A Letter to Anyone who’s ever had fight/s with their Partner

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Aloha.

Before I begin, I’d just like to share a disclaimer that I am in NO way an expert on relationships. I’m just gonna speak to my experience šŸ™‚ And so if you wanted some professional advice, maybe another article? But try your best not to read those super click-baity ones. They can actually make you more anxious.

And if you’re still here, then YAY. Because that means you too have had conflicts in your relationship big enough for you to read a letter such as this – and I’m not the only one. Big exhale.

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A Letter to Anyone who’s ever hit a Plateau

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You know it’s serious when the yogi who’s all about contentment and acceptance starts talking about plateaus 😉Ā And also, if you find yourself clicking on something that says “A Letter to Anyone who’s ever hit a Plateau.”

Most likely means, we’re ready to get off of it.

Since moving into my own place in July and doing the whole adulting thing, I can say I’ve found a happiness that is hard to compare to any other time in my life. It’s been an interesting feeling, being so surrounded by peace and joy on a regular basis (especially when it was always sunny outside), that I had to investigate into the feeling and validate that this was something humans could actually experienceĀ Ā 😝

My investigation lead me to gurus like Ram Dass and Alan Watts – who I know listen to on such a regular basis that I feel like I’m hanging out with them often. Here’s a link to one of my favorite lectures of his, Embracing our Humanity.

That being said, with all my study and while living in such a beautiful place that constantly inspires contentment, I still feel the pull of moving forward and getting off my peaceful plateau… and that’s okay.

As human beings, our directive in this life is both to change, to experience, and to let our spirits learn and grow through pain and happiness – things that are a little hard to do when we unwilling to join the ups and downs of life. And in the end, clinging to a plateau makes the plateau just another trap – and defeats the purpose of being free.Ā 

At least that’s what it seems like from over here, from someone who’s thoroughly been enjoying plateau-life for a whileĀ 😝

And I suppose the point of this letter is mostly that, to share this invitation I’ve been feeling for quite a while, to get up, do something, and change all over againĀ ā˜ŗļø🙏🏼

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When you’re working on a creative block…

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Keep on working? šŸ™‚

Don’t be fooled by the smiley. That’s a “Oh-god-help-what-do-I-do-now” smiley šŸ™‚

Now that I feel much more settled in to my life here in Hawaii, as I predicted, next comes the stage to spread my wings – in my teaching, in my writing, maybe even speaking šŸ™‚

As someone who’s done that before and been satisfied with the results, I assumed it would be easy. But instead, so far it’s been a process that starts and stops, halting and hurrying in bursts, and for the most part it’s been a bit frustrating – to the point where anxiety has been coming up in dreams.

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What I learned from saying goodbye to being a full-time yoga teacher

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Itā€™s literally been forever since Iā€™ve written here and when before I used my blog as a tool for sharing information and attracting abundance – I use it now as a space to decompress and know myself again.

Thinking about it now, Iā€™m pretty sure a big part of why Iā€™ve put this blog and my writing to the side is because I feel like it was part of a life that is so different from what Iā€™m living now.

When before I was a full-time teacher, now I teach 3 classes a week – at most 5 to 6. Iā€™m lucky enough to say that those classes are part of a full-time 40-hour job at a nonprofit called the Kaimuki YMCA, where most of my day Iā€™m writing, creating, brainstorming, and serving the staff who work there as their go-to marketing and media person.

When before I was living with my parents and had a little bit of luxury when it came to disposable income and not having to cook or clean or even do my laundry, now I pay the rent, use a fraction of my time making my house a home and spend a good part of an afternoon or an evening making sure I have food to eat.

When before I could do yoga 5 times a week plus go to meditations and be a student, now I practice at most 3 times a week and spend my other time working, enjoying myself in nature, and being in the company of a loving partner.

In some ways, this new life may seem unsavory and filled with personal obligations and adulating, I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever been this happy šŸ™‚

Thatā€™s not to say that I donā€™t miss teaching full-time, because I truly do. Being my own boss, being a full-time yogi, having the freedom to dictate where and when I work, being able to share and impact people first-hand – itā€™s pretty self-explanatory why I would miss it.

Butā€¦ in the time that I havenā€™t, Iā€™ve learned a lot.

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Gone to learn: Off to train in adaptive yoga therapy

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For the first time in almost two years of teaching yoga, I’m gonna take a break that’s more than a week — more than two months to be exact. This… scares the shit out of me. (READ:Ā On teaching: Passing the one-year mark, learning how to love)

I am absolutely, everyday, head over heels in love with my job and I’m more than happy to be known as “that girl who teaches yoga.” Now,Ā I am confronted with the “essential transience” of all things.Ā Who am I when I’m not being a yoga teacher? How will I be able to go back to my teaching practice? Will I be able to save money? All these questions and more are giving me pre-trip anxiety.

My solution is to focus on serviceĀ 💖

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#CoachYourself: Build good habits through Rewards & Accountability

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Today’s #CoachYourself tool for coaching ourselves actually comes from a coaching client of mine šŸ™‚

At the end of each session, I usually give coaching clients an exercise or, if they’ve created an action point for themselves, I ask if they’d like me to hold them accountable for doing what they said they would do. Most say yes šŸ™‚ One client went beyond a yes and even created a system on how I could hold him accountable exactly – which is what I’ll be sharing with you today.

Since then, I’ve actually adopted this awesome accountability system with other coaching clients and it’s worked beautifully so far. Perhaps it’ll work for you too.

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Yoga Teachers of Manila: Joana Medina

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Back when I was on the student’s side of the yoga classroom, teachers always seemed so impenetrable in their calm happiness, and sometimes even, otherworldly. Now that I’m a yoga teacher myself, I can tell you all with full confidence and honesty: we can be just as crazy, unhinged, insecure, uncool, basic, and normal as everyone else on the planet.

And you can bet the teachers in Manila have a lot of the Filipino quirks you can think of too šŸ˜‰

In an attempt to demystify yoga teachers and the seeming perfection of their practice as seen through social media, I’m starting a series on my blog not-so-creatively entitled “Yoga Teachers of Manila.”

With grace and honesty, yoga teachers share with us their struggles, their funny “un-yogi” moments, and what keeps them on their mat as a teacher and as a student.

For this post, let’s talk about teacher Joana Medina šŸ™‚

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So you wanna be a Yoga Teacher? What it’s Really Like

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So thanks to this blog, I’ve had a lot of people reaching out to me about yoga, yoga teaching, and yoga teacher training šŸ™‚

It’s so wonderful to hear from people… and to know that the love of yoga abounds.

Given the many people seeking answers to help them on their own journey, I’ve decided to write about what the journey has been like for me – in the practical sense. I often talk about my emotional, mental, and spiritual journey but not really about my career – so here it is. (READ: The Journey So Far)

Just a few things before I start though — these are my opinions and experiences and I can’t speak for all yoga teachers. I haven’t been teaching thatĀ long either so to be honest, I feel a little shy about sharing but hey – whatever helps šŸ™‚ If you want a comprehensive view, maybe ask other teachers too. Maybe try the Yoga Teachers of Manila.

I’m also speaking as someone in the Philippine setting, Manila to be exact. Although I’m sure we yoga teachers share a lot of common experiences šŸ™‚ The questions I will answer are just the few frequently asked ones so if you have more, do leave one in the comments.

Here goes…

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What I Got from my Life Coach

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“So, is life coaching like getting coached on a sport – except the sport is my life?ā€

This question may sound a little ditzy but whoever asks that is actually on to something.

To most of us, life coaching sounds like an awesome idea and, at the same time, a completely vague concept. What is it?

In its simplest form, life coaching is just a long conversation between two people where one person needs help figuring something out and the other person, your coach, commits to helping Ā by being a sounding board, a truth teller, an advocate and, an accountability partner.

A coach is basically your go-to person for developing your own clarity, direction and, optimism. Through asking great, powerful questions, providing you structure and empowering you to create solutions, life coaches walk with you towards defining your dreams, achieving personal goals and, breaking through to the next level in your self-awareness and performance.

Still confusing? Yeah, I know right? When there are a whole lot of positive words just strung together, what they all actually mean can fly over our head. To keep us on the ground, just like coaches do, Iā€™ve spoken to three people whoā€™ve worked with life coaches before. They shared what they got from their conversations with a life coach.

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