Eight Words

DON’T WORRY. JUST BE. LET GO. MOVE FORWARD. 

I can't believe I haven't posted in two months. Life has been crazy, but even still, I usually make time to blog. Looking back though, not only has it been busy, but it's also been somewhat tumultuous emotionally. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I've been having a crisis of spirit, and as of late things have been coming to a head. 

But I'm feeling the shift. I'm feeling the ship slowly but surely changing course. In that spirit, I sat down tonight and wrote a very brief blurb on what I've been feeling and - even more importantly - where I feel I should be going now. I noticed some patterns in what I was writing and as a result of that, I decided to paste the blurb onto a website and create a word cloud with what I'd written. A little over ten words stood out in the cloud (meaning they'd appeared in my blurb a number of times), and then after stringing those words together, I condensed it a little further into eight words. 

DON'T WORRY. JUST BE. LET GO. MOVE FORWARD. 

I have a habit of over-analyzing; it's all good. It's who I am and it's gotten me so far. However, it can become too much. I feel the need to analyze my life and my self, make some conclusions, document it, and then - and only then - move forward. This personal process is ironic given some things that have been frustrating me lately, so I just needed to take some time to sit down and feel it a little bit. I don't want to analyze, speculate, make a certain decision about it all, and then boldly go forward. No!

I just want to live. I don't want to worry. I just want to be. I want to let go of the things I cannot change. I want to keep going. 

That's it. 

Yoga: Then & Now

Wanna know a secret?  I've been working on my fitness.  Well, it's not actually a secret; I just haven't blogged about it or posted about it on Facebook, Instagram, etc.  It's been going on since July of this year and I wanted to share it now as I have something related to it to write about.

In Fall 2012, my girlfriend K. and I joined a yoga studio.  That was not something I ever imagined for myself, but soon enough the classes became part of my weekly/biweekly routine.  I really enjoyed it!  I enjoyed - and still do - the deep stretches, the peace and quiet of the practice, the attitude that facing your own challenges is the point (and that there's no use in comparing yourself to others, and - of course - child's pose.  I loved bringing something into my life that took me out of my comfort zone and did some good for the health of my mind, body, and soul.

In Summer 2013, K. and I decided we needed more, so we educated ourselves on and are continuing to establish healthy eating habits, and then in late August we joined a gym!!!  Again, not something I imagined for myself, but we've been going 3x a week for the past two months or so and we feel fantastic!

So - what's the point of this post?  Well, last night I returned to our yoga studio for the first time since... the summer at least, I think.  I took a level 1 Ashtanga class with an instructor who I've taken classes with before, and he's really intense.  But, it felt AWESOME!  I felt stronger, I had better stamina, and I challenged myself to hold poses longer and try harder things than I normally would.  It really felt incredible.

I never thought of myself as an active person, and I guess that point-of-view turned into a belief that I couldn't be active.  Boy was I wrong!  I can do anything!