May 2012 Dreams/April Review

Our Workshop!! To see it better go here

I'm trying to keep things simple and focussed for May... There is a lot of good stuff going on and in order to stem overwhelm I want to keep my priorities clear so when the many distractions come up I can filter them as required. At least that is my intention and as I have learned intention is a powerful thing!

MAY DREAMS

1. Running first workshop under Savvy Sassy She! May 20th and would love to see you there - it really is a practical life enhancing and life affirming day
2. Prepare for month long trip in Europe
3. Set intentions for Paris/Provence Art and Yoga retreat with someone I've wanted to meet for 5 years now - Kimberly Wilson!
4. Celebrate my birthday :)
5. Meet The Man's parents, friends and extended family!
6. Design brief as below
7. Activities for Hungary/Paris and accommodation
8. Yoga 3x a week before trip
9. Gifts as below
10. Write plan for SSS 

APRIL REVIEW

1. Enjoy family and friend time in Perth - Done! Enjoyed
2. Run sales training for a business in Perth - Done! It was so good for me and I got great feedback
3. Confirm the friends house/pet sitting for us in May - Yay, the wonderful Ms T and Mr S will be enjoying a month long retreat at our place complete with cat and dog!
4. Yoga 3xweek until I go to Paris! - Not done! With all the movement/travel I didn't focus enough on this.
5. Sister time in Sydney - it was wonderful. Spectacular. Now I miss her (sheds single tear)
6. Graphic Design brief completed - Not done, it keeps hopping from list to list...
7. Book flights for cousin's wedding in Singapore - Done! Singapore watch out early October
8. Finalise Paris accommodation - Not done - another list hopper
9. Celebrate Zander's first birthday on 8th April - Done! Celebrated with a lei
10. Balance due for Art & Yoga retreat - Done! Paid!
11. Plan activities for France/Hungary - Not done
12. Start creating gifts for The Man's family and friends - Not done - better hurry up crafty hands
13. SSS website - I have to do it!!!!! Well, I did a revamp, the other website is in the background at the moment
14. Announce collaborative workshop dates - oh so excitement! Done! See pic above

What was a highlight of April for you?

Wake Up. Shake Up. Step Up your lives SSS!
Arienne xo

Blog Revamp - Feedback?

Hello lovely readers!

Some of you might have noticed a slight change in the Savvy Sassy She blog page... This is still the temporary SSS home while I work with a fabulous friend on a 'proper' website but I just needed to make some immediate tweaks (did you notice the new pages??)

Do you like the colour/fonts etc? I'd really appreciate your feedback so I can make sure I bring the good stuff with me to the new site and leave the not so good stuff behind.

For those of you subscribers who are reading this in your email, here is the link directly to the blog: www.savvysassyshe.com

Thank you all!

Make it as you wish!
Arienne xo

www.weekinreview.me 30th March - 13th April

Hello big wide world (well, maybe just the three people that read this blog on a regular basis - jokes, I know there are really four),

This is a beautiful pic from where I am writing my week in review in Perth. I think I'm in Melville somewhere. I'm really not sure... I dropped my sister off so she can jump off cliffs into the Swan River and than climb back up rocks to do it all over again. I'm a pretty cool sister huh?! I am trying not to freak out about what could go wrong...Therefore I thought this could be a distraction...

I've been a little slack with my week in reviews lately. I have a few drafts that started to cover the last few weeks but hey, more interesting things have been going on so i let them slide and nobody died (yay!).

Went to a crafty brunch full of really interesting women! Got a cross-stitch pattern of a pic of The Man and I to craft up to give to his mum.
Wrote monthly dreams post
Formally registered Savvy Sassy She as a business operating in the physical world!
Mini yoga workshop at home for friend and The Man, showing them the basics.
The Man came to yoga. Life.Changing.Moment.
Shopping in Ashfield. Hello the chinese side of me!
Doggy park friends came over for dinner with Zander's best friend. Lovely couple and awesome pup
Workshop planning session x2 (check out my events page or www.savvysassyshe.eventbrite.com for more deets!)
Yoga heaps more times this fortnight!!! Go me during Easter :)
Dinner at gorgeous friends' place. After they told me they are moving back to Perth (booooooooooooo!)
Watched 'Real Steel' - pretty good - Hugh Jackman - what can I say?!
Zander's first birthday!!!!
Created flyer for birthday...
Revamped blog in preparation to blog awards that I thought I'd entered myself in (nope...I didn't)...
Coffee with super-interesting, like-minded friend
Flew to Perth (I'm here now)
Met really lovely air steward - there are some really lovely friendly people out there. Go Singaporeans!
Fabulous coaching session...
Joined in on Marketing meeting for mum's biz
Got through Friday the 13th without any evidence of superstitious stuff...
Amazing theta session with friend
Booked Paris accommodation through www.airbnb.com

Well that is the short overview of the last fortnight. Plenty of wonderful things going on. Lots and lots and lots to do. But they are all towards the creation of the life I want (though I'm enjoying a lot now, knowing i'm on my way!)

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Building Confidence - Adding a Notch to My Belt

Photo Credit

At yoga the other day I was confronted with a situation I noticed I was totally resisting...

The instructor was demonstrating with a partner how to do an assisted handstand that he wanted everyone to pair up and try.

The voices in my head went something like this:
"You've got to be kidding me. I can't do that."
"I don't have enough strength."
"I have to pair up with a stranger and show them how I can't do it?"
"I don't want to look around and catch anyone's eyes."
"Of course he can make it look so easy, he;s been doing it for years."
"How can he expect us to do that?"
"I'll never be able to do it. Maybe I should give up yoga altogether?"
"I wonder if anyone would notice if I sneaked out of the room right now?"
"If I'm reacting like this does it mean I'm a chicken?"
"Yup, it means I'm a failure! I will never be able to succeed at anything in life..."
"I never do anything well. And even if I even try I will just stumble and crush some poor little yogi underneath my mammoth body..."
"Shit...he's finishing the demonstration...the door is only 3 metres away..."


Then, through the momentum of everyone starting to move and pair up I locked eyes (whoops!) with this fit looking girl about a head shorter than me - she smiled and started walking in my direction...

Then I gave in - better than resisting right?? She introduced herself and I warned her that I didn't really have confidence in being able to pull the position off and apologised in advance if I toppled her over. Brave woman that she was she still wanted to give it a go with me!

I offered for her to go up first with me assisting and she gracefully arched into position and went up into a perfect handstand. I was super impressed and told her so.

Then it was my turn. Buoyed by her success but still caught up in the distrust of my ability I reluctantly arched into position. She supported my shoulders and told me to start lifting my legs. I hopped up a little and my feet landed back on the ground. Another bunny hop and I could feel my face filled with blood and effort.

I stood up and said I didn't know if I would get it but that I'd have one more try since we were there anyway...

Deep breath, hands down, positioned outer shoulder width apart, core in, legs lifting, trusting in her support. Then...

SUCCESS

I was in an assisted handstand! My legs splayed wide, then came together again. Then I splayed them wide again just for fun and then brought them in to touch! WOW! I was in control of it. I DID IT! I was basking in my headstand glory! My red face was grinning wildly! I wanted to stay up here forever.

My mind was officially blown...

After all that blah blah bullshit that was raging on in my monkey mind, I managed something that I clearly didn't believe was possible for me at that time.

In that moment something shifted. I gained an understanding that I can do things I never thought I would be able to. I looked at the different situations that I am currently facing and it gave me renewed strength to tackle the daunting tasks I've set for myself.

From that experience I have gained a valuable amount of confidence. The issues that I am 'freakin' out' about I am much more willing to give a good old go with.

Maybe they'll be just like that handstand. Something I thought was impossible, but with some effort perhaps success will show up again...

What are you thinking is impossible in your life SSSs?
Make it as you wish!
Arienne
xo 

PS. A few months ago I thought the below position (wheel) was impossible for me. I worked on it and can now do it. Another notch on my confidence belt!

Photo Credit

Life is Like A Bus (and a box of chocolates)

Found On

My bus analogy for life's crap...

I was catching the bus a lot while making my daily commute to the admin office (aka the twilight zone and unfortunately not in the vampire kind of way) last year. While sitting there with handbag and jacket piled on me and crossing my legs and balancing my iPad on top of aforementioned mountain of things, I felt the sway and force of every corner.

I noticed that the more I tried to right myself against the turns the more I thought I was going to topple over. On the other hand, if I relaxed and just let the turns move me, I never fell off my seat and the ride became a lot more comfortable (well, except perhaps for the person sitting next to me).

Such a small thing, but I gained such an insight into a life parallel:

Lean into the curves life throws at you. 

By going with it, rather than fighting against it, the experience is actually shorter and smoother.

You might have experienced it when having to do a project you don't like but have to do. Or you might have been faced with a change 'forced upon you' (job redundancy, relationship breakup). By 'resisting' it, you make the process a lot more difficult for yourself and it becomes a longer-term shadow hanging over you.

On a deeper level you may be resisting some issue (fear, problem relationship, health concern) going on by ignoring it or suppressing it. Then,when it rears its not-so-pretty head it becomes a much bigger, painful issue than if you had tackled it head on.

Yes, the situation may be painful or uncomfortable but by refusing to accept it it can become a more drawn out, challenging time than if you surrendered into the experience.

Which leads me to a saying that I can now totally relate to:

"What you resist persists" - Carl Jung

How have you experienced this in your life? Have you had other instances where you've flowed through something, even though it was tough and nipped it in the bud? What was the outcome like?

So next time an issue arises, see if you are resisting it. Or if you could surrender into it and play with it a little to have a better experience through a challenging time. Remember how fun the game 'corners' was in the car when you were younger?? It's like that - lean into the curves. Life's more fun that way...

Ride life like a bus SSSs!
Arienne xo