On to the next one

Like pretty well everyone else out there, the end of 2014/beginning of 2015 has me reflecting on the past year and looking towards the next.  I’ve never really been one for official new years’ resolutions, but I definitely have some goals for 2015.

A year and a half ago, I made a tough decision to leave what was a pretty good job that I was totally comfortable in to pursue one that I knew would have way more challenges and potential emotional difficulties, but that would help set me up for some future goals.  The most immediate of those was doing yoga teacher training, and I’m so happy that I ticked that one off this year.  Big decisions and changes and new people are hard for me so taking the leap was definitely, well….a leap! Ha.

Going into the new year, I want to take on a few more private clients and by the summer have my schedule set up so that I can teach in a studio setting too.  I find private clients so fulfilling, and with my erratic schedule it’s much easier to make it work, but I really love the energy of a class and can’t wait to start doing that too!

Hand in hand with the teaching goal….I definitely want to make this the year that I start focusing my energy on what I love doing and start to phase out the things that I don’t.

I also want to organize and beautify my home.  Clutter stresses me out, yet I can’t seem to keep it away.  I feel a big purge coming, and afterwards I want to (finally) do some decorating.  I don’t have the innate eye like some people do, so I’m definitely planning on enlisting some friends’ help with this one!

And it wouldn’t be a new years’ post if I didn’t mention some health goals…..

The past few months haven’t been great for me, fitness and eating-wise.  I’m usually really good at motivating myself and keeping myself on track, but for some reason I’ve just totally gone off the rails this fall.  There are certain truths that I know: I feel best when I’m eating healthfully, staying hydrated, sleeping well and making exercise a priority.  Refined sugars give me an instant headache.  Dairy makes me bloated (aside from the fact that I also really hate supporting the industry as a whole).  Less than 8 hours of sleep makes me really grumpy.  Muscles don’t stick around if you’re not using them.

So for 2015, I’m not hoping to do anything revolutionary, simply go back to what my ideal looks like.  I’ll be tracking my workouts again (which I gave up on because it was getting embarrassing….) and maybe tracking my food for a week or two as well, just to create some accountability.  I may even dust off my fitbit – nothing motivates me like competition!  My plan is to start posting some sort of weekly recap on here.  Someone yell at me if you don’t see one around the 7th!

Oh, and another goal….some more advanced asanas.  I really need to work on both strength and flexibility, and there’s nothing like a little headstart!

Here’s to 2015!!

SBC: Day 7

 

7) Seven things you’d like to work on/improve about yourself

This is a tough one to put out to the internet!

1.  Saying no.  I overcommit myself, and generally make myself miserable, because I have a really hard time saying no to people.  Either because i WANT to do something, but don’t really have the time/energy for it, or because I absolutely DON’T want to do something, but feel guilty saying no.  Example: Oh, you want me to take your shift tomorrow? Well, I’m already working 5 long days this week, and I had hoped to get my laundry done, my dog bathed, groceries bought, have dinner with a friend, and get a good night sleep, but I guess there’s not really any GOOD reason why I can’t…..

2.  Being more positive.  I tend to get into this negative mindset, where everything is terrible and I let every single little thing get to me.  It’s not fun for me or for those around me.  I’d like to get better about taking a step away, taking a breath and turning it around.

3.  Being more organized.  There was a day, not too long ago, that I was soooo organized.  Everything went into the planner, and what was in the planner HAPPENED.  From work to workouts to social calls to cooking and cleaning and errands.  I want to get back to this.  And not just the planner.  The spaces too.  I have the best condo.  Like, ever.  Not only do I have an amazing sunroom/home yoga studio, but I have a huuuuuge (by Toronto standards) pantry.  That I’ve let turn into a “I’ll throw it in here and deal with it later” room.  And I have a shelf full of movies that I will genuinely never watch again.  And a big box of shoes that I haven’t worn in a year.  The physical clutter creates mental clutter for me, and it has to go.

4.  Recommitting to my yoga practice.  I mentioned this in my goals for September SBC post, and so far I’ve had a solid hour-plus practice 5 of 8 days.  Not too shabby.

5.  Eating better.  Most people I know think I’m like the Queen of Healthy Eating.  I think this USED to be the case, but nowadays I’ve definitely fallen out of some good habits.  Too much sugar and caffeine, not enough fresh vegetables.  

6.  Time management.  This kind of goes hand-in-hand with being more organized, but I feel like I always think I can do more than I actually acn with the chunks of time that I have, and it makes me late for things.  Like a lot.  I think perpetual lateness is a terrible quality to have and definitely something I’d like to kick.

7.  Detaching from the phone.  I check Instagram wayyyy too many times every day.  Same goes for feedly (<– love this reader) and email.  I’d like to start leaving it at home sometimes, like when I take Kaylee for a walk.  At night I bring it with me for safety reasons, but during broad daylight?  Nothing is so pressing that it can’t wait an hour.  Don’t know how I’ll capture all the random selfies though….

 

 

SBC: Days 5 and 6

I’ve decided that I’m definitely giving myself a pass on the blog every day thing on days that I work a double shift.    Something about 14 straight hours at work makes me feel pretty entitled to taking a pass on pretty much everything else that day.

5) Top five highlights from summer

1. Bali.  Duh.

2.  Weekly roadtrips to visit someone awesome.

3.  Sunday morning yoga in the park.

4.  Cottage visits with amazing friends.

5.  Realizing I can pop up into headstand every.single.time.I.try now (this used to feel soooo unachievable)

6) Six things about fall you’re looking forward to

1.  A trip out east to visit one of my dearest friends.

2.  Starting to work with my very first private yoga client – so exciting!

3.  Hikes through High Park with Kaylee.

4.  Mocassins.  Boots.  Warm socks.  I loooooove being barefoot most of all, but something about fall footwear makes me super happy.

5.  Crisp fall nights.

6.  Cozy comfort foods.  Soups, stews, roasted veggies, pumpkin everything.

SBC: Day 4

4) Thankful Thursday

Today I woke up verrrrrry tired.  So thankful for coffee.

 

For balance.  Vegan donuts // Smoothie bowls

For a strong and able body, that can power through runs and ease into asanas

(gratuitous Bali memory)

For finally keeping a scoby alive and nailing a new kombucha recipe

For making the best of things with silly friends

 

For these two

Epic Fail

^ That’s all that comes to mind when I think about my grand plans to actually update over here.  

I have simultaneously no excuse and every excuse.  I got home from Bali and jumped right back into life head first: working 50+ erratic hours a week, catching up with friends and family, trying to carve out a bit of time to teach, training for a half marathon (maybe), maintaining my personal yoga practice, keeping up with the house, the dog….life in general.  

I’m not complaining.  My life is very full and I love it, but I do want to make a conscious effort to be present in this space.

So in that vein, I’m taking on a challenge.  Gracie from girl meets life put together a September Blogging Challenge and I’m going to join in!  I think part of my problem is that blogging isn’t part of my daily routine.  And since it’s supposed to take 21 days to create a habit, hopefully this 30 day challenge will really cement it for me.

 

Since I’m already a day behind (old habits die hard….??), I’ll do days 1 and 2 now.

1) Your goal(s) for the month of September

Well, first one is to actually complete this challenge! 

Like I mentioned, I’m sort of training for a half marathon.  By sort of, I mean that I’m hoping to continue training.  I have a long history of running-related injuries, yet I still can’t seem to let it go.  Call me a masochist, but I’m dead set on keeping running in my life.  Next weekend I’m running the Longboat Toronto Island 10k, and I’m hoping to finish in under 50 mins and (more importantly) injury-free.

Yoga-related, I’d like to get back to a longer daily practice.  On busy days, I’ve been doing 15 mins of sun salutations and random stuff and calling it a day.  While this is better than nothing….it’s not great.  And it doesn’t make me happy.  Time on the mat is so precious to me, and really helps my mental state.  Even if it means waking up earlier (which is so painful for me), I’ll spend more time on my practice.  Also, I need to figure out how I’m going to extend my Sunday morning yoga in the park into the colder months.  My (tiny) group of yogis make me really happy and I look forward to it all week, so I definitely want to make it a year-round thing.

Lastly, I want to sneak in a little trip before hockey season starts.  Not because I’m a diehard fan, but because the restaurant I work in gets infinitely more busy during the season, and I need to check-out and get myself mentally prepared for a few days before it hits.

2) Something you’re proud of accomplishing recently

Am I still allowed to say completing my teacher training? It’s been two months, but I’m still riding high on that.

I’m also proud of myself for really being there for some very important people in my life who are going through some tough things.

And on a more trivial note, I’ve been consistently making all my own almond milk and coconut milk yogurt, which has been a longtime goal.

 

See you tomorrow for day 3!