Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts

morning rituals and daily duties

Thanks for all your nice comments both on the blog and our Facebook. It feels pretty awesome to have decided to stick around here a little longer and see where our work and ideas can take us. It's a whole new chapter and a very exciting one for many different reasons. Our main purpose with "sailing the world" was indeed to find nice and fulfilling places to stay, for a short time or for a longer before we head towards a new adventure, and it seems this stop in the US will have to be considered one of the longer ones for now. 

Since work is and will be our main occupation during this prolonged US chapter, I find it more important than ever to find peace and balance from within. I am the sort of person that can spend 20 of the days 24 hours on a project if I only love and feel for it from the bottom of my heart, so I need to balance out the number of hours spent on working, with something that keeps me grounded. I have a lot of great intentions, but I also know that I can easily get caught up in things, on the border of becoming obsessive. While working hard and pushing boundaries is a good thing, it is never healthy to let anything consume you wholly. It's always good to back off, recharge and come back with objective eyes and a quiet mind. Daily yoga helps so much with that part. 

So what's even better with the amazing kitchen space that I work from, is that above it is an unoccupied loft office space, and which we have sort of transformed into a private little yoga studio. I normally arrive around 9 am and start my mornings with 45 minutes yoga and meditation up there, and finish the evening with a longer session. The video shows some of what I worked on this morning. Core strength and balance. 

This might seem silly, but below is a schedule which demonstrates pretty much how I have planned my days for the moment. I have made this one just to be sure that I get done all what I want to have accomplished in a day. 
The small image of me in the right corner is a clip from a video I'm working on finishing.

Being in the start up process and very much in the experimental stage of things, I try to limit waste of time in each day. I know how social media and other news sites tend to drag you in, and how easy it is to get disoriented if anything random pops up out of the blue, but once you've firmly decided how more or less you want your days to proceed and when you've learnt to keep and promote that idea in your subconscious, it's easier to stick to what you are supposed to be doing. Besides obviously being very determined as to what I look to achieve, I find writing plans and notes for myself very useful. Might be a female thing, what do you think?

That's roughly how most of my weekdays look like right now. Weekends Alex and I try to head out with the bike or do something other than work. Good thing with being freelancers or working on your own projects, is that you can switch days and hours as you please. But even so, I find having an overall knowledge of what you want and where you wish to be heading is a good strategy for every aspect in life. Lessens amount of time wasted and you'll steadily transport yourself towards your goals.
This is a great toast I made today (besides a pretty awesome carrot/ginger soup and the eleventh version of brownie of the last few days). It's home made olive tapenade with capers, parsley, zesty lemon juice, sea salt and olive oil on a thinly sliced and toasted (home made) whole-wheat bread with a filet of avocado and garden fresh heirloom tomato… approved by 4 of 4 people in the kitchen :)

Do you also write lists and practice yoga or how do you keep yourself focused?

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What success means to me and the 7 most important things in life

Does it sometimes feel like you'd like to cut yourself in several parts to be able to keep up with life and its obligations? "I wish the day had more hours" is a typical saying you often hear said out loud, often with a leaning towards pride in the voice. Manifesting a belief that being stressed and busy is a sign of being successful. 

Being ambitious and productive most certainly moves life forward. You make more money, you meet more people, you travel to more places, you might learn more, you see more, you experience more, you get to consume more, you …. and suddenly a sense of non-fulfillment, dissatisfaction and failure catches up on you. 

You get difficulty sleeping, you might get anxious and worried that you're missing out, you blame yourself for not being adequate enough, for not being the best friend/partner/parent that you would want to be, you stress out for not having all the clothes, things and material you'd like to possess. And the sense of constantly lacking something eats you up from inside, leaving you feeling that the only way to get rid of that sense of emptiness, is to keep filling the empty hole with more things, more experiences, more achievements. More of everything.

People have different ways of expressing dissatisfaction in life. It could be by comparing themselves with others, throwing a jealous glance at what someone else have that you don't. Some get greedy and step on people to move forward. Down-talking or gossiping about others. Some people get depressed and take to binge eating, or the opposite; you starve yourself cause you feel you're never really skinny enough. Others simply run through life so fast they start neglecting the things that are, or should be, the most important aspects in a humans life:

Eat healthy - Sleep well - Value, show appreciation and give time to people close to your heart - Show respect and kindness to others - Connect to nature - Be true to yourself and your beliefs - Breathe easy. 

Breathe easy.

 Let the fear of being insufficient shake off your shoulders. 
Be thankful for what you have. Scale down material needs. Let go of social expectations.
You've got nothing to prove.

The roadrunner lifestyle that many people voluntarily sign up for pushes a human soul from its core needs and replaces natural human growth with superficial wealth. That sort of rushed lifestyle is destructive to the real experiences, love and natural fulfillment you could be gaining, would you only allow yourself to stop looking for happiness on the outside, and realize true harmony can only be achieved by being content with what you have, and where you are right now. 

Scaling down, with no need and urge to constantly do and gain and achieve something. Removing false layers of unhealthy behaviours and a quest for material richness, and opening your heart to what really is important - is the best gift you can give yourself and the people you have close.

Success, in my world, is not measured by how much you've achieved, what things you own and how much money you've made, and therefore does wealthy people or financially successful businessmen and women seldom inspire me more than anyone else. Because money and material in itself has no soul connection and any given image or lifestyle can easily be bought and adopted by anyone with the right set of opportunities.

Success, according to me, is merely measured by how well you've managed to incorporate your core desires into your everyday life, and how much you truthfully enjoy living the life you've created for yourself without a need of flaunting or exaggerating or being malicious or greedy to make yourself look greater/happier/more successful/more intelligent/better off than the next person. 

Success to me is also being truthful to your real values, values gained by self sourcing information without jumping onto the beliefs of the loudest outside influencer, and by always being reflective to both sides of a coin. It is being fair and consistent in what you believe regardless of the political, financial or social outcome of your beliefs and your expression of them. It is having integrity as well as having an understanding for others.

Success comes when you are at peace with what you have and where you are regardless of the battles and suffering we all have to go through every once in a while. And when you have learnt that being helpful and kind to others offer a greater sense of fulfillment than always putting yourself and your own needs first.

I, like every other human being, fail to always live up to my own ideals, but having developed a good sense of when I feel most at peace and when the universe and I seem to sync and collaborate the best, it is nowadays much easier to hold onto my core beliefs than what it might have been in the past when I still filled my life with all kinds of distractions and unhealthy behaviours. 

Time and life makes your human soul and mind grow and develop to the better, but only if you allow it to. Keep your heart open, and guide yourself to the good you know is true and right from within.

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easy rider

It's weekend friends, don't forget to stretch it out!

Deep breaths.

Alter perspective.

Balance and flexibility - as healthy for the mind as for the body.

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what summer dreams are made of

Our friends in the middle of the crystal blue Mediterranean sea have a new wonderful yoga season coming up in their astonishing property and land on the northern coast of Mallorca. Their summer schedule is packed with inspiring workshops with talented and globally recognized yoga teachers from all over the world, just have a look at the ones that are booked right here. 

As a treat to our blog readers, Ashtanga Mallorca now offers you a 10% discount on your next retreat. 

Why don't you make yourself and your life a favor and book your most fulfilling yoga experience yet? You can get the discount either through my shop on your next purchase, or directly with Ashtanga on their website. Don't forget to tell them you've heard about them through our blog to receive your discount.

This is where it'd be….
Can't think of another place on earth that I would rather be practicing yoga this summer…

I would especially like to participate in the classes with Danny Paradise in July, read more about him here.

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patience

One of the reasons I so badly wanted to get to the beach, was to get to practice yoga in a natural, peaceful, warm environment in the nature again. By the energizing sunrise and sunset. I have missed the deeper spiritual connection between my mind, my body and our planet as I cover myself in layers of clothes and fight the cold up here in the dark North. Yoga can be practiced anywhere, but in comfortable temperatures outdoors, surrounded by natural elements and sounds, it does make so much more sense.

Anything makes more sense in comfortable temperatures doesn't it. With sunshine and warm winds feeding our bodies and souls with light and energy. A fact we can't escape from. I am not made for this climate we are in at the moment, but I accept it as part of our current situation and the plans we have made for this time and period of our lives. That said, I still make sure to get my yoga practice in. Even if my body is stiffer and takes longer time to awaken after a day out in minus degrees. 

A handstand or a hollow back handstand that I'm playing with in the image, wasn't as easy to work on in this narrow corridor as it might seem. The only exit into the corridor was through the narrow bathroom door, but my feet would hit the frame on attempt so in order to get up on my hands, I started with a simple headstand, and Alex had to help lift me up on my hands. I'm unfortunately not that strong in my arms that I can manage to move from head to handstand by myself just yet. From there, I leaned my legs and bottom at the wall, and walked out with my hands, slowly lowering my legs and arching my back as I positioned my hands further away from the wall. I think I could have pushed it lower with back more arched but hadn't stretched enough plus I had a bit too much wine last night to keep my mind completely focused through the process.

This one require both some strength in arms and upper body (regular push ups help to build strength in those areas), as well as flexibility in back and shoulders. I have a long way to go to make this pose as perfect as I wish for it to be. What I can learn from this position and many other asanas, is the knowledge that nothing in life comes for free. If we want something so bad, we need to work hard on it and accept that life takes time. Patience is an integral feature of life which we must learn to respect, both when practicing yoga, and when yearning for sunshine and warmth in the middle of a cold winter.

Move slowly but determined and don't lose focus on your goal. That is pretty much how my mind operates these days. Or like Daisaku Ikeda so simply put it: With love and patience, nothing is impossible. 

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natural cure

Stretch away winter aches, stiffness in joints and keep yourself warm and energized with daily yoga. Regular yoga practice also helps strengthen body immunity, while breathing exercises helps clear chest congestions. A cheap and natural way to keep yourself in shape and your mind balanced the remaining time of this winter.

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put your mind to it

Not very easy to practice these type of positions on the boat so I'm glad we have the apartment in Cambridge to escape to every once in a while.

Focus and collectedness are the keywords this winter. Useful in both private and professional life, as well as in perfecting yoga positions obviously. 

Thankful every day that my body is capable of moving this freely. We sometimes take our physical existence for granted, but we mustn't forget how vulnerable we human beings are. For as long as I can, I will treat my body with the respect it deserves. Both by eating and drinking well, and by making sure it gets the exercise it needs to be strong and flexible enough to carry me into the future.

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all that is found within

Every day thankful for the opportunity to stay here in our friends beautiful house where we can recharge our batteries over the winter. Sometimes when looking at current situations or good events that are suddenly brought into ones existence, my first instinct is to think "damn we're lucky", but with a second thought, I always come to the same conclusion: You receive what you give. The energies you have sent out in the universe will always bounce back at you. Therefore is meditation and yoga or any training/exercise form that keeps you grounded, calm and focused very important in my eyes. Because it is when you are spiritually connected to your real self and have de-cluttered life that you can make the best decisions for yourself, and as a result, gain the collected thoughtfulness and time to be a better person to the ones around you. 

Since I for real started to get back to basics a few years ago, when I cut out a bunch of bad energies, worked on bringing myself to my most harmonic and settled version and aimed focus on what really is good for me, I have seen dramatic changes in how I respond to the outer world. And this is further improving for each day. It is also so very important to give oneself those quiet hours of solitude each week, because it is with non-distraction and utter peacefulness that we can fully reach the inner part of our soul where all love, energy and power is created.

Julianna Barwick's ambient, angelic music is something I can enjoy listening to when stretching and working on my yoga positions, this is her latest album. I also like this one from Lab's Cloud.

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Moving body parts

Might have mentioned that I've lost quite some weight since I dropped meat from my diet and drastically cut down on dairy. I've purchased clothes very rarely these years at sea so I don't have a very good sense of what has been my correct size and it surely doesn't matter either. But I got a shock when I tried on clothes in a store the other day and realized I had transformed into a size 0 and even garments in that size fell loose on my skinny figure. Even though I have to work much harder now to keep some curves on my booty, I feel pretty good being this lean. Not because I lost weight per se as I wouldn't mind getting some fat or at least some better defined muscles back on (proteins and squats hello!), but because I know that (almost) nothing but good stuff gets into my system these days (always weak for baked goods and a glass of wine every now and then obviously). In between my regular workout and cardio that I find important for keeping muscles, mind and body parts in shape, I'm currently working on a few yoga poses that I'm determined to perfect. One being the classic old handstand. Focus, practice and a balanced mind is the key as in many areas and pursuits in life. The thing I've learnt from yoga as well as from our calm quiet years at sea, is that our minds and bodies are limitless when it comes to progress. As long as you've made up your mind about what you wish to achieve, there's nothing stopping you. Except sprained wrists. Moving over to headstands till my hurt hand is better.

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9 days at sea

I know you all like videos so here's a new one. This was our recent sailing passage from St Andrés to Florida. The trip started out fairly intense with 20-25 knots of wind and 8-10 foot seas. On the second day, the wind died out and sea remained still for four long days. Of course, we run out of diesel and despite our efforts of making use of the whole sail wardrobe, we didn't accomplish more than perhaps 50 n miles per day during those four calm days. On the fifth day the wind picked up again and unfortunately I don't have the action recorded anywhere except in my mind, but there were heavy and very active thunder storms surrounding us for the final three days before we arrived in the US. A tanker a mile away from us got hit by the lightning and we thank our lucky stars that it was there right in that time, otherwise we would have probably been struck and I doubt our boat would have handled it as well as the cargo did.

Also very glad for all the animal company we had the pleasure to experience during this sail, the dolphins, the minke whales (I think it was minke whales?), the boobie bird resting for the night on our solar panels and the massive amount of flying fish finding their way to deck. It was an interesting experience diving into the water of 5000 meter depth, in the middle of the calm Caribbean sea. Because of the strong currents of the gulf stream, the boat was still moving forward at 1,2 knots and made it almost impossible for me to swim back to the ladder... good exercise indeed! 

The last 300 miles went fast as we caught the strongest part of the gulf stream and could rapidly push forward, clocking 240 n miles in the final 24 hours. 

Let me know what you like the video. Having many ideas in my mind for the future, so as long as you like them I'll continue producing more.

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Yoga sanctuary in Mallorca


If you happen to be in the Mediterranean this summer and early fall, I'd like you to consider treating yourself to a six day session of soulful tranquility and exercise at our friends beautiful Yoga retreat in Palma, Mallorca. There are currently two upcoming weeks booked with two very respected instructors, Mariela Cruz (image above) and Lucia Andrade, more information here. If accommodation is needed, check out their peaceful farmhouse or villa here. Wish we could be there this summer, David!

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mind at ease

I think I've started practicing yoga in every city I've ever lived, only to realize, after a few sessions, that I didn't have the patience nor "time" for it. Of course I understood the meaning and purpose of the training, just that I was too "busy" to learn how to slow down or how to breath correctly. I remember I was always wondering when the class would finish so that I could get out calling that important phone call or meet up with some friends for drinks. And a few seasons later, I tried it again, but I simply wasn't ready to slow down, until now. 

One of the main reasons to why I wanted to leave everything behind and sail around the world with Alex, was because I had come to a turning point in life where I felt the need to cut out the things that didn't really matter in the long run. I was also anxious to take a distance to the regular world, as an opportunity to begin looking inward. True that I've always been a spiritually inclined person, but my life was rushing too fast. Too many unnecessary challenges, way too much alcohol, late nights and I was leading a physically destructive lifestyle rather than a healthy one. Without consciously knowing that I needed to better take care of myself, I quickly suggested to Alex that we should set ourselves free and sail the oceans of the world together. For many other reasons too of course, much for the love and affection that we felt for one another, a chance to get closer to each other and to build a foundation for the love we were willing to invest in, but one of my personal reasons was that my body and soul was yearning for a change. A change that would allow me to grow as a human being.

Having been out sailing now for almost two years, thousands of miles away from the jetset-life I was accustomed to back home in Europe and around the world, one thing that has now grown to be more important than anything in my life, is to be able to breath freely, to lead a slower, harmonic life and to properly take care of my body. The body is after all what carries our soul and without constant attention to it we might loose contact with our inner spirit. That disconnection is something I've experienced much in my past, a distance to my Self that sometimes made me make wrong decisions as well as treating myself and others in ways that hasn't always been the best ones. 

So as a natural progress, I started practicing yoga again a few months back. Combined with my daily exercise and meditation, which I've been busy with ever since we left Europe behind, it allows my body and soul to be at peace with my being. Not only does it give my body the flexibility and strength that is good to have when sailing and leading a very physically challenging life as we do, but it also puts my mind at ease. It gives me strength and ability to, with a clear and conscious mind, make better decisions. It opens up my soul, makes me less affected by outer disturbances and distractions. It allows me to breath and analyze situations before rushing with answers and thus giving me time and opportunity to act better. Decide better. Do better. Live better. And evidently, to be a better partner, friend, human being than what I might've been before. Not saying I was ever terrible at any of those, just that there's always room for improvements within ourselves and I'm glad that I've found my way to achieve a greater form of inner peace and fulfillment. Which naturally reflects on the people I meet, those that I invite into my sphere and the people that I share my life with. 

Ultimately, life is just a series of actions and reactions, and we can choose if we want to make that chain a positive or a negative one. To keep myself in good shape, spiritually and physically, makes my little chain in this big world a better and more harmonic one. It really is so easy, and though I'm endlessly thankful for the vast experiences my earlier life has given me, I regret that I didn't fully embrace this knowledge before. Never too old for improvements though.

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