jusqu'à la fin de l'année, j'en sais rien du tout, entre le boulot qui va me demander beaucoup de temps et d'énergie, le yoga et autres passages à la salle de sport, et ne pas oublier mon cher et tendre bien sûr...

Ce long week-end est l'un des derniers que je pourrai lui consacrer vraiment pleinement avant la période de folie qu'on va traverser ici, qu'on a déjà commencé à traverser d'ailleurs.

Et fin novembre-début décembre, un déplacement de plus d'une semaine à Paris, on peut pas dire que j'ai hâte... D'autant plus que ça veut dire des journées de dingue, avec de la nourriture sur place rapide et pratique, donc genre chips et biscuits, ça va me plaire ça pffff... J'ai intérêt à faire une réserve de boooons trucs, héhéhéhéhé :-)

Back next Thursday!

Fully loaded

2009-11-02T12:25:00.007+01:00

Lundi matin, de retour à la réalité, pas facile!

Mais quel samedi...

Prendre un train à une heure indécente pour un samedi matin...

Arriver à Londres à 9h heure locale...

Se rendre au Kensington Olympia, devenu pour 3 jours le temple du yoga...

Participer à un workshop avec Claire Missingham et voir des cours de yoga dans tous les sens...

Acheter du boooon manger... (et c'est du chocolat tout plein de choses bonnes pour la santé hein!)

Et voir un dernier signe sur le chemin du retour...

de la pure folie, mais du pur bonheur!

Et ce matin, suite logique, un autre jalon a été posé. J'hésite à en parler là maintenant, d'autant plus que la réponse n'arrivera que dans quelques mois, mais je vais me bouffer les doigts jusque là!

Let's twist this reality and shape it into my dreams, no one else will do that for me.

I can't wait

2009-10-30T16:14:00.003+01:00

for the week-end to begin, yeah!

Quelques jours sans poster, au vu de mon humeur de la semaine c'était peut-être mieux comme ça, j'ai passé mon temps à râler.

Plus ça va plus je me dis encore une fois que je suis sur la bonne voie, que ça prendra du temps certes mais au moins j'avance. Autour de moi j'entends de plus en plus d'histoires de personnes qui veulent changer, qui reprennent des études, qui refont des formations, c'est dingue... Et assez bizarrement ça me rend heureuse tout ça :-) C'est peut-être l'effet du yoga aussi, plus de sérénité, de détachement par rapport aux choses (attention j'ai pas dit du désintérêt hein, au contraire!), plus d'optimisme?

Comme disait l'autre, pourvu que ça dure!

Réflexions post week-end

2009-10-26T11:19:00.005+01:00

Ah les lundis matins, tout un poême, et celui-ci ne déroge pas à la règle. Zen inspire expire inspire expire...

Bref, le mieux c'est encore de se rappeler des bons moments du week-end, notamment un petit dîner libanais vendredi soir (j'adore la cuisine libanaise, je me nourris de hummus et de falafel, et le tabbouleh mamma mia le tabbouleh), un bon cours de yoga vinyasa samedi matin, un petit gratin de potimarron maison le samedi soir (avalé avant d'avoir la chance d'être pris en photo), et le reste du temps à part un peu de ménage une bonne vieille paresse qui s'installe :-)

Et l'excitation qui monte pour le week-end prochain, le week-end du Yoga Show, en même temps que la réalisation de ma folie douce, nan mais sérieux partir à une heure indécente le samedi matin pour revenir à une heure indécente le samedi soir, je dois être dingue :-D

Mais je suis vraiment décidée à y aller, à donner au yoga la place qu'il mérite. Même si je dois encore travailler sur moi-même. Surtout d'ailleurs si je dois encore travailler sur moi-même. Je me rends compte qu'une partie de moi que je n'adore pas, celle qui se met systématiquement en compétition avec les autres, est encore bien présente pendant les cours. J'essaie de me concentrer sur ma pratique, mais de temps en temps je me rends compte que je jette un coup d'oeil autour de moi, pour voir si la fille là arrive à aller plus loin que moi dans la posture, ou moins loin, etc etc. Ce qui n'est pas hyper yoga :-D

Le bon côté de ça, c'est que j'ai de quoi remplir mes séances et de quoi travailler, ça ne peut apporter que du positif.

En tous cas on y gagne en humilité et d'une certaine façon en satisfaction, satisfaction de ce qu'on fait et satisfaction de savoir qu'on pourra aussi faire plus. Mais à son rythme, sans pression.

Après ce roman, je vais retourner râler gaiement :-D

Doutes

2009-10-20T16:12:00.005+02:00

(joulie image trouvée là, tout le blog est jouli comme tout d'ailleurs)

Quelquefois les doutes s'installent: ce que je suis en train de faire, est-ce vraiment la route que je veux prendre? Et si c'était juste un emballement passager? Et si au fond je ne désire pas vraiment ça?

Mais en fait je me rends compte que les doutes font aussi partie de cette route, de ce chemin, qu'il ne s'agit pas de les combattre mais de les accepter, ça permet aussi de se recentrer. Et puis qu'est-ce que ça peut faire si au bout du compte ça ne va pas? Au moins j'aurai essayé et je parlerai en connaissance de cause, dire "ça n'a pas marché" au lieu de "ça ne marchera pas", c'est quand même différent non?

Et puis je pourrai toujours me consoler en grignotant des fruits secs :-) Les fruits secs sont nos amis (en tous cas les miens!), il faut les aimer aussi!

Week end d'automne

2009-10-18T13:29:00.003+02:00

En vrac:
- Un vendredi soir avec des amis, à découvrir un super resto végétarien (et oui en plus je suis végétarienne, ovo-lacto végétarienne pour être plus précise): L'Elément Terre, Chaussée de Waterloo 465, 1050 Bruxelles, 02/649.37.27
- Un samedi matin avec un fabuleux cours de yoga vinyasa, j'étais pourtant crevée et ça m'a fait un bien fou
- Un samedi après-midi tranquille à rendre visite à Monsieur Potiron et sa famille
- Un samedi soir à expérimenter en cuisine, avec succès ("quinoatto" aux girolles avec sauce au potimarron, ça tente quelqu'un?)
- Un dimanche matin à grasse matinée, et puis parce qu'il faut bien, à prendre soin de son chez-soi
- Un dimanche à commencer à poser le deuxième jalon...
Je fais bouger un peu ma vie, j'ai hâte...