Before I write about what my reflections and take-homes were, it would make a lot more sense if I described that time of year for me to you. During that year, I was taking AP (advanced placement) world history and had signed up for drama and a sport after school. We do things differently at here at our school. It ends at 3.45pm and sports or any other after school activities starts at 4 and ends at 5 or 6. My family and I would have dinner at around 6.30 and get home at around 8. This leaves me barely enough time to do my homework and study as well as I'd like to, and if I did study and do my homework with effort, I usually ended up staying up 'till 12 or 1 in the morning. AP world history takes me about 2 hours. Plus my other subjects took a while to do too. In the mornings, I'd throw in a bit of yoga to chill out otherwise I'd go crazy from all the work, meaning I'd get up earlier than everyone else. It was tough, though I managed to get through it.
I learnt a lot about myself during that year. What I could accomplish and what I had to let go to do better in other areas. One of the things I found myself doing a lot was taking a step back and breathing. When you feel as if you're drowning in a pile of work, take a step back a breathe. Take five minutes off whatever you're doing and take deep breaths. Think how you're going to get through this, let go of unimportant things and work you can do later. Ask yourself why you chose to do this in the first place, and if your answer is because you had no choice, then think how it can benefit you. Put yourself in the shoes of a 3-year old. They are curious, alert and they think they are on top of the world and that everything is about them.
The second thing I learnt was that when you do things with ease and listen to your body, everything works out in the end. My new friend and favorite yogi Tara Stiles and her husband Mike Taylor are always saying how working with ease is always the way to go. When you work with ease and listen to your body, you will see how things are for you not against you. At the beginning of the year, I started out as the kind of person who had to finish things to the end no matter what. I ignored my body telling me to rest and forced myself to sit for hours studying and finishing my homework. In the end, I was tired and frustrated because I did not understand a single thing. When you work with ease and listen to your body, you'll find its super responsive to everything you do. It will tell you to stop and go do something else, or it might nudge you on and tell you to finish whatever it is you are doing. In the middle of the year, I made a promise to myself that I will tune in and listen to my body from now on. At the beginning it was weird, because I was taking a lot more breaks than usual. I was not used to being free, so I was still a little shaky. In the end, I found that I got a lot more done efficiently. I understood more things and realized I did not need to spend so much time understanding concepts.
The last thing I took away from that year was to just enjoy life. You only live once and why not enjoy the life you have now? I realized I was being too strict with myself, I wasn't giving myself any time to unwind and take it all in. I was always overwhelmed with projects, whether they were required or whether they were just things I wanted to go over because I wasn't sure I would understand them. During that time, I was also super picky with my food. I was a health nut. Seriously. Going out for meals with my family was tough for me as we usually went to restaurants that cooked not-so-good for you meals. It was during this time I learnt that eating something unhealthy does not mean its the end of the world. Treating yourself once in a while is a way of saying thanks to your body. By doing this, you're allowing yourself freedom, and when you're free, you'll feel as if nothing is holding you back from anything you want to do. Feeling good and giving yourself the opportunity to connect you back to you is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself no matter where you are. It helps you accomplish more things and at the same time, why wouldn't you want to know yourself? You're great just the way you are!! :)
Here are some pictures from the resort we went to!
xoxo
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