“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” (Michelangelo)

Being an ecochick requires an authentic lifestyle rather than money, so what does it take to sing green?

Beauty from the inside out

First of all let’s look at yoga and how this is connected to ecofriendly living.  As violinist Yehudi Menuhin wrote in his introduction to B. K. S. Iyengar’s book, Light on yoga, as well as being a technique to prevent physical and mental illness, yoga is “by its very nature inextricably associated with universal laws: respect for life, truth, and patience are all indispensable factors in the drawing of a quiet breath, in calmness of mind and firmness of will.”

You won´t pick up yoga and meditation quicker through going harder and faster.  Take it easy and slow and follow these three steps: Practice, practice, practice.  Happily, you don´t need props to practice yoga and it´s free.  Taking yoga classes helps you to learn safely and keep up the discipline of practice. Don’t have time? Read Making space when you don’t have time and When saying ‘no’ makes all the difference.

The process of change can start with a thought and progress into action as we engage in a different way of being and thinking.  Being authentic to ourselves, listening to our ´inner voice´ is the first natural step. Eventually your change of mind will be visible to those around you in the way you look, the expression in your eyes, the way you behave, your approach to consumerism and the things you say.

This doesn´t mean turning into a saint overnight or losing your sense of humour or flaws, but it does mean developing awareness.

Yoga helps us to slow down and open our senses when our current lifestyles are wearing us down. And burn out and dulling of the senses through hectic living isn´t a new concept.
Leonardo de Vinci wrote that the average person “looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odour or fragrance, and talks without thinking.”

You can also add ´purchases without thinking´.  Before buying food and beauty products, or anything for that matter, ask `Where does this come from and how was it produced?’  Knowing what to buy can be confusing with companies using tricks that can suggest to consumers that the products they are purchasing are ecofriendly, so let´s look at some commonly used terms and labels.

Ecoterms

Words such as sustainability, sustainable, biological, and Fairtrade have featured and will continue to feature big time in the media, so let´s run through their definitions in brief.

Ecofriendly: Environmentally friendly (also eco-friendly, nature friendly, and green) are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment.[1] Companies sometimes use these terms to promote goods and services by making environmental marketing claims and with eco-labels. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Sustainable: For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, a necessary precondition for human well-being. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems.  (Source: Wikipedia.)

Unsustainable: “If a system is being used unsustainably and behaviour doesn´t change, then it will no longer be available to use. This is a practical issue; if we don´t have enough fibre, food, or water, or if we don´t have a stable climate, then we simply won´t have the society we have now, ” writes Paul Gilding in his book The Great Disruption on how the climate crisis will transform the global economy.
Biological/ organic food: Foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.[1]   (Source: Wikipedia.)
Fairtrade: Although no universally accepted definition of fair trade exists, fair trade labelling organizations most commonly refer to a definition developed by FINE, an informal association of four international fair trade networks (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, World Fair Trade Organization, Network of European Worldshops and European Fair Trade Association): fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers. (Source: Wikipedia.)
That´s enough labelling for the time being folks!

Easy to keep New Year´s resolutions

I´ll leave you with four easy to keep New Year´s resolutions suggested by Fairfood International from theecologist.org

No need for a guilt trip if your aims are far from these suggestions – simply wholesome food for thought.

So making plans for yourself is a good thing, otherwise how can you achieve what you want to. The famous quote by John Lennon “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” rings in my ears while I write this.  But at least you are making plans.

When saying ‘no’ helps

Deciding to say ‘no’ from time to time helps you to make space for yourself instead of dropping your own plans at the last moment to help someone else out.  Naturally, emergencies do arise. However, if you find yourself constantly helping out with all of these ‘emergencies’ that you ‘need’ to attend to or worlds will crash, have you ever considered that you attract these calls due to your availability to answer? If you feel that things will crash without your being there 24/24, think again. Are you are flattering yourself that you are the only solution to someone else’s issue? In fact, have you considered that you might not be doing someone a favour by bailing them out every time they hit a rock?  Maybe let them sort it out themselves so they don’t need to call again, and use your energy to work on you. The worked on you will likely be more helpful to the world in the longrun.

Work calls

A common excuse for dropping your ‘you time’ is that the business requires it.  But ask yourself how often this happens and at what cost.  Sure, you need to be flexible, but you’re not a bendy toy and there will be times when you simply need to say ‘no’ when you are being overstretched. Ask yourself, can I get my own project(s) done; can I give the attention I planned to give to my family, my personal project or hobby? If you are always saying ‘yes’ to others’ requests you will be remembered as a ‘yes person’.   If you sometimes say ‘no’ you will be remembered with respect.

Remind yourself to say ‘no’ when you get signals from your unconscious telling you that it is time to say ‘steady on’. A signal can be anything from a voice in your head, a gut feeling, a feeling of rising constriction, of time passing you by.

What will happen if I say ‘no’?

Think, ‘what will happen if I don’t drop everything and do this?’

Ask, ‘how important is it for me to make the time for the other things I had planned?’

You’ll have the answer.

Right now, I’m on a website giving quotes about the topic ‘life’.  I spot these quotes to end with:

Difficulties come when you don’t pay attention to life’s whisper. Life always whispers to you first, but if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you’ll get a scream.
Oprah Winfrey (1954 – ), Stanford Commencement Address, 2008

The lessons this life has planted in my heart pertain more to caring than crops, more to Golden Rule than gold, more to the proper choice than to the popular choice.
Kirby Larson, Hattie Big Sky, 2006

Moving up the hips into 'dog tilt'.

This is a powerfully rejuvenating pose that strengthens the hands, arms and upper body, opens the chest and improves the breathing. It lengthens the spinal column and increases circulation to the brain.   Making space again!

Do this when you need to boost your energy, so not at bedtime unless you do it slowly as a gentle pick-me-up.

Tip: Keep your elbows straight through squeezing your elbows imnward and towards each other. Press your upper back towards your legs. Lastly, tip your hips into dog tilt as if your tailbone was being pulled to the sky.

Working with a student on Dog pose at Yoga Nieuw West.

Over November, I’m going to focus on yoga postures that help keep coughs and colds away as well as relieve symptoms.

Are you ready?

Don’t forget that regular practice of asanas helps keep you in good health, but keep it manageable and make your goals attainable.

Take it little by little…flirt with your boundaries, and remember, each small step is your choice to make.

Whatever anyone does has something to do with their own trip. If they do it well, anyone else who joins them will benefit from it too.  Especially if they are trying to do the same thing, which is why they were attracted in the first place.

The more people who come together then, the more powerful the effect.

Relaxing before a twist.

Organising a retreat in Malta/ Gozo for next summer

Malta and its sister island Gozo are beautiful places to visit if you are seeking an island escape. I found some wonderful spots to relax and will be organising a trip for anyone who cares to join me to refresh body and mind, most likely in Nadur, Gozo. This hilltop village isn’t  far from beautiful Ramla bay, which remains relatively quiet and unspoiled.  Uusally the seas are fairly calm in July and August in Malta and Gozo. The pictures above were taken while the Mistral was blowing over three days.

Ramla Bay Gozo.

Ramla Bay from Calypso's cave (now shut off to public until they prop up falling rocks. I took this in 2009).

Sure, you can think if you like, and laugh if you have to.  Just because you’re looking inwards, it doesn’t mean that your humour will leave you. And anyhow, laughter is an emotional release.  Laughter therapy is popular, and even if you find yourself laughing at how ridiculous the teacher looks, or your fellow participants, you’re still laughing—so it works!  This is the way to go with Laughter Yoga (Hasyayoga), which harnesses self-triggered laughter on a physical plane and doesn’t necessarily rely on ‘humour’ to set it off.

It’s hard to pinpoint humour. Part of the definition on Wikipedia goes: “Many theories exist about what humour is and what social function it serves. The prevailing types of theories attempting to account for the existence of humour include psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humour-induced behaviour to be very healthy; spiritual theories, which may, for instance, consider humour to be a “gift from God”; and theories which consider humour to be an unexplainable mystery, very much like a mystical experience.”

Okay, so it is definitely fine to laugh. Try not to make too much noise though as this might disturb your fellow students. Crying is okay.

Let’s not end there, although it seems like a nice place to stop. Fellow students crying can also be annoying, or disturbing. You might feel that you aren’t reaching the emotions and depths that they are reaching, that you are emotionally suppressed; behind in your ability to access your deeper feelings and release them like gas from an uncorked bottle.

Nonsense, not everyone is the same, and certainly, don’t compare yourself with those around you and ‘levels’ of spirituality you suppose they may have reached.  Your journey into yourself is your own, and whatever you experience along the way is the way it is.  Don’t wish it were otherwise.

And remember, keep breathing.

Suggested reading:

If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients by Sheldon B. Kopp

Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” by Marianne Williamson

Often women feel like this, especially women bringing up their children alone. The demands of modern life coupled with bringing up children more or less singlehandedly can make you feel as if you are losing yourself. When the day centres upon bringing children to and from childcare, a day at the office, shopping, cooking, cleaning and putting children to bed, you hardly have time to relax. It can be faster to use a fix; like alcohol, TV, music, social media [;)], or simply you wash and go to bed, worried you’ll feel too tired in the morning.

Okay, I may have painted an exaggerated picture, but for some women it can be like this pretty much all of the time. What helps?

First look at the idea of time. Look at what drives you with each task. Do you really have to do each one, and in the same way you do them now? Perhaps you can get a few practical things to help like a dishwasher, a neighbour who takes their kids to the same crèche or school as yours to take your children sometimes? Try cooking in advance; cook loads on a day you feel like it and pile up the freezer.

These practical solutions apart, what about making space for yourself to do nothing? Think of doing nothing at all sometimes. Your time doesn’t always have to be productive. Sit quietly when you have a moment instead of doing that task that will lessen your daily chores. Sit comfortably on a chair and place your hands gently, palms down on your thighs. Stretch up your spine from the base. Focus on your breathing. Allow your breath to enter your body, you don’t need to work it, breathing goes by itself. Allow more air to come in on an inhalation, and allow more to leave the body on an exhalation. When your mind wanders, perhaps to a sound, a thought, tension or pain, simply bring your attention back to the breath.

If you felt tension or pain, take your breath there and on the exhalation feel the tension or pain escape softly. Let it go. Feel the essence of who you are, without the many roles you play throughout the day. Remember that you are perfect as you are now, for now. Be in the present moment. You don’t have to change.

When I first came to the Netherlands from France 11 years ago, it was to improve my career prospects. I couldn’t have imagined at the time that I’d find the beginning of my passion for yoga in Amsterdam.

My life was busy and work and personal life seemed to drain my energy as well as sap my creativity.   Searching for a way to relax, I discovered an excellent yoga school in the centre of Amsterdam (Sai Mithra) and became hooked. Yoga helped me focus inwards and listen to my body as a whole.

However, after practising yoga for a year, with two young children to care for and a relationship on the rocks, I found I was ‘too busy’ to go to classes. I had ‘no free time.’ I stopped doing yoga. A year later, things hadn’t improved, so I decided to start with yoga again—just one and a half hours a week, and found space for myself again.

I wasn’t a natural for doing yoga, I was stiff, and I felt that my progression on the road to suppleness was painfully slow. But after two years I noticed a difference, not only to my body but to my way of being. I was calmer and more able to deal with the daily rollercoaster that was my life.

I decided to take the teacher training as I wanted to teach others what I’d learned. It isn’t ‘airy fairy’ as some people believe.  You could describe is as a science of the energies.  Yoga works not only on stretching the muscles, but massages and stimulates the internal organs. As the body grows supple, so does the mind, and creativity and inspiration are allowed space to blossom.

I started giving yoga classes in the neighbourhood in 2009. I knew what it was like to cycle through wind, rain and snow to the centre once a week for my classes, and I thought I’d create something that I’d longed for at the time; classes nearby.  When I asked around the local community if anyone would be interested in taking yoga classes, I was surprised at the positive response.  One of my current students remarks that she likes the fact it is “round the corner” and she can practice “at her own pace”. All levels are welcome.

Since these classes proved popular, I have moved to slightly bigger premises in Nieuw West in one of the ‘ateliers’ in Broedplaats De Vlugt (lokaal 35), Burgermeester de Vlugtlaan 125, 1063 BJ Amsterdam.

I teach a combination of Hatha and Vinyasa yoga.  All classes are in the English language. If students need an explanation in the Dutch language, then this is also fine.