May 20 – Namaste, Bitches

Have you ever tried yoga or meditation? Tell us about your experience.

 
I remember my first impression of yoga was of my Aunty and my mum going through a series of yoga poses out in the backyard. I was probably 4 or so, so had no idea what was happening, but wanted to join in, however mum wouldn’t let me.

It wasn’t until about nineteen years later when I finally really got into yoga. I had recently joined a gym, and it was during my recovery period after sustaining my spinal injury. I remember I had my (light) weights program, and then decided to add a bit of yoga to my regime, and I was fortunate enough to actually have an instructor who wasn’t so completely full of themselves and overtly arrogant. This person was so welcoming and encouraging, and did whatever they could to ensure that each participant was able to really get to most out of each posture and each class. Unfortunately, this is a quality that I haven’t seen since then… And that was almost ten years ago.

I really loved yoga. It was on a Saturday and Sunday morning and it was great because I could then go home afterwards and have a small nap for a couple of hours. Due to my back injury, there was a lot that I couldn’t do as properly as I wished I could’ve due to my limited flexibility. It’s at that point you begin to have regrets about your life, regret that you didn’t start doing something as beneficial as yoga years ago when you probably should have.

Surprisingly enough, it was this point in my life I was ever truly able to give into the practise of meditation at the end of the class. Nowadays, I simply cannot do it. I have tried and tried various ‘mind / body’ classes and when it comes to the relaxation / meditation, I just can’t do it. My breathing goes all weird and my brain just simply won’t shut the fuck up long enough for me to chill out. I’m always thinking about a hundred other things rather than being present in the moment and that really pisses me off. I wish I could mediate. I wish I could relax long enough to get into that state of mind, but it just doesn’t happen.

So instead, I get massages.

Daily Prompt: Nothin’ But A Good Time

Imagine that tomorrow, all of your duties and obligations evaporate for the day. You get the day all to yourself, to do anything you please. What types of fun activities would make your day?

Does that day also happen to be about 48hrs long, so I can actually fit in everything that I would like to be able to do on a ‘day off’? A day off really should be longer than all the other days, especially given my list below… or I’ll need to have two consecutive days off for pure indulgence.

1. SLEEP

Yes.  I put this as #1, and all in caps because it’s the most important and my absolute FAVOURITE thing to do on a day off.

The day would start off with a wonderfully luscious sleep-in. One of those mornings where it’s a bit chilly, but the sun is warm, and beaming in through a bedroom window, and you wish it was possible for these already fluffy pillows and doona just to get that little bit fluffier and softer, so you could just disappear into them for a couple more hours of slumber-heaven.

2. Breakfast

The one thing that I absolutely love about travelling, is a free buffet breakfast. Oh, it’s HEAVEN!! Moreso when there’s no agenda. I think the best time I had with a buffet was, surprisingly, at an airport in the Virgin lounge. The airline had completely messed up my flight home, and told me to be at the airport at 8am for a re-scheduled flight at 9am, only to turn up and have them say that there’s been another change and I’m not on a plane until 2pm. I then demanded lounge access, which they gave me, and it was fantastic.

I got myself set up at a table, watched a Harry Potter movie with Hulk, and basically ate myself silly.

So. Much. Food!!

3. The Beach

What better way to enjoy a relaxing day, than heading off down to the beach for a bit of a swim, and a nap in the sun… then more swimming, and more napping, followed by more swimming and some more napping.

4. A Massage

Now, I’m not talking about a quick 30min neck and shoulder massage, I’m talking at least a 90min – 120min full body, deep-tissue oil massage. I’m the sort of person who puts their body through quite a lot, but then neglects it, and then I complain like a whiny little kid when I’m in pain from sore muscles. (SIDENOTE: Must get back onto my foam roller and look for my spiky-ball.)

What I love, is being able to have a long full-body massage just to really work out all the knots throughout my body, and put things back in some kind of alignment again. Granted, most of the time I find myself falling asleep – it’s quite embarrassing because I snore, but I find that I’m just in such a deep state of relaxation… I love it.

4a. Spa / Sauna / Steam

The other side to a treatment like this, is being able to have a spa / sauna / steam session either before, to help relax and loosen up the muscles, or after a long massage. It can be pretty awkward if it’s done afterwards, because I end up like a rag doll, and struggle to a) keep myself upright and b) conscious – too much time in a steam / sauna room, tends to make me really hot and sleepy… which then brings me to the brink of fainting / passing out. And let’s face it, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

5. A Nap.

This is probably THE BEST part of the whole day… being able to do everything listed above, and then come back to either lay on a sun-saturated bed (or couch) and curl up for a lovely arvo nap. But, one that’s at least 3 – 4hrs long. Anything less than that is a waste of time, and it just makes me feel even more tired than I was before.

6. Gaming

Now that I feel quite refreshed and relaxed, it’s time for a gigantic cup of tea and about fifteen biscuits (or a block of chocolate) and then the PS3 goes on, and I fire up one of my games. At the moment I’m right into Lego Marvel Super Heroes, but at the same time, in the back of my head, I’m completely aware that I’m not giving any time to my other favourite game, Tomb Raider. This game is so good, and so addictive, I usually find myself sitting there, tears streaming down my cheeks because I can’t even bring myself to blink because I find it so engrossing.

Alternate 6. A Bath

By this stage, I’ve woken from my nap and had something to eat for dinner. Then I think one of my favourite things to do is run a bath and use something like a fancy bath bomb, or some relaxing bath salts, and then I’ll either get in (and feel myself slowly broiling from the inside out because the temperature is so hot) and I’ll already have my laptop set up to watch something. Sometimes it’s a couple of episodes of a TV series I’m watching, or it might even be a movie.

And then, when the water has gone cold, or the show / movie has finished, there’s only one thing left to do…

7. Go To Bed.

It’s been a long day of pampering, and self-indulgence, and you know what, it’s exhausting. So all I need to do now, is go to bed and sleep for about 10 – 12hours, so I can wake up all nice and relaxed and refreshed tomorrow – ready to take on the world!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/daily-prompt-good-time/

Jan 22: Bad Temper

Do you have a bad temper? How often do you lose your temper?

You know how some people will say something like ‘I have a short fuse…’ Well, I have no fuse. I can completely change my mental stage from happy-go-lucky-rainbows-and-puppies to something like white-hot-table-flipping-murderous-rage in a heartbeat.

Trust me, I know that it’s not normal, nor is it healthy, but that’s how I function. I’m not entirely sure why I am the way I am, but I just am, so I have to accept it.

And before you even start making suggestions, I’m going to stop you right there. I’ve tried meditation and relaxation techniques, and they don’t work. I should perhaps investigate more into something like proper anger-management therapy, but that really just requires effort, and I’ve already got enough on my plate as it is. I don’t have time for therapy.

I will say, however, that since I’ve started blogging regularly, I’ve noticed a small change in my demeanor… small, and only slightly noticeable, but it’s a start. Don’t get me wrong, I still at times find myself full of rage, but it’s not as regular or as severe as it has been in the past. I think being able to just write and get stuff off my mind certainly helps a lot… Now I just have to find some time to really start working on the other writing projects I have in the back of my mind – that might even be the therapy that I need.

Who knows?!

And, of course, just to make things worse, I’m a Scorpio.

Well, I’m on the cusp of both Scorpio and Sagittarius, so I have tendencies of both, but predominantly, I’m a Scorpio – and if you’ve ever gotten on the wrong side of a Scorp. then you will know what I mean when I say we are quite capable of making life hell.

I’m not entirely sure why I have such a temper… I’m not really sure where it came from, or when it really started to get so bad, but for as long as I can remember, I have always had a bad mood. Maybe it’s just something that’s ingrained in me simply because I am a Scorpio. I’m not really sure.

But the other part of my bad temper, is that I hold grudges. I really wish that I didn’t, and sometimes I really try hard to let things go and just move on so that I’m not still holding on to the past, but dammit, it’s actually really hard to do. And even then, I have my moments. I can hold a grudge for years, and then if you ask me about it on a day where I’m feeling great and living in the present, then I act as though I’ve let go of the drama and it doesn’t exist anymore… until I fall into a bad mood again, and then it’s as though it’s always been there.

Even in some circumstances where I say that I’ve let go of the drama, I will never forget.

If something has happened that has really affected me, emotionally, physically, etc, that’s going to stay with me for a very, very long time. Some people have some ability to simply shrug their shoulders and let it go as though it never happened, because it’s always going to be in the past, and you can’t change the past.

…why can’t I do that?? Probably because I’m too busy being in a bad mood, visualising somebody else’s downfall in some horrific way, and holding a permanent grudge.

Day 13 – Plugged In vs. Offline Time

How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

I think the only time I’m ever truly offline, is when I’m asleep. 

God, that sounds so bad. But I find myself plugged in constantly.

Checking my phone to see what the weather is like before I get out of bed, and then grabbing my iPad to check my email… then it’s breakfast whilst watching the news, and checking my laptop to see which of my downloads have completed, and which have finished seeding. On my way to work, I’ve got my earphones in either listening to music or watching a tv show. From there, my day is spent in front of a computer screen, where I can do my work, look up info in our database, check out my RSS feeds, monitor my email and facebook, and, when I get a chance, write a blog post – such as this… all at once.

My life revolves around technology and the constant update of information, but that’s how our lives have progressed. We’ve become so reliant on being able to obtain information and live and conduct our lives online, the concept of actually being offline has become somewhat foreign.

Even now as I think about it, if I ever have a bath, I either bring my laptop or my iPad with me, so I can watch a movie whilst I relax.

If I read a book, it’s on my iPad.

If I’m playing a game, or making notes, it’s done on my phone.

And after all that, even during those rare occasion where I actually do have some free time, I play video games on my PS3.

I think that I need to consider taking myself offline more regularly, but being more proactive about it. Actually turning my phone off. Turn my iPad off. Read a real book, made from actual paper! I should try and schedule some time to fit it in.

I wonder if there’s an app for that?