Keuzes… Maak jij ze zelf of worden ze voor je gemaakt?

Heb je dat nu ook wel eens, dat je diep van binnen weet dat je iets doet wat eigenlijk niet goed voor je is? Maar dat je de definitieve beslissing steeds maar uitstelt? Je een beetje bang bent voor die keuze, want dan verlies je iets of iemand. En verlies doet pijn. Je lichaam en hoofd zijn in een verhitte discussie, en beide hebben (deels) gelijk. Je onderneemt geen actie, je sukkelt wat aan met je leven. Niets gaat meer lekker, want je energie lekt weg naar die situatie, naar die persoon.

Totdat er ineens aan die andere kant wat gebeurt, waardoor er iets in je getriggerd wordt.
Je schiet in je verdediging. Je wordt boos, woedend, verdrietig, je bent teleurgesteld.

Waarom? Jij had ergens verwachtingen, hoop. Dat er iets zou veranderen. Dat het wel goed zou komen. Bijvoorbeeld dat jouw baas die promotie aan jou geeft en niet aan je collega. Dat de ene persoon die je leuk vindt inziet dat stoppen met drinken jullie relatie kan redden.

Maar, jij hebt geen invloed op die situatie. Je kunt mogelijk (en zeer waarschijnlijk) zien, inzien en doorzien wat beter zou zijn voor je baas, en voor die leuke persoon. Maar jij kunt dat niet veranderen. Je kunt jezelf alleen veranderen.

En nu is er iets voorgevallen waardoor je gedwongen wordt om die belangrijke beslissing te nemen.

Door alle emoties weet je even niet meer wat je moet doen. En dat is niet fijn.
Doe gewoon even niets. Of ga iets totaal anders doen, iets waar je energie van krijgt of waar je je energie in kwijt kunt (maar sla alsjeblieft geen mensen in elkaar, gebruik dan een echte boksbal in de gym).

En, haal een paar keer diep adem, dat kalmeert. Adem vooral goed uit, het liefst met een diepe zucht. Tranen die opkomen of stom zenuwachtig gelach, dat is prima, laat het maar zijn.

Kom later (na een paar uur of de volgende dag) eens terug op de situatie, bekijk het nogmaals. Hoe voelt het nu? Wat voel je? En waar voel je het in je lichaam? En wat vindt je hoofd ervan; heb je nog steeds veel stemmetjes? Blijf intussen rustig ademen terwijl je terugdenkt. Met een rustige ademhaling houd je ruimte in je hoofd en lichaam en behoud je het overzicht.

Waarschijnlijk zijn de emoties (bijna) weg. En zie je mogelijk ook in dat dit had moeten gebeuren.
En dat het Universum jou heeft geholpen heeft om deze moeilijke beslissing te nemen. Dat je jouw energie weer terugpakt en gaat doen wat jij (diep van binnen) echt wilt doen.

Mogelijk lukt het je niet direct om deze beslissing te accepteren.

Goed nieuws: als het achteraf niet de juiste keuze was, dan komt er een moment in je leven dat de genomen keuze zal worden ‘teruggedraaid’. Er zal een andere beslissing genomen worden. Mogelijk krijg jij dan toch die promotie en mogelijk dat die leuke persoon wel ophoudt met drinken en voor jou kiest.

Onthoud dit: Er zijn geen foute keuzes, maar maak een keuze.

With love💜 & light ✨,
littlemissyoga

Deze blog is geschreven naar aanleiding van een persoonlijke gebeurtenis.
Daarbij wil ik je graag een eerlijke inkijk geven in mijn leven. Het lijkt allemaal zo leuk – digital nomad, reizen, yoga, strand, zon – maar de werkelijkheid is veel rauwer. Tijd om dat te laten zien. En hopelijk jou te laten zien dat je niet de enige bent in dit soort dagelijkse / normale struggles.

One of these days…

One of these days that you feel heavy, down.
Disconnected from your body, mind and soul.

One of these days you feel lost. Walking in circles. All is unclear. All feels heavy, as a burden.

You are fully aware of this but you don’t know how to break this circle.

Well, I have one of these this day today.

I cry out loud. A lot of tears are falling on the floor.
I shout, I scream.
I stamp on the floor (sorry neighbours beneath me).
I punch the pillow to release my energy (sorry pillow).
I laugh too loud.

I am angry, sad, frustrated, happy, and grateful at the same time
I feel defeated. I feel strong and invincible too.
Confusion is taking over, I feel it in my body and mind.
It is like drinking a delicious but deadly cocktail.

And then, suddenly: THAT MOMENT.
It is just there, no knock on the door.  Unexpected, standing right in front of you.

I take a deep breath in, and I breathe out with a deep sigh.
I surrender and everything flows away.
Relief, release, clarity, relaxation.
Fully connected again: body, mind and soul perfectly aligned.

The power of breath.  
The power of acceptance and letting go.
The power of trust and surrender.

I have accepted that one of these days is part of me. And I am no longer ashamed of telling it. I am no longer fighting against these days. I embrace them, and from the moment I accept them, they don’t seem that worse anymore.

The more I accept my shadows and my dark side, the more I feel complete, whole.
Healed.
Every single day 🌟.

I guess some of you have experienced these days too.
And that’s why I share my story with you.
Just to let you know that you are not alone 💜✨.

With love💜and light✨,
littlemissyoga

P.S: About the picture: all credits go to Caroline who made this painting

Taking the lead or being led? The choice is yours!

Reading time: 4 minutes

As a kid, I wanted to become a princess, a teacher and a (ballet) dancer (secretly, I don’t remember that I told anyone). When I grew a bit older I heard questions like: ‘How do you think to earn money with dancing and music?’ And: ‘To become a princess you need to marry a prince. And since you are a farmer’s daughter, forget it.’

2 dreams smothered, 1 dream left. A dream that seemed within reach and would give me a proper future: becoming a (school) teacher. *

I always believed that my parents, grandma, my closest friends and some teachers knew best for me. I followed their advice without taking any consideration. Now I know: they didn’t know best for me.

Studying and getting your diploma, finding a good job, that was what I was told to do, or better I say: I thought that people expected that from me. So I did it all.

But when I look back at high school and college, I was a rebellious student, always going against the grain, just because I could not accept the strict rules and the rigid system. I reacted in the same way when I was working at the office. Always asking questions like: Why work from 9 to 5, why not when I wake up?, Why can’t I work on the weekends and have Mondays off?, Why can’t I work from home?
I could have invented ‘working from home’ long before Covid forced companies into it 😉.

I finally dare to speak out loud: I don’t fit in this existing system. Blessed with a good working brain and a good coping mechanism I managed to survive.**  But, I could not ignore that little voice inside of me. So, at one moment I decided: I am going to design my own life, living my best life.

My best life is not perfect yet. But hey, what is perfect? I don’t know and basically, I don’t care. I like it the way it is at this moment, and, perfect would be boring at the end 😉. Being imperfect makes me unique and it leaves room for improvement🌟.

There is always something to complain about, you basically have 2 options: you either accept it or change it. Plain and simple. Maybe you think (and I bet you do): I can’t change my life. I dare to say: YES, YOU CAN. Even a small simple change can improve the quality of your current life right away and it might be the first step to YOUR BEST life.

In case you feel that life is leading you instead of you leading life, I have some questions for you.

What are you waiting for? That your best life is knocking on your door one day saying ‘ Hello, here is your best life’? It is already here, you just don’t see it or not ready to see it.

Are you waiting for the right moment? Well… surprise: The right moment is always NOW.

Is fear holding you back? Most likely.

But… what if you take that leap of faith and fully trust that life has your back?

The only outcome is… your best life!

So…again: what are you waiting for?
Start today with living your best life, just (fucking) do it. Because you, yes YOU, beautiful soul, deserve it 💜💫🤍! Go for it!

With love 💜 & light✨,
littlemissyoga

* I made it as a teacher, (luckily) not a school teacher though. I am a yoga teacher but I prefer to use the word instructor or guide, and I am also a RPM/indoor cycling instructor and maybe I can become a role model of how to design and live your best life😉.

** I am actually surprised at what is still left of my brain, after drinking a lot of bottles of wine per week, for almost 2 years in a row! I could have become the new Einstein if I hadn’t killed all these brain cells 😉.

My best life & social media: Is it always the bright side of life?

Today I realized I needed to share something with you that I rarely do: sharing about the less beautiful moments of my life. This topic came across my mind on this rainy day when I was sitting in front of my cabana at Selina Resort Rawai in Phuket, Thailand.

I realized that I actually only share my good moments on social media; me with a big smile on my face, and beautiful surroundings. But, believe me, it is definitely not always glitter and glamour. I have bad moments, blue days, moments that I just want to cry and wish for better moments.

The reason why I write this post is because of some comments I received, after posting something on my Social Media. The most heard comments were:

✨ Your life looks so great, I am jealous (😲).
✨ Your lifestyle is amazing, I envy you (😳)!
✨ I wish I could live like you but…
❌ I have kids
❌ I have a house and a mortgage/rent to pay
❌ I have an office job/non-remote job
❌ I have no money
❌ I have… (fill out your own reason)

I truly considered quitting sharing posts on my social media. But …a better idea came across: from now on I will share the good✨, the bad 👎and the ugly 👺 moments. This is out of my comfort zone but here I go 🚀!

There are moments…
👉 That I feel lonely
👉 That I feel sad
👉 That I cry out loud
👉 That I feel misunderstood
👉 That there is no one around me to share my thoughts and emotions with
👉 That I feel restless and don’t know what to do with myself
👉 That I miss my family and friends really badly
👉 That I don’t want to be single
👉 That I am sick and tired of doing all things by myself
👉 That I am worried about my next destination, especially when my visa is running out
👉 That I am worried about what others will think of me
👉 That I feel that my life sucks and is completely worthless

I guess – actually, I am pretty sure – that many of you are experiencing one or more of these things in your life as well.

So I hope – for the next time when I post pictures of clear blue waters, and white sandy beaches surrounded by palm trees (most likely my next destination 😉) – that you take a moment (or two) before you post something about being jealous or ‘ I wish I could but’. It may look like the grass is greener on the other side but trust me, it isn’t (unless it is fake grass😝).

With love 💜 and light✨,
littlemissyoga

P.S. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook

Spring is here so… Let’s detox with Kombucha & Yin Yoga!

Sorry my fellow English speaking folks, this blog will be in Dutch because the workshop is in Dutch. But if you are interested to join us at this amazing workshop but you do not speak Dutch, do not hesitate to reach out. You are more than welcome! We will translate all into English for you.

Leticia Vizcarra (Natuurgeneeskundig therapeut) en ik hebben een supergave workshop opgezet, deze wil je echt niet missen. het gaat over ontgiften, ofwel detoxen.

De lente is hiervoor het beste moment van het jaar om lichaam en geest te ontgiften. En wij kunnen je daarbij helpen! We hebben een workshop opgezet waarbij we Kombucha en Yin yoga combineren, dit is een krachtige en effectieve manier om te detoxen. 

Tijdens deze mooie workshop leer je wat Kombucha is, mag je verschillende smaken proeven en leer je ook hoe je het zelf maakt. We sluiten af met een Yin-yogales, die ontspannend en detoxend werkt op je lichaam én geest. Het wordt een interactieve workshop waar de reiniging van lichaam en geest centraal staan. Je keert terug naar huis met veel kennis van Kombucha, met extra sterke darmen, een soepel lichaam en rust in je hoofd. 

Wat kun je van ons verwachten?

* Uitleg over Kombucha (zoals het 1ste en 2de fermentatieproces) & het proeven van verschillende smaken
* Zelf jouw favoriete smaak maken om thuis op te drinken
* Je krijgt een SCOBY (een zwam, de basis voor het fermentatieproces) & starter mee naar huis, zodat je thuis zelf nog meer Kombucha kunt laten brouwen.

* Een 45-minuten Yin-yogales met meditatie gericht op ontgiften. Ervaring met yoga is niet nodig. Bij Yin yoga nemen we passieve houdingen aan die we 2 tot 5 minuten vasthouden. De focus ligt op houdingen waardoor gifstoffen uit het lichaam worden afgevoerd en waarbij de meridianen worden geopend. Als je frequent Yin Yoga beoefent, zul je merken dat je lichaam soepeler wordt, je gewrichten sterker worden, je minder spanning in je lichaam voelt en je meer energie krijgt doordat je meridianen (energiebanen) weer geopend zijn. Je creëert meer geduld en compassie voor jezelf en ook voor jouw omgeving. 

Heb je lichamelijke klachten? Geef het alvast door bij de aanmelding. 

Wat verwachten wij van jou?

* Neem een grote glazen pot (weckfles) met deksel mee voor je SCOBY
* Draag sportieve, makkelijke kleding en neem (warme) sokken mee
* En zeker belangrijk: neem jouw positiviteit en enthousiasme mee 

En nu het belangrijkste: de praktische gegevens

Datum:    Zaterdag 14 mei 2022
            – Ochtend: 10.00 tot 12.30 uur (inloop vanaf 9.30 uur)
            – Middag: 14.00 tot 16.30 uur (met uitloop tot 17.00 uur)

Kosten:  € 82,00 per persoon – maximaal 15 deelnemers per workshop (reserveer snel je plekje voordat het vol is 😊)

Locatie:  Zero Point Breda (Ceresstraat 29, 4811 CA).

Parkeren op de Teteringsedijk is gratis, dit is 10 tot 15 minuten lopen.

Aanmelden kan via deze link. Graag bij je aanmelding aangeven in welke groep wil je zitten, ochtend of middag. We zien je graag zaterdag 14 mei 2022! 

💜✨With love & light✨💜 
littlemissyoga

           

Bom día! – an update from Portugal 🍀🧘‍♀‍💃⛱️☀️😎🌻

(average reading time: 3 minutes)

Bom día! Tudo bem? Tudo bem! And that’s basically all my knowledge of the Portuguese language. Ok…I also know: Uma mulher tem uma maça, meaning: A woman has an apple. Very important knowledge, isn’t it 😜😅😂? Especially for me, I love apples (not to confuse with Apple, Annet and Apple don’t go along 🥊👎😉).

Ok, enough blahblah, to the point! I had the idea that I would escape the winter in the Netherlands, Algarve should be warmer. Well… I know now that Portugal can have cold winters too! It started mid-December 2020 up to mid-January 2021. Happy that my winter clothes are quite oversized, and that I had brought so many clothes! I was wearing many layers to keep myself warm. The apartment I was in, had no insulation, an aircon to heat up the place, but it was quite noisy so after 10 minutes I had to turn it off. The fire 🔥 place was out of order, because I had put all my yoga stuff there (and I must admit: I don’t know how to make a proper fire and it’s an open fire place, so the apartment would either burn down, including the whole building 🚒 or everything inside would smell like burnt wood). Average temperature in the apartment: 11 degrees Celsius. It was often warmer outside….

I got my lovely winter toes back, I forgot how painful that is. The bathroom was so cold that I was already an ice queen before I could turn on the shower. I wrapped myself completely in the bed covers, preventing my nose from freezing off my face when I was asleep😉. Eventually, it turned out to be the coldest winter since 15+ years. In Laos (October – December 2019) we had 1 week of really cold weather. Why is winter following me… is there a hidden message 🤔? One thing I promised myself (Covid or not): I am on a tropical island from October 2021 until March 2022. No more winter toes 👣, no more winter clothes and a-sexy thermo-underwear 🩲🩳! Just summer clothes, SPF50, bikinis 👙, sunglasses 😎 and flip flops 🩴.

Luckily, the temperature is back to normal (around 12 at night, around 18 at daytime). And I exchanged the apartment for a mobile home at a holiday park😊. I am here for almost one month, and up to now, it is the best move (this is the 3rd place I live in within 3,5 months😅). Currently, we have a curfew 🔒 (8pm – 5am on the weekdays and 1pm – 5am in the weekends, beaches are closed too, unfortunately); luckily, the park is located in the countryside. We can go for a stroll in nature without seeing other people (and also no GNR/police 🚓), and if you want to socialize with people, there is always someone sitting outside on the veranda (except when it’s raining 😉).

All in all, I am living my dream: a lovely tiny home, lovely neighbors, beautiful nature, working now and then 😉 (I started a new job at Meditation Moments – https://meditationmoments.nl/). I can say I am definitely enjoying life 🧘‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️💃 💫✨🍀💜🙏🥳🍹. Do you want to design your own life too? Stay tuned, I will share shortly what I did to make it happen🙏 😇. Ok, one piece of advice in advance: listen to your heart ❤️, it has all the answers to your questions💜🙏.

💜💚 With love 💜💚
         littlemissyoga                          

P.s.: I started to teach some online yoga classes – see https://littlemissyoga.com/about-littlemissyoga/new-online-yoga-classes/, also check my Facebook-page to subscribe to my classes: https://www.facebook.com/annet.gosens/

P.p.s.: I have put some pictures of my life in Portugal – check https://littlemissyoga.com/gallery/pictures-portugal/.

P.p.p.s: Meanwhile posting this blog, it is raining cats🐱 & dogs 🐶… it looks like autumn in the Netherlands😉.

Why should I practice yoga 🤔?

Dear all,

A short blog this time, as I promised. I hope this article motivates and inspires you to start with yoga today, actually there is no reason NOT to practice yoga😉. This article is just about the poses, later on I will explain more about the 8 limbs of yoga.

How it all started for me: I still remember my first yoga class, October 2015, Ubud, Bali, Radiantly Alive, Ashtanga-Vinyasa (one of the hardest variations of yoga), Acacia from Canada was teaching. She wished me good luck for this class and some people were giggling 🤔😳. No, I couldn’t do all the Ashtanga-moves (and up to now I still can’t do all of them), I almost strained my neck because I had to watch my neighbors at the left and right to see what the Vinyasa (flow) was; I must have looked very clumsy I think😅. But besides of that, the energy I gained during and after the class and her way of teaching had inspired me to start doing yoga. When I started, I was a die-hard smoker and drank (too) much alcohol. By starting doing yoga and later on by taking yoga teacher trainings, yoga helped me to let go of the bad habits (except for eating (too much of) 85% or 90% pure chocolate 🍫😋). Sometimes I drink a glass of red wine, but I quit smoking completely. I turned from a vegetarian into a 95% vegan person. By doing this, I feel better, way better. And that’s it all about: do what fits you, do what makes you feel good. Yoga can be that (perfect) tool to guide you to become the best version of YOURSELF. And isn’t that what you truly want 😇💚🙏👍? Then definitely read the article below 😊 👇🙏🧘🧘‍♂️.

**What Doing Yoga For The First Time Does To Your Body**
Many thoughts will come to mind when you start doing yoga for the first time. As you stand in the back of a class, or unfurl a yoga mat at home, it can all seem like a lot of wobbling on one foot as you struggle to figure out a pose. But even if you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or confused at first, there are still all sorts of positive benefits to be had.

Right away, you’ll likely feel more space and a lightness in your body after your class. Yoga focuses on creating space in the mind and body so not only should you walk away feeling less stressed and more relaxed but you should feel less tension in your muscles. This is due to deep breathing. Your entire body will be oxygenated from the result of deeper breathing and increased circulation, and this will help you feel present and awake, as well. This loose, light feeling can stick around the rest of the day — which is one reason why folks turn to yoga as a way to de-stress — and it can even impact how you sleep. After you do yoga for the first time, you may sleep really well and find you wake up refreshed and rejuvenated.

That said, if you aren’t used to moving or exercising in such a way, you might notice that you feel a bit sore after doing yoga, too (for some this feels great: no pain, no gain). Holding a yoga pose not only requires core strength, it also requires endurance. The day after yoga you are very likely to be sore throughout your whole body. You can alleviate this by performing a warm-up before yoga, which will get the blood flowing to your muscles before going through the workout, and then following up with traditional cool down stretches. Physical symptoms aside, yoga can also tap into emotions more than you might realize, so don’t be surprised if some unexpected feelings bubble up during your class. We tend to hold our stress, worries, and tension not only in our brains, but throughout our body physically, mainly in our hips and jaw. When people try yoga, it might be their first time practicing breathing exercises (Yogi breath), and it may be the first time they allow themselves to release that stress through intentional breathing and practicing the poses.

If you’re new to yoga, it can be a big release, especially if you haven’t given yourself permission to let go of that tension before. But it can be yet another sign yoga is worth a try — and that you’re doing something good for yourself 😃.  **

I hope that you are convinced to roll out your mat (or blanket or towel) and start your practice today! If you need support with that, let me know, I can definitely help you😊🙏.

💜💚 With love 💜💚   
littlemissyoga                                           

        

Inspiried by: https://www.bustle.com/p/what-doing-yoga-for-the-first-time-does-to-your-body-19296977

Today I rise…✨🧚🏼‍♀️😇🌟

Reading time: about 6 minutes (more or less – depending on how fast or slow you read😉)

My dear readers! Happy New Year! Welcome to a new beginning, a fresh start. Maybe you have set resolutions for 2021, maybe not (like me 😉). I have set short-term and long-term goals and one of the goals is blogging more often, and blogging about what I want to share with the world, so here I am! This blog will be a long(er) one, in the future I will keep them short(er), so I am not stealing your time (one of the Yamas in Yoga: Asteya).

I got inspired by a YouTube video one of my friends sent me on my What’s app a few days ago (link is down below – no commission for me 😉). This YouTube video is showing exactly what I want to set out in this world. And I would love to share it with you because I need you; only together we can make the difference 🌟✨💜💪🙏!  

Today I rise…
Where are you? Little girl with broken wings but full of hope….
Where are you? Wise women covered in wounds …
Where are you? Today is the day I will not sit still and give in anymore

This is exactly what I am going to do from now on, online and offline, not sitting still anymore and giving in. I am fixing my broken wings, so my innerchild can fly again and can follow her dreams, hopes and wishes. I am licking my wounds from all the things I have been gone through, it doesn’t matter how deep or undeep the wounds are… wounds need to be healed first, then I am able to go on, with more power 💪, more self-confidence, more persistence, and with much more love in my heart ❤️. Yes, I did what people told me that would be better for me, I listened to them, they were older and wiser than I, so I trusted them. I didn’t listen to my heart. My heart was whispering all al the time with answers. One day, I woke up and said to myself: You need to make your own decisions, even if that is against all odds. What does make ME happy? Which path do I want to choose: The ‘beknown’ one, staying on the safe side, or the one less travelled by? I haven chosen the last one.

Today I rise
I am bruised but I will get up and walk again
Today I rise
I don’t care if you ignore my beauty
Today I rise
Through the alchemy of my darkest nights I heal and thrive
Today I rise
I move through the world with confidence and grace
I open my eyes and I am ready to face
My wholeness as a woman and my limitless capacities
I will walk my path with audacity

Today I rise
I reconnect with the many aspects of myself
I am in awe of the reality I can create
I am a healer – I am a queen
A wise woman – A wild woman

I will rise and beam
I am a rebel
I will wake up and fight
I am a mother and I am a child
I will no longer disguise my sadness and pain
I will no longer suffer and complain
I am black and I am white
There is no reason to hide

Everything I need, is already within me, everything you need is already within, we already have all the ansnwer. We are one, we are all made of the same energy, we are all love and light, coming from the same Source. That Source is something bigger than us, you can call it what you want, but you can’t deny the power of the Source. There is no reason to hide anymore, because we are all the same 🙏💜.

Where are you … I call upon Kali
To kiss me alive
I transform my anger into power
No more heartache or strive

The world is missing what I am ready to give
My wisdom, my sweetness, my love
And my hunger for peace

I weep with the trees and the rivers and the earth in distress
I rise and shine and I am ready to go on my quest

Today I rise
Without doubt or hesitation
Today I rise
Without excuses – Without procrastination

Today I call upon my sisters to join
A movement of resoluteness and ….concern

Why are we still fighting, why are we still divided, why are borders, passports and different currencies blocking our need, our RIGHT to be ONE? Why do people still believe that MONEY is POWER and that POWER is important to survive? All is coming from the same Source, everything is energy. POWER is just a mask to disguise FEAR. I call upon all my sisters: let’s unite and start to shine our LIGHT to and share our LOVE with everyone, together we can make the difference. It is good to know about LOVE & FEAR, we do need both, but nowadays I ask myself: where is the LOVE? FEAR is trying to take over the LOVE. I won’t let that happen! So, sisters, let’s go hand in hand and make that movement of resoluteness and concern ✌️🤝🙏.

Today is the day I rise and scream
Today I foresee the future of my dreams!
Today is my call to action … I will fulfill my mission
Without further distraction.
Today is the day!
Today I will start
To offer the world
The Wisdom of my heart.

I believe in fairy tales 🧚🏼‍♀️🏰 and they always begin with: Once upon a time… and they always end with: And they lived happily ever after. And I want to have that ending, happily ever after, living in a world of LOVE, PEACE & LIGHT, together with you, you and you, everyone, NOW! I just need 1% of the whole world to create the difference, to create a better world🌎🌍🌏.

I have just one question: Are you with me?

💜💚 With love 💜💚      
littlemissyoga                                        

        

Inspired by this video 👇:

P.s.: Please, comment on this blog if you feel like it, either you agree or disagree, if you have add-ons or want to unite with me 😊. All is welcome!

🙏🏻💜Gratitude 💜🙏🏻

These words came up when I was at the beach, last Monday (13 July 2020). I’d like to share them with you 🤗.

Gratitude
              For this beautiful day
A beautiful day to live for
A beautiful day to die for

Gratitude
              To all my friends and family
The ones I still have
The ones I have lost
              All of you taught me something I needed in my life

Gratitude
              For all the gifts and talents I possess
Some I use
Some are still untouched

Gratitude
              For every day
Sometimes I seize it
Sometimes I let it pass by

Gratitude
              For this word
Sometimes I feel you
Sometimes I don’t
              But you are always there at my side

💜💚 With love 💜💚     
         littlemissyoga                                       

2 months of teaching yoga at Polwaththa have almost finished 🌴🌳🧘🏻‍♀🐒🧘🏻‍♂🙏🏻, a new adventure is waiting 😎🧘🏻‍♀⛱🏊🏻‍♀🙏🏻💜

Finally, a new update! I was a bit offline, or basically, doing other things and had a few retreats in a row which costed me more energy than I expected. But yeah, back on track! Just 1 more day left teaching here. Checking out on March 13, taking a few days off, preparing for my next adventure: Indonesia. ’Again Indonesia?’, I hear you thinking. Yes, again, by accident. I applied for a yoga job on Gili Meno, a few weeks ago already. Completely forgot about it and suddenly I got a reply, including the terms & conditions in my mailbox. Teaching at Gili Meno, my favourite Gili Island, for 1 month. It wasn’t planned, I was about to go to Kalpitiya (beach side Sri Lanka), for another opportunity and after that to Jaffna (in the north). But with my life, you know never know what’s gonna be😬😅☺. I hear you thinking again: ‘So maybe she comes to The Netherlands🙏🏻😇’. I can’t tell now… you will see me when I get there 😉.

⚠Warning⚠: Really long update🙈😇
This update will be longer than the previous ones 😅🙈, maybe you have to break it down into smaller pieces 😉. I put some subtitles, so it may be easier for you to break it down in smaller parts 😊. And, I shortened the story, so I am not stealing all your time (that’s one of the yoga principles: Ahimsa, no stealing😇). For more details, let me know, I am happy to share it with you on What’s app or in a (video) call 😊.

11 February: Dutch, English, Dunglish… 🤔😅
On the 11th of February I had a Dutch man checking in for yoga, but he didn’t book a retreat. He was the only one for a few days, so I tried to teach in Dutch. That’s really hard, after talking English daily. Sometimes it was hard to find the Dutch words🙈. It reminds me of my family living in Canada, trying to speak Dutch 😉. Again, we had a few days of rain (11-12 Feb), luckily not too bad and not for a long period per day 😊. And else, I know what to do then😊.

12 – 15 February: An unexpected yoga retreat🧘🏻‍♀🙏🏻🧘🏻‍♂
On the 12th I received a What’s app of the manager: a new retreat starts today. That’s the way it goes in here sometimes. It was a couple. The retreat was still running with Valentine’s day, I tried the heart shape Vrkasana (treepose), but it failed, because of the difference in length😅. He was 2,05m, she around 1,70m… Anyway, always nice to do something special on Valentine’s Day💜😊.

On the day the retreat ended we had 2 big groups coming, Dutch and British people. That meant buffet style for dinner (and I discovered there was barely nothing for me to eat, all with garlic and raw onion🙄…). The Dutch group were young ladies, and they told me they would love to have a Yin class (11 peeps!), but they cancelled last minute. Like they also did with the dinner… completely unexpected they informed that they wouldn’t have dinner… all the work for nothing! The staff got quite angry, they worked their asses off for what?  So much food left, the only ones which were happy with this food were the wild boars😅.

16 – 18 February 2020: A little lazy😊
On Sunday I had a really Lazy Sunday. No classes after 13 days non-stop teaching. It was good to have no class, although teaching a Yin class is also calming down for me. The day after started with a Monkey Monday🐒🐒. I had to stop my self-practice, tried to chase some monkeys away… but they were with the whole family…30 of them and still making more monkeys, right in front of me🙈. First there were 3 monkeys in a row, fleeing each other. Then a big (apparently male) pushed the one in the middle away, grabbed the female monkey in front of him… Doggie style practiced by monkeys 🐶🐒🤪🤣. After like 10 seconds she got bored and went away. And then, this was really disgusting🤮, he had something white slimy on his hand and put that in his mouth…😳. Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures (or maybe luckily I didn’t 😉), I was too flabbergasted. The rest of the day was a Lazy Monday. Nell and I went to a local factory where some ladies were sewing some clothes. My gosh… that’s a lot of manual work and for what? A few rupees a day… and we pay a lot of money. Definitely not fair trade!!!

The day after was also a day without yoga classes, which was ok, because after that day I would have 2 yoga retreats in a row, 8 days non-stop teaching and be present/hosting the guests. We had a big group Dutch people coming in on this day, just for 1 night. For one night, the management suggest to take just a daily backpack, so the guys don’t have to carry heavy suitcases all the way up to the cabanas and the next day back down again. But of course… some people can’t read or are too attached to their stuff, that they bring everything… The one who had to give the example, the tour guide, had the heaviest suitcase and he needed to go to lodge 15, the one the furthest away! Some groups and tour guides are really unbelievable. Probably too much luxury hotels they have been to, I guess. Not used to be in the jungle. The guide would have changed his mind if he had to carry his own suitcase for 15 minutes😉. Dinner was again in buffet style, again garlic and raw onion. Slowly I am managing a bit of garlic (I eat 2 spoons max of something with garlic), but raw onion… no thank you.  

The next day (February 18) I did some self-practice, accompanied by 2 playing giant squirrels 🐿🐿, way better than love making monkeys 🙈😜. Later that day, I went out for a walk and I found a perfect spot in the jungle where I could enjoy the sunshine! How blessed I was😇🙏🏻, for 30 minutes full in the sun, yeah👊👏. The walk was good, I needed a different work out. I was even sweating! Hadn’t happened for a long time actually… it’s not warm here 😉. Last night was super cold; I woke up to grab an extra blanket, tried to sleep again, unfortunately, the monks started to chant already… That means… time to wake up… 5.15am 😴.

19 – 25 February 2020:  2 yoga retreats in a row 🧘🏻‍♀🙏🏻🧘🏻‍♂💪🏻 & Re-united with Heike 😊.
The first group started on 19 February, 5 people. A very interesting group, 1 of them arrived at 5am in the morning, started to talk about changing his life during this retreat, since he found out I was the teacher. Instead of my own practice, I showed him the yoga shala and the big cabana with the view. Wow, he wanted to stay in that room (he was already painting after 5 minutes walking, that cabana is 15 minutes away from the restaurant, uphill…a good start to change your lifestyle😉). It was available, so the housekeeping ladies made up the room. After his nap (and I finally had time to have breakfast and self-practice) I woke him up to get ready for the Yin class. He decided to stay in the room they had initially prepared for him… annoying for the ladies. He told me he did some self-study, wrote a lot about his good and bad habits and was willing to change it, telling me this while smoking his 3rd Iqos-cigarette (an E-cigarette) 🤨🤔. When I mentioned this, he felt busted…. Yeah, breaking with bad habits means: stepping out of your comfort zone, and that’s not easy. I offered him to do a guided chakra meditation, he was in for it. The 2nd day, he didn’t want to join the morning yoga (no, it’s too intense, I can’t do that, I feel weak, blahblahblah, fucking excuses😤). And he didn’t want to do the trekking with the group…. Ok, you don’t have to follow the program, but to set up a healthier lifestyle, some movement is good. The worst thing is, is that his behavior was irritating me. It is the same as many people in my previous surrounding. Always complaining, but never changing. As a yoga teacher (and a yogi) I shouldn’t judge people, but as a human being I do sometimes. And now I have to release my emotions as a human being and I think: Fuck off with your lousy excuses! Why should I offer you that meditation if you aren’t able to open up your eyes, take that first step to make that change? Meditation is one of the last steps. If you aren’t grounded, if you can’t look in the mirror and be honest to yourself, then you won’t reach that stage of samadhi (which he is looking for). It starts with awareness, to be completely honest to yourself, and damn, the truth hurts (I am also struggling with that!). But to achieve your goal, you need to struggle; the same as Buddha did to reach that final stage: Samadhi, enlightenment. Maybe it is a typically Western mindset: we want to change but in the easy way, not too much effort, even thinking: if I earn enough money, I can buy everything. Well, you can afford a bigger funeral, with even more fluffy cake and a coffin made of tropical wood or so, but still you can’t buy happiness (ok, you can buy the magazine Happinez, but that’s not what I meant 😉). So, off my chest, time to continue my story 😊.

Luckily, the other 4 people were more likeminded and in for yoga, which gave me energy to go on and do my best throughout the yoga classes and give them a good time (well, basically, I don’t do much, they do the hard work 😉). At the third day, this guy showed changes: he wanted to do a trekking and cooking class, but private. And he wanted to plant the tree. We gave him the hardest task: digging the hole 😉, so he had some extra physical exercises 😜. At the end, he was really happy he went to this retreat, he is even planning to come back! I didn’t expect that… the mind of a human being is really unpredictable 😜😅 (including mine 😉).

The second retreat group came on the day the others left; 4 people. A nice group, a nice energy 😊. Also, my friend Heike came to Polwaththa. I met her 4 years ago, we did the same yoga teacher training in Thailand. She attended a few classes; we went for a small trekking to Pettigala rock, lovely to do this hike with her. We talked and laughed a lot 😃😃. We took a Pick me to drop us off and saved the driver’s number so we could call him for a pick up again. After the lovely and sometimes challenging climb (this one looked a bit like the ones I did in Laos, I loved it, I missed these intense hikes) we called the driver but he didn’t want to pick us up. And there was no Pick-me or Uber available. Ok, let’s start to walk, we will find a tuktuk. We didn’t have to walk far, there was a minivan leaving the temple, with a monk. We waved, the driver pulled over and we got a ride to the temple close to Polwaththa. I tried to give the monk a donation for the temple but he refused. We felt so lucky, the hike was lovely, the weather was amazing (after a cloudy morning) and we got a free ride! Heike left on the same day as the retreat people, she went to Pepper Cottage, a lovely bed & breakfast, 10 minutes walking away from Polwaththa. I went with her, I also love that place. The energy is so uplifting, I can really charge myself.

Heike was leaving on the 28th, to Indonesia (we probably catch up there 😊), on the 26th we had our goodbye dinner at Pepper Cottage, because I was going to Anuradhapura on the 27th and 28th.  Marga, the owner, cooked a lovely non-Sri Lankan meal! After 1,5 years I drank a little bit of alcohol, red wine. This was a good one, but I know now that I don’t have to have alcohol anymore (I am really looking forward for having a nice vegan Chai Latte 🙏🏻☺). My trip to Anuradhapura was short, I spent about 10 hours in buses to go up and down. I went there to visit the new yoga teacher, Tharaka, who’s replacing me on March 12. He visited Polwaththa to talk with the owners about meditation a few days before, so we met here. He told me he wants to set up yoga & meditation retreats at his house, and maybe I could help him, so that’s why I went, just before the next yoga retreat was about to start. I almost had to cancel this 2-day trip, because we had guests and probably they wanted to do yoga… We had 1 couple coming in, that was all… so Remon agreed on my days off.

27 – 28 February: Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura is an amazing place, Tharaka is a special man (really spiritual). Like I mentioned, it took me about 10 hours in buses, to go back and forth, but is was worth it. Out of the jungle, a warm and open city, not too crowded. When I arrived we had lunch and we talked about many things. He had to teach, I asked if I could join, that was ok. There was no one, so I got a private yoga/meditation class with chanting (he is a singer and plays guitar). After class we had some typical Sri Lankan food (string hoppers and curry, then to bed early, because the next day we had to leave early. We went to a big white stupa (temple) and a temple underneath the Bodi tree (the tree where Buddha got his Samadhi aka enlightenment). The first place didn’t touch me, people were worshipping Buddha, and that’s the opposite of what Buddha wanted. The second place was lovely, a real good energy. After that I went back to Digana, because I needed to teach again… I got there at 5pm, and apparently I had people who would love to do yoga, but they went up to the shala already, and no one informed me about that. So I took my evening off 😉.

29 February – 7 March: My last retreats…
On the 29th, 8 people came for the yoga retreat. 3 couples and 2 single ladies. A good mix, the yoga level was mainly beginner, which is challenging to teach for a Vinyasa class. It can slow down the flow, but I managed to create an easier flow, so everyone was happy. There was one lady, she told me a lot about what she had been going through in her private life. It was like I was listening to my future story; I have the same issues where she was dealing with before she began here spiritual journey. This lady is for me an omen that I am ready to start my spiritual journey, to face my demons, to clean myself, to heal myself, to break with patterns😊. What that will be exactly….I don’t know yet, but I will update you once I know it😊.

The last group, 9 people, was amazing. That energy was soo uplifting. 8 of them were young people and 1 was a 72-year old lady, a traveler and a strong independent woman, amazing! I felt so blessed they were my last group, because they gave me so much energy and I learnt so much from them (even though they don’t know they did 🙏🏻😇🙏🏻).

On the day they left, I went with them to Digana, to the vet with Sumitra, Nell and 2 puppies. Sumitra found these 2 dogs, they were basically left alone, in a box. One has serious issues with his legs (his bones and muscles aren’t strong enough to stand up properly, because he hadn’t walked for 5 months). The other one is doing a bit better. The vet told us that with some Vitamin C, D/sunlight and Calcium everything would be ok. And now, after 3 days, they are already walking better. They are adorable, if I shouldn’t travel, I would have taken them to my place. But now that is impossible, I can’t and I won’t take them with me, in and out planes and resorts… Hopefully someone else will take those adorable puppies into their house 🙏🏻. They deserve someone who can give them love and attention, they are soo cute!! Whehehehe, one of the puppies vomited in the jeep on the way back from the vet, it just missed my shoes and pants. He was carsick 🤮, that poor dog 🐕.

8 – 10 March: Quieting down, unwinding, mentally saying goodbye😌🤗
Until now not much people for yoga; we had some groups but they were bird spotters and just drop ins for 1 night. There was one couple, and you know what? I met them at the Forest Monastery in Thailand in 2018, 2 years ago! She came in for dinner, we greeted and then, suddenly at the same time, we said: hey, I know you! We had to dig deep to figure out how, what and where, but we managed it. They have a well-known holistic center on Vanuatu, a small island close to Australia (I had to look it up on the map, never heard of it before). Now, they are looking for a new spot, probably Sri Lanka, to open up a new center and leave the other one behind. Isn’t that amazing! Hopefully we can meet again and who knows, we can work together (yoga, energetic healing, meditation, chakra) 🙏🏻. Today, 10 March, Tharaka, the new teacher comes and a few new people. My last teaching day will be tomorrow (11 March) and to be honest I am happy with that. After 2 months it’s time for a new adventure, Indonesia here I come😊🙏🏻.

I hope you liked this very long update, you can leave your comments/feedback or whatever you want to share behind. Next time I will try to post shorter updates and more regularly 😊. And new pictures will follow soon!

💜💚 With love 💜💚
         littlemissyoga


P.s.: I suddenly realise that I am ending my job here around Full Moon. Full moon means ending of cycles, letting go of things which are not longer serving you 😊. Everything happens for a reason 🙏🏻😊.

P.p.s. If you would love to support The Forest Healing Foundation, you can click on the link below and leave a donation 🙏🏻😊 . Every little bit helps!

Save 7 acres of beautiful forest in Sri Lanka