Brahmacharya

Non excess

This has been my focus of the week really. I've been reading & trying to practice "walking with god". 

As I explained in a previous post, I am not a religious woman. But I am a woman of faith and I like the wonder of the universe. Today I took the WHOLE morning off, cleaned in between playing with the babes, made breakfast for the three dudes in my house, picked up an outfit for Riv to wear to my gorgeous clients wedding....the list goes on! When I was out I decided to visit my friends at lululemon athletica Doncaster. Surprisingly enough we ended up modeling some new gear which was snapped by the beautiful Fatima while Letitia held our kids. If you ever want to discuss the Big Picture, spirituality and how yoga can change your life- go visit these girls! Fatima said that the more she photographs people, the more she sees their beauty. It made me smile because I had greasy hair & was not feeling particularly beautiful this morning! We then talked about just allowing ourselves to be our own kind of beautiful.

The point of my post though is wonderful things happen when you just ARE. We weren't looking at the time or rushing around, River had no shoes on & we had no immediate pressure. This pressure is sometimes crippling to me. So home now and I read this passage I wanted to share:

"Whether I take it easy for a day or escape into the woods by myself, it is hard to give this rest to myself...My ego likes to feel important, and it doesn't feel very important when I am resting. My ego also doesn't like the idea that life can go on without me...I like to be where the action is. Besides, in this culture of constant activity, there is always so much that needs to be done."

"It might surprise us to realise how much crazy activity we create in our days just so we can feel important. We wear our busyness like a badge, like our busyness would somehow impress the rest of the world, or impress ourselves...What if we walked off stage altogether and put God there instead. Maybe then we could go to sleep at night, not with a sense of accomplishment, but with a sense of wonder, because all day we had been an attentive audience to the divine play...we aren't embodied in this form to feel dead but to feel alive..."Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.""

I am guilty of living my life in excess! I am guilty of allowing my ego to take centre stage. But that's ok, this is an area I need to work on...to know when enough is and to find pleasure then and there. Excess causes lethargy, balance creates a beautiful harmony of energy. The more I read about the ethical practice of yoga, the more I learn about myself. 

Cheers & Giggles xx

27 Facts about Me

Feeling like I need to touch base with you all...and now as a REAL business owner I don't necessarily have the freedom to let my hair down on social media...before every post I consider: is it Kind? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? So it's not really THAT important to fill you in, but I'd like to be open & honest, and I'd like you all to comment and tell me about yourselves too :)

1. Above all else I value my family. My kids come first, full stop. I try to be really present with my children as these precious moments are fleeting.

2. Dancing has been my lifelong passion and I doubt I will ever stop. I'm not the best and I sometimes find it hard to put myself out there with the movement, but it is my favorite thing to do. I have danced since I was two years old and while currently I only take lyrical classes, I also love ballet & hiphop.

3. My job is the coolest. I always used to say "I can't be a PT forever" and wanted my degree so I could set myself apart with knowledge and expertise...then I found CrossFit and the possibilities are endless! I could coach til my very last breath :) I also found a niche with mums. My favorite aspect of training people is watching people start liking themselves more & caring less what the scales say. Second to that would be when awesome technique "clicks".

4. Having babies taught me how to love myself. I had never treated my body as a temple until I fell pregnant, and I had never ever been kind to myself until I realised that my children would learn from my behavior, and I want them to love themselves without fear!

5. I hate animal cruelty. It makes me feel unwell, I became vegetarian at 12 & after much research decided to go vegan two years ago. So many people have said "it's just a phase" but I cannot tell you how much it distresses me to cause another being harm. I will NEVER go back because I know too much. Even if eating animals was good for your body, I couldn't do it.

6. I try really hard not to push my opinion onto others (my CrossFit athletes may contest this...I am technique queen) but truly, at the end of the day do what serves your hearts desires. Be true to yourself.

7. Yoga teaches me something every day. Patience, strength, to be myself...I am reading "the Yamas & Niyamas" and it has really made me delve into my life, my thoughts and my direction. It's not easy to practice yoga-on the mat or every breath I take, but it has become a part of who I am.

8. I fought tooth and nail to be the person I am today...there was so many years spent not being the best version of myself. Every day I try to be better-a better Mumma, partner, friend, coach, athlete, dancer & health warrior!

9. I am quite easily influenced!!! Seems I am a people-pleaser and truly take to heart what people think of me, even silly salesgirls selling me very overpriced things!

10. Writing makes me happy. When things are out of balance I can tell as I don't write. I prefer writing in my journal or lists on paper. I am very excited to begin my goals journal, gifted to me by my beautiful friends at lululemon athletica Doncaster!

11. I'm a little obsessive compulsive. I like straight lines and things have to be done a certain way and in a certain order. Blame my parents and Nanna for this one!

12. My favorite foods include avocado, mango, berries, mushrooms, broccoli and Vegemite toast.

13. I've never eaten a banana though this year we discovered that I enjoy banana cake and will drink banana in delicious smoothies.

14. My favorite colour is blue.

15. I believe in karma, fate, an afterlife, the universe, ghosts, love at first sight (my kids) & that everything happens for a reason. I believe in mermaids and faeries. 

16. I used to be a devout Christian, that is how I was raised. I still believe in a concept of God (the universe), and I don't think humans evolved from monkeys.

17. I want to live by the sea.

18. My favorite exercise is a deadlift. I love that it's hard to do perfectly and that (dare I say) I come very damn close every time.

19. My best mate is Will. He's a lovely handsome (single) dude with a very open heart. He will hate me pimping him out like this!! He's been my "person" since the day we met though I sometimes wish he was a girl so we could take selfies and share clothes.

20. My dance idol is my teacher Kim, my yoga inspiration is a woman from Byron named Sydoni whom I really connected with, my CrossFit aspiration is Christmas Abbot though I kind of adore Amy Alessi & Morgan Wardropa! I truly admire Megan Small, Beverley Henderson & Kacey Bennett. 

21. I just realised I really dig some awesome women! (Usually girls scare me!)

22. Marli, my beautiful Lab will always be my first baby. And while he drives me bonkers I love our new baby Lincoln. One day we will get another puppy & name him Rich The Beast.

23. I love coffee. The way it smells, the way it tastes & the way it doesn't talk back to me. I prefer my soy latte with one from a cafe that uses BonSoy. I also love my barristers, anyone that brings me coffee is a dear friend for life.

24. My sense of humor is very dry and sarcastic. I think I'm witty...others would disagree. And I cannot tell jokes to save myself.

25. I'm not very stylish, nor do I care about fashion. Give me a bikini on the beach, a cute maxi, some jeans & lululemon attire for work/yoga/dance and I am set.

26. Most of you know I'm a lactivist, intactivist, co sleeping, baby wearing, cloth nappy-ing, non-vaccining, EC-ing, Baby-Led-Weaning Mumma. This works for me and my family. I will promote these things because I believe they make happier, healthier babies. Breastfeeding is the hardest most selfless thing I've ever done and out of all the above I will promote it, normalize it and do it on demand as long as I can because we live in a society that views breasts as purely sexual and that leads women to believe that formula is just as good.

27. Health & Functionality along with saving the planet one small step at a time is my aim. That's why I love my job, parent like this, became vegan & am a pretty massive "hippy". 

Cheers & Giggles

Xxx