Leap of Faith Life

Leaps of Faith in Life, Travel, Yoga, and Happiness

Category: Happiness (page 2 of 2)

Making Peace with Birthdays

This experience came at me out of no where.  Despite my 10 year high school reunion this year, I haven’t paid a particular amount of attention to my age (well, more than normal anyway).  So, this boat thing surprised  me and really, really helped me clear my head on the whole damn age thing.

Weird Coincidences
After a long run (well, long for me anyway, I’m a total newbie to running) along the shore front of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, I did my normal cool down walk.  It was a beautiful breezy summer day, and sweaty or not, something was calling me to go sit down on a public bench on the beach instead of returning immediately to my car to go home and shower.  The sky and water were both insanely blue, and I decided to listen to the urge to sit, rather than ignore it (the easier option).Bench

The only reason I actually listened to this voice came from my recent commitment to my meditation practice. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit as a yoga teacher for the past four years, my daily home meditation practice was sorely lacking.  I began to get serious about it this summer, and settled in to a nice space after a month or so.

Stay with me here – once I made a commitment to get my butt down on the ground for 10 – 20 minutes (mind you, I had to work up to that amount of time, I started off with a few minutes each day), I started to see the benefits immediately, and I was addicted.

I am  pushed to consider the world around and inside me, to recognize love in myself and admire love in everyone around me. It’s freaking amazing.  It puts me in check when I have a moment where something might jump out at me to knock me down. I take a moment to calm down or just breathe in gratitude. Much better than seeing red when someone cuts me off in traffic!

It also guides me to focus and recognize when the universe tries to send me signs, messages, or just a little love. Normally people only acknowledge messages after something tragic happens, like a death, to see little signs of love around them. Small, yet significant – a particularly beautiful sunset, a certain song on the radio or a dog coming to say hello with the same name.

The Event that Changed My Outlook About Age on the Beach
About five minutes after I sat down on that bench I was called to put my booty in, I saw off in the distance a little parade of sail boats coming down the waterway.  They were about 1000 feet offshore, and a beautiful site to see.  They were coming in at a fast clip, so I decided to walk down to the water’s edge and take a few pictures.  Continue reading

My European Leap of Faith

How my leap of faith process might help you with yours

Somewhere on the interwebs, the phrase ‘leap of faith’ is described as “an act of believing in or attempting something whose existence or outcome cannot be proved.”

For me, that is both terrifying and deeply comforting.  A dichotomy, I realize.  It also means; however, that others have searched for the term, that I’m not alone in this time of change.  The famous google search when in a moment of crisis. If you are on the precipice of making a huge decision, read on and see if the process I use is of any help.

The different types of leaps & my crazy story

cropped-cropped-iphone-sept-june-2013-11312.jpgThere are many types of ‘leaps of faith’ in all parts of life.  Hopefully, we take at least little ones every day; getting out of bed in the morning, cooking something delicious for someone you love (or to be that loved someone doing the tasting), traveling to a new city, trying yoga, or moving across the ocean.

My leap of faith involves another country. 

For me, as I write, it’s a leap of faith in moving across an ocean.  The US to Europe to be more specific. For love. And a career change. And to scratch my travel itch again. Did I mention I don’t have my visa in hand yet? Or a specific ‘job’ lined up? Or a partner that is 1000% sure we are ready for such a journey?  Nether one of us is 1000% sure – but no one ever is sure about anything under the influence of that sassy love hormone (unless you’re plain crazy, in my opinion).

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Pieces of Home When Adjusting to Life Abroad

I created a bucket list of things to do in my new Dutch city of Groningen (with a German boyfriend), but after I created it, I felt a bit like I’ve wasted my time thus far – two months into my journey.

 So I decided to do the opposite both, and write out all the things I originally wanted to find abroad before I left the States and have since found in my daily living and wanderings. Things that make me feel a bit closer to home and make my new surroundings that much more friendly.

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The Power of Your First Yoga Class

“Yoga is not about being bendy … it is about breathing and moving and smiling on the inside.  It is the hardest thing I have ever done, but also the best.” – Author Unknown

We all had to start somewhere in yoga (or perhaps you have wanted to start).  That day took courage and unquenchable curiosity to drive or walk to the pre-chosen studio, ask for the paperwork to sign up, and roll out a mat in a little space in a foreign studio.

Yoga Studio

Add not speaking the same language as the instructor and those in class, and that was my first yoga experience: South Korea in 2007.

I wanted to try yoga for so long, but thought I lost the opportunity when I went to South Korea for my graduate degree in 2007.  I couldn’t speak the language, and I had never tried yoga – that sealed the deal to never allow myself inside a studio, right?

Well, it was for me, until my American friend told me he tried out the class and loved it.  So, I sheepishly went with him to the next session, and loved it too. I attended regularly for the full two years I lived in Seoul, and it saved my sanity during my MBA program.

I followed along well for the most part by simply watching the teacher and the other students around me.  My teacher spoke little English, but made us feel connected to the practice by simply stating two words in English – inhale and exhale.  She whispered these words whenever she walked near us – she knew what all yogis eventually learn: breath is the most important part.

Behind of course, simply showing up to the practice.

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