Hello! 🦄 before you read: this is a post on my personal journey with yoga. Your journey might be different and that is the beauty of yoga! If you are at a point within your exercise routine (no matter what your form of exercise is) when it feels like an endless struggle, then this might be a good read for you, due to the fact that I discuss the fluctuations of motivation. Have a great day & stay safe 🌻🌻🌻

Yoga and me go way back! I started to read about it while doing one of my favorite things back in the day; hanging out at the library after school. I would always pick up books on all kinds of subjects that would interest me and that I wanted to learn about. I was pretty obsessed with Elizabeth Taylor at the time so I read a lot about her and the history of different products such as coffee or my all time favorite: salty liquorice. Then one day I picked up a book on the topic of yoga. I thought the different postures on the cover looked difficult, so I got intrigued. I read about the history and benefits of yoga and I ended up taking the book home with me altough my usual motto was to read while in the library and not be lending a pile of books that I wouldn't even touch ones I got home. I tried out the postures back at home. Of course I didn't know were to start, and I got mad at myself for not knowing what to do in order to keep my balance. Yet alone, how to breathe correctly. I didn't even pick up the fact that a yoga posture was called asana. But to be fair I was 11 and exercise videos on Youtube weren't that common yet. But I still managed to pick up a few asanas like the downward facing dog, tree pose, triangle and the cat cows. These wonderful basic moves together with some sun saluations with planks, halfway lifts and forward folds became my practice for the moment. Yoga helped me to keep my back in shape during those busy teenage years of studying in front of a computer.

🧘🏼‍♀️🌿🌊

Then when I was 17 I got really into running. But somehow I ditched the yoga for the time being, which I know was not the smartest choice to make. I ended up being really sore almost every single day.Then I realised that I should get back on the habit of yoga because it will only support my running practice. It felt almost painful mentally, after such a long break (almost 1 year). Even resting postures, such as the downward facing dog and extended child's pose felt tight and uncomfortable. But my savior came! By this time, exercise videos on YouTube had started to become a more popular thing. At first, I followed yoga videos by Psychetruth, which today still remains as one of my favorite wellness channels on Youtube. But then I found "Yoga with Adriene" and I just loved her wonderful charisma, funny and bubbly personality and the empathy in her voice. That channel is pure gold, if you want to get into your yoga, my friend! Adriene also taught me how to breathe correctly and how to create a flow into the movement with the help of inhales and exhales. Even if I now felt reconnected to yoga again, I didn't feel motivated to keep the consistency. So, me and my friend ended up taking yoga classes at the beach together. It was intense and the pressure of doing the postures correctly was very present. Also, the classes became more and more difficult and I didn't feel that my body was quite there yet. Despite all of this, the environment was perfect! And I started to understand the role of the environment in yoga. I would continue to do yoga outside, in a quiet beautiful environment either early in the morning or late at night.

🧘🏼‍♀️🌿🌊

The connection with the correct atmosphere led me to the spiritual side of yoga. I got really into different religions and Asian philosophy which led me into a deeper understanding of the importance of yoga; the fact that it isn't only a form of exercise for the body but the fact that it will clear your mind and soul from your typical thought patterns. At this time I started to sit in a nice cross-legged/lotus position and following all kinds of healing guided meditations. I would focus on being present in the moment, and enjoy the stillness of doing absolutely nothing. My focus was clearly on the healing effects of yoga. I would repeat empowering mantras and get into chanting. At the end of each day I would sit quietly for something like 10 minutes and just listen to the sound of my breathe.

🧘🏼‍♀️🌿🌊

🧘🏼‍♀️🌿🌊

Fast forward to 2020. The year of the quarantine. I started to create myself a routine, something that would keep me happy, busy and sane while staying safe at home. I understood that exercise should be a huge priority in order to stay healthy. In the beginning of the quarantine I didn't go outside as much as I do now (I'm not in complete quarantine anymore). So I had to find a way to exercise from home. What did I begin with? Yoga, of course! But this time it felt more right than it has ever felt before. Yoga felt like a friend that would put a smile on my face each day! I begun to see that yoga is all about listening to your body and not always about pushing yourself past your limits. I started to put more variety into my practice, doing different types of yoga everyday. All of these factors that I mentioned above, have helped me too keep the consistency and motivation. Yoga is no longer a forced activity. It has become a well deserved break.

🧘🏼‍♀️🌿🌊

This journey through yoga has taken me from someone who didn't understand the purpose of yoga to someone who now practices headstands! So if you are into any kind of exercise - DO NOT GIVE UP! That is my biggest take home message with this post.

Namaste ☮

/Rebecka

You know that feeling when you've waited a very long time to be able to eat your favorite food? The reason might vary but, we don't need to get into that. Once the food is there in front of your eyes, the first couple of bites taste like heaven on a plate? But then all of a sudden after eating for awhile it begins to taste pretty regular, like nothing special. The explanation behind all of this? Too much of the good things never tends to lead into anything completely positive. We all know that. Yet, sometimes we seek to do too much or too little of something that makes us happy. Balance is the key.

As another fun and food related example; I am the kind of person who doesn't believe in diet culture (anymore) and if someone would ask me if it is okay to eat candy in the middle of the week my answer would definitely be yes. However, I'm back at the childhood thing of eating candy once a week. Why? Because it doesn't even taste good if you eat too much of it. Same thing with everything else: too much sleep just makes you even more tired, too much exercise doesn't allow you to build muscle mass and may lead to injuries, too much socializing leaves you fatigued and too much alone time makes you worried and anxious. Do you see what I mean?

🌻

When I was in my late teenage years, I embraced the mentality of being a rebel without a cause. Any rules that I thought would limit my freedom or someone else's freedom - I would break it! No matter if me breaking the rules actually sometimes caused more harm than good. I also to this day struggle with routines. But now as an adult, I have often been faced with the fact that routines can help you achieve great things. I looked for some guidance from my other home, Sweden. In Sweden they have this term called "lagom". To talk of it only as a word, would definitely be an understatement. Lagom is a lifestyle, a lifestyle based on balance and making the correct choices. Lagom basically means "just enough" although, I'm not sure if it can be completely translated into any other language. But I'm sure that your language also has words that cannot be translated into any other language. And if you do, please let me know! All kinds of lifestyles are a huge interest of mine!

🌻

Lagom is like a wisdom passed on from one generation to the next in the Scandinavian countries (keep in mind that Finland isn't a part of Scandinavia). The philosophy behind the term is that a little bit of something good has a long lasting positive effect. It can be anything from a beautiful walk in nature to your morning coffee in peace. The philosophy behind the term also states that restricting yourself from the small and wonderful things in life or overdoing them, isn't such a wise choice. The 'lagom' amount of everything is always going the best choice that one can make. Lagom also applies to all the healthy choices we make. Enough is enough, even when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. If you take good care of yourself, you can afford to stay up later one night or eat a piece of cake from time to time. Now, it is important to note that lagom isn't a contest. It is not about who makes the best choices and when. It is all about making the right choices for yourself, in order to increase your own wellbeing and happiness.

🌻

Now that we know the basics of lagom and what kind of a lifestyle it represents, we can start to think of the impact it has on our own lives. I want you to think of yourself and you habits. Be completely honest with yourself! If something isn't perfect, it can always be changed. And nothing about a human is perfect, remember that. Is there something you wish you could do more of? What is that? Think of it and maybe even write it down. Is there something you are doing too much of? Why is that? Write it down. Now you might notice that a few aspects are out of balance. Many of us sometimes end up in a situation in life, in which we might prioritize the wrong things and give too little time and energy to the things that we love. I hope this helped someone out there struggling due to the pandemic or for any other reason. The current situation can really get to you and make you think in a more negative pattern.

🌻

Have a great weekend, I hope you get to spend it in sunshine, doing the things you love! 🌻❤🌤

/Rebecka

Hello & hope that you are doing okay ❤This blogpost is about being a highly sensitive person or hsp. If the topic doesn't interest you or you do not believe that the term exists, (some people really don't) then this might not be the post for you. But if you like me, are highly sensitive then this might be an interesting read for you. Take care 🥰

🌷🦋🌷

"She is crying.. Again!" was something I heard very often during my childhood. One of the first things my teachers always told my parents was that I was sensitive. But never that I can remember was it seen or discussed from a positive perspective. It was always seen as somehing childish, a phase of overreacting that should pass. In my adult life I've had lots of trouble getting people to take me seriously because of my sensitivity. It was very often viewed as a sign of weakness or seen as being immature in some way. Very often this attitude around me has let me into feeling like a burden in my community. And an intense need to proove to people that I was so much more than they thought I was. I often seeked solitude and isolation just to be at peace with my own emotions. Because somehow, when I was born I was given all of the emotions at once. It took me years to understand that I am more than just a useless creature filled with tears. And for years I didn't know that something like the term hsp exist. When I was young I thought everyone around me felt the urge to cry when they saw the beautiful and magical fullmoon on a wintery sky or get tired by the fast rhythm of a growded place.

🌷🦋🌷

There is one person who was just as emotional as I am, singer & songwriter Ted Gärdestad. May his sensitive soul rest in peace. I wish I could have met him, given him a hug and whispered quietly "I understand". Or "Jag förstår" which is swedish for I understand. He, just like me had too many feelings.
The most annoying thing is having to constantly explain and stand up for yourself. I cannot always laugh at myself, I don't always understand joking around with ones weakness. I sometimes need more rest or alone time than the average person. But when you see, hear and feel everything all the time, you must learn to be the one who turns the world around you off for a minute or two. Imagine a world filled with people like me. Crying over poetry and analysing a piece of art for hours? A world were being loud and fast is considered odd? Wouldn't that be a trip!

🌷🦋🌷

Now for the more positive perspective. Being highly sensitive allows you to explore the world with your senses. Nothing is just one thing for us. Let's use an example to clarify what I mean! Taking a walk is for many a very multilayerd experience. All of us people tend to think of something else than the environment and perhaps stop from time to time if we see something beautiful around us, right? Someone might listen to their favorite music, maybe and interesting and mindblowing podcast or a nice and comforting audiobook. When a highly sensitive person takes a walk they take it like everyone else, yes. The difference is that nature in a sensitive person's eyes equals healing, the colors, the sounds, the sunshine or rain on your cheeks, the calmness surrounding you. Nature is the source of energy. It offers something calming to all of the senses, not just one or two of them. Everyday life is often about two major senses: hearing and vision. When the other senses are absent the hsp person seeks activities that involves all of the senses and these are often related to creativity in some sort of way.

I would like to end this post with a little text I've written some time ago.

Sometimes I feel like I'm made of paper. I let people write their story on me and I carry their words with me. Some words are difficult to erase because they are written with ink. Some words are erased by time. But I always like to fold my paper over a few times and leave a few unwritten spots here and there for myself to fill. A few times people have tried to burn my edges, because they saw words on me they didn't associate with. Some have made me into a ball and thrown me away. Some have dripped colors all over me, and those people make me smile because they are usually little and have hearts of gold. Some write their entire life on me. It touches me deeply and I hope people will see these people and their stories through me. I am a notebook open for anything and closed from a few. All of my pages are empty for those who cannot see with their souls. All of my pages are filled with fairytales for those who are children at heart. I am a notebook, with a beginning, a brand new start. So lift up your pencil and write, but be careful, don't use too much pressure when you try.

🌷🦋🌷

/Rebecka