Your Cup of Yoga

The other day I came across this beautiful tree, honoring those that won't be with us this Christmas ( either human or pets).

Had the chance to wish Happy Christmas to my dad and brother too.

Just because it's Christmas grief doesn't go away. Behind the smiles, sadness and missing those gone lies dormant ( or acute!) But that's ok, both joy and grief can co-exist. And those who aren't with us, we know they are in our hearts and minds.

Wishing all those spirits Happy Christmas, and may they be free.

As the year draws to a close, it made sense to encourage some self-reflections.

By a show of hands 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️how many of you said or thought "I don't have time" in the past week? 🙋🏼‍♀️

Our relationship with time is complex and somewhat distorted. We live in the past, worry about the future and forget to stay in the present moment.

Eckart Tolle said:

Time isn't precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed

Time impacts our whole existence.

Something interesting happens when we are more present: Time expands.

I encourage you today that every time you feel your mind wanders to the past or the future, COME BACK! Use mental tools or simply your breath.

It’s a practice, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Let’s come back to Now.

Much love,
Monica

P.S. yes, love taking pictures with my baby boy 😅

Today marks our 1 year anniversary of being in this new land.🎊

I said it before, the first year it's always the hardest when moving to a new country.

And, boy, hard it's been, but oh! so rewarding as the transition equipped us with the tools needed to carry on.

I know things will still be hard at times but we are more resillient now. And things are finally starting to take proper shape. Feels like home ❤️

Few tips, if you're interested in moving abroad:

● Reasearch, reasearch and reasearch! Don't be complacent.
● Give yourself plenty of time and allow extra time on top.
●Be open-minded to embrace new things. You will learn even more and thank yourself for it
●Self-compassion- it's a tough process. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Here's to another year🤩

Happy Thanksgiving Day! 🙏🍁🎃

It's my first celebration of the sort here. Feels a bit like novelty.

Yes, we do need to express gratitide daily- that's a huge practice in itself- but with everybody's busy lives, it doesn't hurt to assign a day for it, and remind people gratitude is good for the mind and the heart.

Gratitude is even more important in grief. It provides a support that keeps you afloat when you need most.

I invite you to take 5 min today ( every day if you can) and look around you and appreciate how far you've come and what you have in your life.

P.S. Canada Thanksgiving is different in date than the one in USA, but they celebrate it in a similar way - a time to honour the fall's harvest and spend time with family ( oh! And football too🏈)

Much love,

Monica

It's been a loooong time.

It's hard to come back as the grief has struck again, only 2 and a half years after the loss of my brother, my dad joined him,only a few weeks ago.

Feels very hard to share this but I know at least 1 person out there may need to read this. This is for you. ❤️

Losing a parent, although horribly hard, feels just a tad more natural though than a sibling, especially as my brother took his own life, whereas my dad went through, one may call, more natural, albeit sudden, end of life.

It also feels different.

I'm sharing this to open again the conversation about end of life and grief.

Many people struggle for years with the loss of a loved one and it's ok to take our time in grief. We don't have to rush it, offer fake smiles and pretend we are 'ok'.

In grief, you may have to show up for work. Attend that meeting and when people ask 'how are you', society teaches us to say 'I'm ok', when in fact we are broken and don't want to be there.

I tested my theory the other day. Attending a meeting people asked me how I've been. When I was just about to say 'I'm ok' I stopped myself, and decided I'd rather be honest. If no one talks openly about grief, who will?

So instead I said 'been better, my dad passed away recently'. I was expecting just a couple of polite condoleances, but instead we talked about grief, mental health, and alchohol addiction ( as sadly dad was a victim of). People opened up and shared their stories too, which made me feel less alone.

And you aren't alone either.

Know that each of us grieve in our own way. Don't let anyone tell you 'you should be better by now'.

● It's also ok to feel joy while you grieve. It's not a linear process.
●Eat well and rest. Now more than ever.
●Be compassionate to yourself ●During the days with brain fog where you have to do stuff, little progress, it's progress.

Please take care of yourself.

I find solace in knowing my dad is not alone and he's now continuing his journey. He has a lot of work ahead of him and I keep my faith in the Divine he is at peace.

We have to understand that everything we go through is a process. 🙏

Whether life is abundant or seems that everyhing that could go wrong is going wrong, keep your faith, in whatever you have faith in. Most importantly in yourself that you have all the tools to overcome it.

And when things are tough, we are tempted to withdraw and close off relationships, but that's when we need our loved ones most.

So, I invite you to look around you ( or think) about someone in your life that need you. It may be a simple text, or call or get them out for a walk. A simple check in.

You ca do the same with a stranger. Either smiling to the person at the till or to someone on the street. That may be the only smile they see all day. What do we know...?

Trust your heart. We need to stop being afraid to show our love. In appropriate ways, of course😁

P.S. Haven't been around here in a while. Life is busy but rich with learning and opportunities for growth. Sending you much love.

Be kind to yourself❤️

P.P.S Some pics I wanted share 🤗

What they say about Candians is true!🇨🇦

People are truly nice and they actually give a s**t.

For example you wake up and you notice your next door neighbour is cleaning the snow of your driveway, as there's been heave snowfall overnight. Why? Just because...😍😅

They call it for a reason.❤️

In our journey to 'settling' here, things are..well..settling. We finally got our boxes from UK after so much stress! So, very grateful to have our things back ( being the happiest!)

This whole experience is also part of the spiritual journey. They're not separate. You practice when things are good so that when you hit a rough patch, you have something to support and hold you.

Morale of the story: Do your practice.

P.S. The snow Snoopy was in someone's garden...was very happy to see that, just had to share it with you!

Much love,
Monica

One of my biggest dreams came to life this week! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

After in 11 years in the UK, in the 11th month.

Some of you know why I have been absent for so long, and what was the 'plan' I talked about before. Well, I can finally say, with a heart full of gratitude that this has manifested itself.🙏🙏

For the past year my partner and I have worked so hard to move to Canada! I visualised this EVERY DAY FOR THE PAST YEAR

The whole process has been painful, a true rollercoaster of emotions, sleepless nights, tears, arguments, anxiety, then joy, excitment, hope, then dispair! The ups and down hit us big time.

But. We. Did. Not. Give.Up.

The past 12 days have been the most excruciating in my life. Moving to a new continent and knowing you have to do everything in 10 days: sell your house, sell your car, research places to stay, ARRANGE TRANSPORT FOR YOUR DOG 🤯🤯🤯 whilist having to deal with the anxiety of moving into a brand new culture..it's been...interesting... ( I mean HORRIFIC😅)

STILL. DID.NOT GIVE.UP.

Through God's grace, we got here, and we're now in Winnipeg!

I'll be sharing my adventure more going forward, and for Aston too, who had to travel without us 🥺🥺( See pic with us reunited❤️)

To all those who supported in making this dream a reality, you are in our hearts and always think of you❤️

Now..onwards to this new chapter.

Much love,
Monica

✨️✨️How do you talk to yourself?

A repeated theme has come to me throughout today, and that is:
What language do we use with ourselves? Especially as what we say we attract. What we say to ourselves, we become.

After analysing the question ( this is something that I've worked with throughout the years) I've concluded and I still am very critical of myself, and that leads to a less loving language. So I began to think, how can I improve this. I struggle sometimes to see my own qualities, but I'm very good at seeing them in others.

This led me to imagine that someone else is asking all these question about me, as if I'm someone else:

●How is she with her family?
●How is she when someone is asking for help/advice?
●How does she treat/serve her partner ( and furry baby in my case 🥰)?
●How is in her workplace?
●How does she influence others?
● How does she contribute to positive change?
●What is she good at?
●What are her obstacles and can she overcome them? How?
●What advice would you give her?

By imagining I'm a friend and I take a closer look at myself I realise that the negative conversation is unnecessary and happens only out of fear.

But action cures fear.

So self-reflection exercises like this can instantly lift your spirit and remind you of all the qualities you forget you have.

I finished the exercise thinking, 'you know what? I am fu***ng good. No! I'm really awesome🤣😁And I am fu***ng worthy of all the goodness I'm blessed with.🙏🙏❤

So, I encourage you to do it! Write it down even, but do it, takes less than you think- I did mine while in the shower -where all the best ideas come 😅

Love yourself. Really, you must. And talk to yoursef as if you are your most loves friend.

Pic -me and my baby boy , just chillin'


-compassion

✨️✨️When you find yourself in the midst of fear and anxiety, find solace in nature.

These aren't easy times. If anything, they are scary, uncertain and wild. That kind of seems to be the pattern for the past couple of years. And more.
So, fear, is prevalent most times.

We need to develop the tools to overcome it. This is when practice is of utmost importance.

Wheather your thing is walking in nature, yoga, cycling, running, crocheting, meditation or breathwork, use it. Regardless of your life feels crap or rosy.

DO YOUR PRACTICE.
This is what will keep you going.

If you don't have one, pick one, doesn't matter what, stick to it and you will see how that will hold you when you need most.

In the end, we all need tools to keep us sane.

What are those for you?

P.S. pic taken a few weeks ago in Peak District- was glorious!

✨️✨️Our thoughts are like clouds.

When I look at clouds makes me think of our thoughts. Negative and noisy ones.

And every time it reminds me of something that said.
Imagine you look at a painting and within the frame all you see is gray. But if you take the frame out and look at the entire painting, you see the sky. And you think 'oh, it's just a cloud'

Oh..it's just a thought.

'Awareness is the sky' (Ram Dass)

“Your view should be as high and vast as the sky. Pure awareness, once it manifests within the mind’s empty nature, can no longer be obscured by negative emotions…” – Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

✨️✨️Sinchronicities happen daily, if you open your eyes to see them.

Recently, a dear friend of mine sent me these wonderful gifts from across the ocean. Little that he knew was that I have been trying to learn the Hanuman Chaleesa for a good while, and this year I'm set to do it. I'm also strongly drawn to Hanuman...but my friend didn't know any of this
He simply acted from his wonderful and deep heart and tuned in the mindfield, I'm forever grateful❤🙏

For those of you who don't don't know who Hanuman is, he is the monkey God. He is the perfect servant and devotee ofRam and he helped rescue Sita from the hands of the demon Ravana( cue Ramayana).

But he is more than that.

The most profound symbol of bhakti, of love, yoga of devotion.

And all this came to me as the Universe heard me and said 'I'll support you on your path'.

The message is:
💮Pay attention to signs and sinchronicities.

💮Don't be afraid to ask for the things you need in your life, with the right intention. Do it with Gratitude.

💮Trust. Trust. Trust and surrender.

🌼🌼Because Love.

This is also yoga.

🌼🌼Grief is a personal journey.

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my brother's passing. The whole experience it's still very fresh, almost as if I've heard about his su***de yesterday.

The past year though, because of this experience, I've learnt a lot about the the grieving process.
Makes one more resilient and compassionate.

It's individual and no one can tell you how you should behave in the process.

You can cry.
You might not.
It's doesn't matter.
It matters more how it changes you and who you become after you've allowed the learnings to settle.

It doesn't have an expiry date either. It can take years.
The loved one will always be in your heart.
Speak to them. They'll hear you.

Most important, treat yourself with tenderness.


***de

***deprevention












***de

💛💛Greet the year with an open heart.

I've started the year with a huge feeling of gratitude, and from that, I've realised I've been feeling extremely energetic and ready for this year. 😊

Trying to accept what comes, is not easy especially during these times.
That's why we need to practice, and that can take any form our heart desires.

Also, very excited to announce I'll be back on Twitch from Friday, at 7pm GMT! See you there!

Have a loving year ahead everyone.🥰

Much love,
Monica

These colours warm my heart so much, that I don't mind the cold 🍂❤

I went to the park today and in my running with Aston ( see pic🐶),through the carpet of colourful leaves I felt this immense sense of presence. Felt so much gratitude for that moment and everything in it: my dog being happy, the calmeness of nature, the trees almost speaking to me.Geniunly felt emotional. Such joy!

It all reminded me of how much abundace we have, even if it's not material.

If only we dare to see it.

Much love,
Monica

💫💫 Rest and Replenish.

As the summer draws to a close, I've decided to take a break from social and streaming.( Stil available for Zoom classes).
This is only a break to replenish, allowing myself to reflect and connect even more within and with the ones around me.

This will also allow me to focus more on my Dru yoga course, training my dog 🥰🐕‍🦺 and simply notice where I'm standing for the year thus far.

I'll be back mid-September (ish).

In the meantime, please be kind to yourself and those around you.

It's ok to dis-connect in order to re-connect.

Much love,
Monica

💫💫 Change is in the air.

It's coming close to the end of the summer and with that, there's an invitation to go within and reflect on the year so far. 2021 has flown by almost quicker that 2020!

This transitional phase can express itself through a lot of emotions, either apparent or hidden.

I found this in myself as well. And it's so hard to simply observe the 'stickyness' of them and not to drown in the web of emotions.They're everywhere! 😅

I found that taking time for myself and simply sit quietly, or chant helps release some of those blocked energies. Chanting is a big one for me! Also, my Dru yoga practice helps immensly!

Just find your tools and use them one by one. See what works for you this time of year.

And most importantly, be kind to yourself.
Life can be hard as it is, why make it harder?

Much love,
Monica

💫💫Should we push our emotions away or succumb to them?⁠
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Every day we have to face our thoughts, and this mind of ours didn't come with a manual - why?! ⁠🤔😅
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It's hard enough to learn to trust your intuitive heart when it comes to a strong emotion! We cry, we get angry, we get depressed and sad.⁠
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And sometimes we want to fight those emotions with all our being, but next thing we know they slap us in the face. That pain is there to tell us something.⁠
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It's ok to cry sometimes (in fact can feel very healing) but not live in that state.⁠
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It's ok to be sad at times, but can we simply notice the sadness, without judging it?⁠
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If we get angry, can we accept our humanity and let go of the guilt, but still recognise if we hurt someone?⁠
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To stand in the middle is a very very though game. And. like any other game, we need constant training and practice.⁠
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So let's keep practicing to be a better human.⁠
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For our sake and others.⁠
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Much love,⁠
Monica ⁠
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💫💫 Recognize the wisdom all animals have.

I've always been an all animal person, particular with dogs, and I know many people are. All animals have a certain intutive wisdom which we can learn from.

And unconditional love.

If you hurt a dog ( NEVER do that btw!) quite often they'll come and lick your face. We need to notice that and think if we have that strength to love someone back if they hurt us?

They also have their own personality and emotions, they'll cry, they would be cracky, they would be playful.

They smile. ❤

Most people adore their family pet, but we also need to see if we can apply the teachings they giveus, as they are in our life for a reason.

And it's a huge blessing and responsibility to look after an animal. 🐕🐩🐈‍⬛🐏🐹

We train them, but can we learn too?

That too is yoga.

Let's talk about all this and more tonight 7:30pm UK time.

Much love,
Monica

💫💫 Stand in your power. With kindness.

We often mix the confidence with arrogance.

I know, for one, that in the past every time I felt confident in a situation, I afterwards felt guilty as I thought I 'showing off'. It took me many years to learn they're not the same and in the same time, sometimes it can be a fine line between the two.

I'm still learning.

But I'm just a bit more comfortable with standing in my power and also keep humility and kindness in my words.

When we're confident in our actions, we give others the opportunity to do the same.

We can chat more tomorrow on stream, from 7:30pm UK time.

Much love,

Monica

💫💫Do we really fear death? Or do we fear the unknown?⁠
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This is such a taboo subject that most people want to avoid it or find strange or weird the people who talk about it. ⁠
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I have a saying: You Learn Either by Choice or by Force.⁠
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For the past few years, for some reason I've been attracted to the topic of death and dying. Don't get me wrong, I loove life. But the mystery of dying makes me want to educate myself on the topic, so that when time comes (for me of loved when) I'm somewhat prepared.⁠
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For me, this happened through Ram Dass, books, podcasts, documentaries, reading and hearing about near-death experiences (NDE), the Tibetan Book of the Dead and so much more.⁠
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Sadly, this year I also had the experience of losing a loved one through a su***de. And, although it's NEVER easy, learning about death gave me some foundation and the ability to cope and understand that the soul of my loved one is still here, this gives me strength.⁠
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You see, you never REALLY die. ⁠
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The more I educate myself, the more I feel less fear and then the more I love life!⁠
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I invite you to be brave and join me in a conversation About Death and Dying, this evening from 7pm UK time.⁠
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💫💫Saluting the heavens. Which is within.

I invite you to a guided meditation but only after we shake away the stress of the day.

Join me today from 7:30pm for a centrering practice followed by a Q&A and Bhahavad Gita reflections.

Much love,
Monica

💫💫 Find joy in the souls surrounding you.

Every action you take, word you say and being around you can be inspirational.

Take time to notice and aknowledge that.

Even the strangers around you that you see, you see them for a reason.

It's your choice if you decide to smile or ignore them.

Take time to smile to all creatures around you.

At the end of this lifetime, that's the thing that will matter most.

All the love that we share.

Don't keep that to yourself, it's infinite.❤❤

💫We always push away the biggest sufferings.

6 months ago my brother was a victim of depression and decided to end things with this plane.

Words cannot even begin to describe the suffering, the questions, the 'what ifs'...

But not talking about su***de means this would be another case where some one else out there is deprived of knowing that there is another way, there are choices and help can be given if one starts sharing their mental difficulties early enough.

The grieving doesn't just stop after 6 month. For some people it can take them a lifetime.
And that's absolutely fine.

No one can tell you how to grieve, how to feel and how best to act to move on.

But don't push things away, all you'll do is create a build up which lates, will 'slap ypu' in the face.

It is helpful to keep an open mind so that the passing of the loved one is always at heart.

Death will always be a taboo, but nowadays there are more and more tools to understand just a touch better that end of life, although is immesurable hard, it happens just at the right time, though for loved ones often it doesn't have a rational sense.

I am aware that my words can be confusing, if not conflicting.

I'm trying to emphasise that for those people in need of mental support, please know this exists, even if you have to reach to an international organisation. SPEAK TO LOVED ONES and don't give up that easily, it's a huge deal to be a human, DON'T WASTE IT.

For those who are grieving their loves ones, grieve as best as your heart tells you. Forget the superstitions and cultural pressures.

But please, allow your heart to open and invite you passed loved one to move on with their journey. Though they are not in their bodies, they will ALWAYS be in your heart, in spirit. That's not a metaphor.

The spirit NEVER dies. It's simply energy which transforms itself.

Just like a raindrop, which eventually gets through your tap and you drink it then it merges with the ocean.

You are the ocean too.

I sincerly hope this is helpful.

Much love,
Monica




***deprevention

💫💫 The Sun is like a father that watches over his children, even behind the clouds.

I always found the Sun to be the perfect examlle of altruism. The light that keeps on giving.

Recently, through my course I've learnt a different way to see and honour the Sun. Even more rich and potent.

Join me this evening from 7:30pm for a flowing yoga class, moving slow and honouring the breath and the Sun within.

https://m.twitch.tv/yourcupofyoga/profile

So privilleged to take part in challenge with my wonderful colleagues from
Since yesterday at 11am, people in our Binding Site -In This Together team have started showcasing their favourite challenges, for 24hr!
It's my turn now 😄 My chosen challenge is 1h meditation..so..here I go!
provide bereavement support, so please, any contribution is so meaningful!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/binding-sitepassthebaton-july21?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=binding-sitepassthebaton-july21&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=9e4587e264214702a4891269911da6a2

💫💫Simple, potent but hard to apply, right?⁠
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In 1971 published his main book called Be Here Now which, throughout the years has transformed the lives of millions of people worldwide.⁠
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You've probably remember him for either this book, his work with psychedelics his social activism or his love for everyone he met.⁠
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His work, which he always has attributed to his guru Neem Karoli Baba, has been extremely versatile, focusing mainly on Bahkti yoga (the yoga of devotion) to social action (karma yoga) but also they study of the scriptures (was also a huge fan of Bhagavad Gita).⁠
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His talks are still available online either via YT or through the podcast from the - Ram Dass Here and Now.⁠
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I only discovered Ram Dass at the beginning of 2019. In December same year he left his body.⁠
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I feel and will always feel grateful to this man whom, although I've never met, has had and still has a huge impact in the way I see life. ⁠
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Perhaps is the way he spoke that wasn't so fixated on 'solving the issues', perhaps it is the honesty that he spoke with encouraging everyone to be hones themselves, but mainly was the love.⁠
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When he was in India with his guru, he gave him an advice which Ram Dass tried to apply it throughout his life.⁠
LOVE EVRYONE⁠
SERVE EVERYONE⁠
REMEMBER GOD⁠
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Join me this evening from 7:30pm where I'll be chatting about Ram Dass' work and how he influenced millions of people.⁠
I'm one of them :)⁠
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Link in Bio⁠
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💫💫Happy International Yoga Day!

What does Yoga mean to you?

Many people see yoga as some form of pretzel postures perfomed on some overpriced mats and in questionable outfits.

Yoga means to yoke, to unite. And that can look very different to each and one of us.

To me yoga is now deep within my heart, as it helped me in my mental health struggle and it manifests more often off the mat, impacting my relationships, the way I act, the way I speak and more than anything my heart.

My love for the Divine has skyrocketed and through that my love for all those around me and those who I don't know. I don't love everyone, but I can't say I hate anyone either.

Put simply, I love more than I don't care.

Here are are things that mean yoga for me 🥰

My family - including my dog Aston ( see pic🐕)
Bhagavad Gita
My teachers and mentors
My friends
Being in nature
Meditation
Chanting
Asanas
Praying
Detachment
Compassion
Sharing with others what I've learnt
Not judging
Self-love
Devotion and intuitive listening
Journaling
Loving
Ram Dass
Neem Karoli Baba
Krishna Das's music and wisdom
Learning

It's a long list, thought I'd share a few ❤❤

What does Yoga Mean to You? Would love to hear your list😍😍

💫💫There's so much at our fingertips, often we fail to see the abundance.

Ever since I got Aston my puppy lurcher, my walks have obviously increased -which is great as it was one of my objectives at the beginning of the year!

Trying to make the most of them, I've started to practice a bit yoga in the outdoors. There's so much to connect with, inside and out. Simply sitting on the grass, noticing Mother Earth supporting you and holding you in her arms, feels so powerful, and almost as if a weight is being lifted off your shoulders as you know there is a Higher Intelligence guiding you.

And all we have to do is breathe and be present.

Try and do some practice when you can outside: your garden, you nearest park whereever you can. And if people stare, let them or, even better, invite them to join you 😃

Let's make the most of this weather while we have it! 😆

Much love,
Monica