Hola!
I just got back from Cuba where I spent an amazing week long vacation near Havana. I went snorkeling, did yoga on the beach, visited a valley and its caves and met the most wonderful and generous Cuban people. I feel refreshed. I feel ready to start a new year, with new goals.
Dancing on the streets of Havana
El Capitolio
I am one who loves setting goals for each year and I have thankfully managed to keep to my resolutions, for the most part 😉
On the eve of 2014 I was on a beach in Nicaragua enjoying the simplest of vacations. We stayed a few nights in a small hostel with some close friends on a volcanic island. We went kayaking and cycling and woke up early to swim in the water. Our hostel was so tiny and isolated, it had only the most basic amenities. But I felt so calm and peaceful. I knew that this simple type of lifestyle is one that I wanted to live, but that there were so many things standing in the way, so many obstacles, so many fears. From then on I set the intention of letting go of things that weren’t serving me so that I could make more time to experience the simple things in life that made me happy. 2014 was about letting go. And so I did. I let go and let go and let go. And slowly, things that I thought I would never be able to get a handle on, my anxiety, my digestive issues, they started to ease up. Slowly, a by product of my letting go was getting healthier, happier.
Making time for yoga on a camping trip in 2014
For me, 2015 is about letting in. Letting in more of what matters. Strengthen my healthy relationships. Make time for new ideas. To try new things. Now that I have let go it’s time to let things in that I was too afraid to let in before.
2015 is about letting in. Here’s what I would like to do more of this year:
- Gain more strength. Especially upper body strength. I would love to finally be able to master poses like handstand, firefly, hollowback forearm stand and try some funky transitions!
- Focus on my hamstrings and other muscle and joint groups that I overlook. I tend to focus on things that I’m good at in yoga and I love doing back bends because they come easy for me. It’s time to really work on what doesn’t come easy. Right now it feels impossible to gain any kind of hamstring flexibility so I’m hoping I’ll see some sort of improvement.
- Stop taking some of my healthy relationships for granted. I really want to connect more with people who matter most to me. Sometimes I forget to do this. I get lazy. If I can make the laziness happen less, I know I will gain more.
- Make meditation a staple in my weekly schedule, even during hectic times.
- Make self love a priority– to treat myself as much as possible. I have a habit of only doing things when I “deserve” them and have been afraid of becoming too self indulgent. I’ve been working on this and am excited to see progress this year!
- Show external gratitude, not just feel it, but show it and spread it to others. I often feel grateful but don’t show it as often as I should.
- Spend more time outside in nature. I love being outside and I always talk about it, but sometimes a lack of planning out my free time gets in the way of enjoying good quality time outside (wasting time on the internet is a key culprit!). Yoga photography helps with this, it forces me outside.
What are some of your aspirations for 2015? Resolutions? Did you want to get healthier? Lose weight? Find a new job? Whatever it is, be kind to yourself, start off your goals in small chunks. Slowly, we will get there!
Do what works for you. What makes you happy. What makes you thrive.
donteatthepaste.com
I am looking forward to a beautiful and challenging year.
Happy New Year to you all!
Stay Present,
xo Sara Lou
saralouyoga.wordpress.com 