Bummed & blanks

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!

Sunday thoughts, chapter 2

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!

"Your head must bow to your heart"

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

Blanks

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.