writing

I feel I have something to write about.
And I'm feeling so grateful that this feeling exists.
So grateful.

Firstly, this week and the triple bill of soul-shaking theatre has been ridiculous.
And I really hope it shook something loose.
Since I have a feeling there is something to write about it must have changed something.

I'm watching Louis Theroux's documentaries.
Now, if you do not know who this man is, please please do look him up!
His documentaries are great.
And he takes it all face-value.
As much as one can.
With an open heart and he just listens to the people.
But he does find the strangest topics.
Fascinating.

And I want things!
I want to go to India, go to Goa, go see and grow and go open up.
But this is not the time yet.
It would hit me too hard.
The time is later on, but I will do it.
Really, really, really, really, really.



And yes, I think, yoga this week with Pisces.
She mentioned her place at some point, and I need something to balance my mind.

I also decided not to do this competition thing later in November.
Not the time.

I mean.
This bit in my life is all about the shaking loose.
Therefore - I should move more.
I need to shake loose, all the emotions.
All of it.

And also.
This photo below is beyond my means of description.
The shadows.
The shapes.
If I would ever have to approach a naked woman in a sexual context, I would pass out.
How do you even begin, to approach this?
This form.
Also, this photographic example just popped up on tumblr.
It's not the details necessarily.
It's the Thing.
The Female being as such.

And when women don't value themselves, it makes my skin crawl.
It is so widespread, it makes women seek value where there is none to be found.
And also it wrecks so many children, and then the men.
And I'm not talking relationships, but a step before, the first source of Love.
The Mother.

Oh, women.
Seriously.

Nope, cannot.
Lack the vocab.




And so.
Happy Saturday, my dears.
It's such a world we live in.

And can I just say, Dalai Lama.
Compassion.
This is all we need.
Nothing else comes into play, at all.
Just compassion.

Be kind.
Yours truly.
M.

Rachel

I mean, I don't really remember how many times I've posted about Rachel Brathen, but quite seriously, I find her so positive, and positively inspiring!

So therefore.
Just some shameless link-giving.
http://www.rachelbrathen.com/
http://instagram.com/yoga_girl
http://www.facebook.com/rachelsyoga?hc_location=stream

I just find her super awesome.
Simple as.
And promoting really healthy ideas, and images of women, men, people, dogs and whatever.
And courage.
Courage to more from Sweden to Aruba (??), in your early twenties, and do things your way.

Seriously.

This also goes hand-in-hand with my constant reminder at the back of my head: "Hey, Maria, do yoga. Why are you not doing yoga."
I love it, yet I'm not doing it.
Shall be fixed.

Thursday for Rachel.

Yours truly.
M.

AMAZING

How amazing would it be to be able to do this!

Just the thought.

Mind. blown.
M.

The Joy of Detachment

I've often spoken about this with dad, because he is one of the people who think detachment is something that makes you cold and un-bothered, and so on.
I've just been reading Lazy Yogi's blog for a bit. He is 25-year-old guy, and he is awesome, and so I decided to post this.

Peace.
M.

Detachment is an often advised quality to cultivate on the spiritual way. But this advice is frequently misunderstood as remaining cold, aloof, and indifferent toward life. It is anything but. 

Real detachment may be recognized by the arising of joy. Detachment, happiness, and contentment are one and the same. 

Suppose you really love strawberries and currently have a massive craving for strawberries. It just so happens that you discover a fresh and beautiful carton of these berries in your refrigerator. So you sit down and savor them, one by one. 

Someone comes and offers you chocolate, soda, popcorn, all sorts of snacks. But you don’t feel any desire toward any of that because you are so filled with your enjoyment of the strawberries. That is like true detachment. 

But that detachment doesn’t come because of strawberries, or anything for that matter. It comes when you discover that your happiness, your peace, your joy, are nothing else but your Self and it is found nowhere else but within. 

Then detachment naturally happens toward the transient play of this world and body. It doesn’t mean that you have distain for them or aloofness or rejection. It simply indicates that you are no longer seeking the right things in the wrong places.

In your own company, before mind, body, and ego, shines the company off all beings as the Self; One without a second. Therein is always peace, freedom, and happiness.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t have compassion and love toward the people you meet and the events in life, but you do not depend on them for any form of happiness. Then you can really enjoy what comes since there is no element of need or insecurity involved. 

Practice detachment. Remind yourself that all of this need not be taken as the end all be all of existence. Go within, practice meditation and mindfulness throughout your day. Discover the joy that is your awareness endlessly beholding itself. 

Then detachment is found to be a blessing beyond all blessings. 

Namaste, sangha.
/Lazyyogi.org

inspire

Maria's Inspirational Woman, number 2.

Tara Stiles.

She is a yoga instructor living in the US and has the most amazing Youtube channel. She shares yoga routines, answers questions and helps you work on poses, but also general life advice, inspirational ideas and recipes. So a perfect combo, for me at least.
There is something incredibly grounded about her which is why I really really like her very much. Something very grounded and simple. Her energy is just right for my wave-length or something.

This is her new project with Reebok. A really short video but the questions are interesting.

And if you like this, definitely check out her channel.
Good night, sweets.

Who made the rules. 
M.

yoga

I really miss moving.
(Moving my body, not moving country.)

I go through periods of not doing anything at all, because I get too busy, or too stressed, or too this, or too that, blah blah blah, so basically periods of lots of crap excuses.

But I've got to the stage of just missing moving for itself. 
Moving, and yoga, and tea.

Little things.
M.

acroyoga

This is just mindblowingly beautiful.
Honestly.

It's not fitness, it's life.
M.

right here

Again, an old post draft. 


i realised, all of a sudden, that for my entire life i've been looking for balance in all the wrong places.

and i realised, whilst having a shower, that all the balance a person needs (to begin with) is from the person. so from me. and then the rest of the stuff will follow.

okay this might seem like a very captain obvious thing to say, but aren't most things?
i mean. if you really simplify it (by it, i mean everything) down to its core, then everything is so simple.

I'm so outward looking, all the time. just, in creating a life, if i can say that. and then most people say, oh why is this not happening, and that not happening. well the answer is not far, is it.

and i think this is the one thing i've learnt with the excessive amounts of yoga i've been doing. that i've been looking way too far. better just roll dem sleeves up, and get cracking with myself. be what i want to be like, and the rest will follow.

starting the other way around is a bit of a waste of time. (again, this might not work for everyone, but i've realised this works for me.)
i need to start from right here, to get anywhere. basic logic.

and the rest will follow. like karma.

because balance isn't outside, it's inside. a balanced life doesn't equal what's going on around us. it's a way of looking at things. there is as much or as little balance as we allow there to be.
i will now start testing this out.

and remember to breathe.

if it works i will genuinely do a dance of utter..like, relief.

because since i am, and have been, on a perpetual quest for balance for so long, it's a good little nugget. 

YAY!

and f*ck, it feels nice.
M.

huh?

Those of you who have seen some 24 might know the legend that is Bill Buchanan, played by James Morrison.

So, James Morrison. Actor, I knew as much.
But a filmmaker, playwright, poet, singer, songwriter, father, husband, and a YOGA TEACHER?
Started his career as a clown and wire walker.

And to do that with 58 years spent on this planet.
Brilliant.
That is brilliant. And that is what I would like to be.
Not "singer", but singer, actress, dancer, painter, writer, WHATEVER-er. I mean, you know.
Just things. Not a thing.

I mean, of course, there will always be something that you're just the best at, and it would be smart to turn that into a career. But to just be that thing?
No. Nope. I refuse, seriously. That will not do.

So thanks, James.
You are great.
M.

day 2

Photo-a-day-challenge word is "busy".

I don't like busy.
My year (Jan-July) ran at such an outrageous pace. Of course it is fantastic to have opportunities (and I am very grateful for them) and to really run with them. Being hardworking has never been nor will it ever be a bad thing. I think it's just learning to differentiate between hardworking and almost unforgiving.
We are all human. And I often forget that, I think.
So now I'm sacking off "busy". I've been trying to do this for a while now. It took the help of my former house mistress (boarding school) to understand that I was living in this pattern of work-work-work-burn-out-cry-be-very-ill-then-repeat. Why would anyone choose to do that?
So once I'd realised yes, that is indeed what I do, I decided to really try and work at changing this.

It's not even about how much you do. Or how "busy" the schedule is.
You can have a crazy schedule and not be busy.
Busy, for me, stands for a way of doing things. I would much rather have a lovely full schedule, of exciting projects, cool opportunities and so on, so forth, and not be going about being "busy". You can do all that, and more, be enjoying it, be productive, in control - and not dying (not literally obvs).
Maybe "busy" is the opposite of "in control" for me (not literally, more like a feeling.) "Busy" is the sense of something running away from me, or me trying to catch something. Of there being too much of too much.

So no more busy for me, thanks. I'd like some everything, a lot of it, please, but addressed with a zen-ed head on my shoulders.
"Busy" out of my brain.

So instead of capturing "busy", I will capture the opposite of busy.

These pictures were taken during my month-long session of life in Tallinn. It was divine. And not busy. I did plenty, like plenty-plenty, but I was not busy. I was very active, but no 'busy' in sight.
Ahh, Tallinn.

My yoga challenge hasn't kicked off. I will have some words with myself (ha ha). No but seriously.
But I did do some hardcore zumba today. It has hardcore. And good.

This is a ramble-y post.

What does "busy" mean to you?


Green tea, and peace out.
M.

"No"vember

Happy 1st of November, everyone!


I did some drawing today. In honour of having a brand new month, woo!
And I think the drawing does, quite successfully, sum up what I want this month to be(come).

"No"vember.
What are you saying "no" to?
What am I saying "no" to?

I'm a firm believer in saying "yes".
But sometimes it's okay to take a second and realise how great it is to still know when to say "no".
And what to say "no" to.


So.
There's this, and this.

The yoga-a-day challenge is such a good thing to do for actually getting to know some new poses, learning some of the names and just getting into a steady habit of doing yoga.
Not a lot, just a little, but every day.
(Sorry for the appalling yoga-picture below. It was way past midnight when I decided to get involved. Tomorrow's will be better.)

I don't really know why the photo-a-day appeals to me.
I was thinking some time ago (this was actually in a conversation with A.) that for "a creative person" I'm not really creating anything at the moment. And by that I don't mean physical, tangible things. For me it's more a way of looking at things.
And since I have time to do this at the moment - why not.

This photo-a-day just encourages to see, and notice. And look closer. And maybe assess a little differently than before. And to really pinpoint.
I'm hoping this will make autumn more palatable.
(Again, sorry for the photo - I'll get going with both tomorrow.)

And therefore, there's this, and this.

Happy "No"vember.
M.

sweat

Christine gets my vote. I like her as a person (or you know, how she comes across, through the screen.)

My pink yoga mat that reads "USA-PRO". Makes me feel a bit more badass.
Excuse the eyeliner. It came off straight after, under a torrent of water.

Here's to working out at home (wooooooo).

Sweat.
M.

trblnt

okay.
So.
what is this, and what is that? (what a brilliant question to ask around 4am)

Here's to the turbulent nights.

E. gave me a plan though, and I greatly appreciate this, since this is not something that happens often, with me.
It goes something like this:

Bath
bubbles
wine
a pretty glass
yoga-mat
candles.

I think I might follow through, you know.
But a bit later on.
Today is a day for blogging.

If there is truth in anything, there is truth in this tiny velvet rhino.

Here's to rhinos.
M.