A letter to my son on the eve of his second birthday

Dear darling boy,
Two years it has been since you came out into the world and what an adventure it has been! I am writing this sitting on my bed while you are in your cot, supposed to be napping, but instead you are singing softly to yourself. This is very typical of your little character, you move quietly and steadily through a world full of noise and confusion. You stay close to your mama always and you have a gentle, loving nature. This gentle and loving nature is not to be mistaken for weakness, as you also have a firm idea about what you want and never waver once its set in your mind. You are cheeky and hilarious only this morning displaying antics to make your father and I laugh declaring "funny" over and over, because you know when you are and love to make us laugh.

You love Playschool and TV, although I try hard not to let you watch too much of this, you love showers and baths, Narnies (Bananas), Kookabuwas (Kookaburra), Buttflys (Butterflys), Gumboots, the park and swings, Library, shops, dogs, bubbles and walks but the thing you are most obsessed with at the moment is books. You are a little fledgling bookworm and have started to "read" on your own and will even push mummy off the couch in order to get some space to read in peace.

Your kisses are the best even the really sloppy ones with lots of tongue, and hearing you declare "cuddles, cuddles" over and over again throughout the day never gets old, even when those "cuddles" are really just a way to get something you want or to get out of something you don't want to do.

You have started to say full sentences, the latest ones; "It's bootiful day," "go for a walk," "daddy at work," "look at clouds," "lie down" or "read the book" and I adore watching your language grow. Some quotes include; "licious" (delicious), "stinky bottom," when its nappy change time, "yuck," "pwease" the list goes on.  

Your father and I adore you and will do anything to keep you safe and support you to become the man you deserve to be. I know one day the sloppy kisses will end and the demands for cuddles will fade away and the funny way you say things will also stop, so I try my hardest to be present for every single moment. This is hard in the busy life we lead but you are forever in my heart no matter what.  Watching you grow is so very bitter sweet but overall I feel a deep sense of gratitude for being chosen to be you mummy. Out of all the things I have done and the titles that come with them, wife, yogi, daughter, sister and soon to be health coach, Mummy is the most sacred if them all.

So thank you my darling one for coming into our lives, for bringing us endless amounts of joy, for the uncanny ability to make everything that doesn't really matter fade into the background, for teaching me what living in the moment is really about and most importantly showing me what unconditional love, compassion and empathy really feel like.

Love you,

From your one and only,
Mummy xx

IIN Module One, The Journey begins

I started my new course today at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This is the largest nutrition school in the world. It is ahead of the game in many ways and will be the place I learn to become a health and wellness coach. I will be empowered to change peoples lives for the better. We began the course by setting our intentions and using some key words here was the post I replied with in the discussion forum:

My intention first and foremost is to change peoples lives. I see myself sitting down one on one with clients and connecting with them on a heart level and healing not only with advice and guidance on diet but also healing through love and compassion. I want to be a woman of influence who's ripple effect reaches far and wide. I also want to teach others to find the still place within us all which is so overlooked and undervalued. I want to teach others to slow down, take in the beauty of the world surrounding them and connect with the moment. I want to teach others to just be. I want them to come to the deep realisation that they are perfect just the way they are that nothing needs to be added it is all within them right now. My intention is to work with clients being referred to me from my husbands chiropractic clinic but also from the wider community. I also want to give regular talks and workshops that reach more people. I also want to run a successful website and blog as writing gives me an incredible sense of peace and well being. This blog and website will reach even more people and the world will change for the better. I can't go wrong on this journey because anything that betters myself and humankind will be rewarded and abundance in every sense of the word will flow.

My words are: Inspire, teach, love, compassion, empathy, inner peace, joy, vitality, present moment, abundance and freedom.  

Sounds pretty amazing to me! I will blog regularly on this journey I have embarked upon. I hope that it will be a life changing experience for me and the world.

Blessings,
L x

Run as fast as you can

Over the last 6 months or so I have started to include running in my exercise routine and it has taught me so much. I don't run huge distances or particularly fast, I'm not interested in running in competition against anyone apart from myself, but it has always been a goal for me to be able to do it, and now I do the rewards are incredible. So here is a list of some of the benefits I have received;

1. Its a microcosm for life. No matter the distance I end up doing there are always points where it feels really challenging (particularly the last 500m!) and running teaches me strength to get through these points. So like life we all have hard days, weeks, months and years and running has taught me to push through this pain. Its like a little sample of all the ups and downs in life. The pain from running for a while and then the elation when you achieve your goal and the pride at seeing what you are capable of. If you can do it in your running session you can carry that attitude into your everyday life.

2. Fitness and strength, this is an obvious one but worth noting!

3. I have epiphanies! Ideas, inspiring thoughts all seem to flow when I'm running.

4. Its another form of meditation. You have no choice when it gets tough to keep concentrating on your breath, or the thought in your head going over and over about how you can do it (mantra). So its a great way to meditate and exercise at the same time! Win win!

5. No matter where you are at in your fitness you can always challenge yourself more. The options are endless but also if you're only just starting out and just do short runs you will feel just as good as if you are experienced and do a longer run. The main thing to remember is not to compare yourself with others, keep it in the forefront of you mind that this is just for you.

6. Finally you feel great afterwards. The endorphins are pumping and your sense of growth and pride is amazing! So get running what have you got to lose.

Love to all
L xx


  

Turning 30

Recently I turned the big three O, this prompted me to reflect on my life and where I am at right now. For the first birthday that I can remember, I felt content and at peace. Turning 30 was fabulous.

I didn't feel this way due to running around achieving a whole lot over the last year, in fact in the months leading up to my birthday I hadn't done a whole lot of achieving in general due to a whole lot of movement and many challenges faced. I felt this way because I have taught myself that where we are at right now is perfect. In our world we spend a large part of our lives striving and achieving and fighting. We are told that to sit still means death, to stop 'doing' signifies that our lives are meaningless. We are told that if we don't reach certain goals by certain times in our lives than there is something wrong.  I challenge this line of thinking because I think there is a time and place to just be. In fact I not only think there is a time and a place for being still I believe it is a necessity.

I'm not saying sit around all day doing nothing but I do believe we are desperately in need of a shift in consciousness. I see so many people who are burnt out, people who are beating themselves up because they haven't done enough with their lives. People who are constantly running on adrenaline and not taking the time to actually just be in the moment. The moment is all we have and if we aren't paying attention to it then we are living our lives in a place that doesn't exist. Just think about it for a second the past and the future aren't actually a real thing, they are given power by our minds. We think and obsess about where we want to be or where we have been but there is not such thing. Again I'm not saying don't make any plans at all, go ahead make plans, dream dreams but don't become so attached to these plans that you forget about where you are now, that you forget that you are a unique expression of perfect humaness that cannot be replicated. That you don't actually need to do anything at all, as you are exactly where you need to be right now.

The funny thing is I am guilty of all the things I have mentioned above. I used to be so future obsessed that I would become anxious when things weren't happening straight away, exactly how I wanted them to be. I had to painstakingly retrain myself to let go of this train of thought. I had to teach myself slowly to let go and let god so to speak. I have trained myself to always come back to the thought that everything happens for a reason and there is a plan already laid out for me I just need to trust. This has been immensely helpful and has gotten me to a much happier place. It is of course an ongoing lesson and something I need to remind myself of all the time.

The first restorative yoga class I ever went to changed my world. All of a sudden I was doing a class where we actually didn't really 'do' anything. All of the poses were designed to get you into a place of deep relaxation and allow you to let go. It wasn't a work out, I didn't have to strive or achieve or do things to shape my body differently. I didn't even have to try to do anything I just had to be, be in my body, be one with my breath and be in a profound place of stillness. I finally found a physical expression of just being. So this is my mission now, to teach others that they don't have to constantly be fighting and driving towards success. That along their path they can just sit still for a while and listen to who they are inside and marvel at the beauty of it all. That is what I want for all humankind and what I will always strive towards.

Yours in stillness
Namaste
L xox 

A prayer from The Dalai Lama

May I become at all times, both now and forever

A protector for those without protection

A guide for those who have lost their way

A ship for those with oceans to cross

A bridge for those with rivers to cross

A sanctuary for those in danger

A lamp for those without light

A place of refuge for those who lack shelter

And a servant to all in need.

YES YES YES!!!

This quote truly resonates with me and puts what I believe to be spirituality in such eloquent words:

"This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy."

Said by His Holiness The Dalai Lama 

x

Dedicated to my budding yogi's!

So after almost 2 months off writing I am feeling the urge to get back into it so here goes!

This post is dedicated to the wonderful women who have blessed me and humbled me by trusting me enough to open their hearts and minds by joining my class!

We are 6 weeks in with 4 weeks to go (and a special charity add on as an eleventh class but more on that another time!) and I have learnt so much. I have put my girls through their paces, some of the things we have covered are: Meditation using all different techniques, chakra healing, chanting, intuitive readings using tarot and oracle cards, self love exercises, gratitude journalling, restorative yoga and last but not least sharing our challenges and lessons with each other every week. They have opened up to each other and I can only watch in amazement at the love and support that is shown every week.

Reflecting on this list I realise that I have really put them through their paces but they have met all of this with grace and fearlessness. Most of my women are beginners and to go with all that has been presented to them without resistance shows immense bravery and growth. I couldn't be prouder. They just dove in not really knowing what they had gotten themselves in to and trusted me to guide. I feel so blessed and humbled that they chose me to be their teacher.

I have learnt so much. I have learnt that I am quite hard on myself, that I really don't need to deliver a full on life altering class every time and that in fact my attachment to this is actually getting in the way of me being in the flow and channelling the messages I want to pass on. I am a natural teacher, speaking in front of people about things that resonate with me deeply is something I am comfortable with and I feel I can communicate freely and clearly. I thought people would be a bit freaked out by chanting (turns out they love it) and I was ok with singing out loud in front of others. I have learnt that this is just the beginning and I can't wait to continue and teach more and more.

My hope for what my girls will get out of this class continues to be the same. That they will find that peaceful place within, even if it is just a glimpse and that this carries on into their lives creating positive change and growth for them. That it sparks the light within them so they carry on their journey of finding the sacred within. I also hope this for the greater good, so that there may be some more people out there who can add to the collective consciousness that is needed to bring the world to a higher level of love, joy and peace!!!

Love to you little yogi's, you know who you are xox