Freedom...going to your happy place in hard times.

Me pretending to be a mermaid..floating freely...

Painting my Beautiful Women I've created.....

Feeling carefree laughing with one of my best friends Pilan.

The thing that frees me the most...when I journal...

Hello Loves...Happy Wednesday! I have been not keeping my promises with blogging twice a week, so I apologize. Things have been a little crazy, & to be honest with the 30 class/30 day yoga challenge, sometimes all I have energy for at the end of the day is work & yoga. LOL..but I can feel my body getting a little smaller & toner so all the hard work is paying off. But truthfully there are some days that I am practically crying walking into class, not because of not wanting to do the class, but because of the extreme soreness I feel. But it has been a powerful experience truly. The strength I am gaining from this challenge is spilling over onto other parts of my life, & that is an amazing feeling.
     
       So how have you all been? Hoping that your all making time for yourself & your hobbies as well as taking care of yourself body, mind, & spirit. I have been thinking a lot about how I am trying to surround myself lately with positive things & positive people but sometimes life isn't always that easy or perfect. We have all been stuck in a situation where no matter what we try to do or where we go, there will always be negative people trying to bring us down. Whether it be a coworker who belittles you, a family member who is hard to get along with, or even a toxic friend who has you questioning whether or not they are your friend will always be a part of life. One can never fully eliminate the toxicity around them because one cannot control other people, but what we can do is control our reactions to those people. We can free ourselves of their toxic poison. How? By giving ourselves permission to not care, walking away for a moment, or all together eliminating our time spent with that person.

      I feel that all the toxic situations that arise in daily lives are truly there for a reason. To teach us something either about ourselves, the other person, or simply just to show us who we do not want to be like. I read an amazing book a few years ago by author Don Miguel Ruiz called, "The Four Agreements." There were two out of the four that truly changed my life, & it was agreement 2 & 3, which were, "Don't Take Anything Personally," & "Don't Make Assumptions." The first one was a big one for me because I have always been a very sensitive person, & if someone for example, came into work one day in a bad mood, I would automatically think, "Oh they must be mad at me," even if I hadn't done anything. I learned this too in arguments that if someone, whether it be your family, an ex, or a friend is yelling, cussing, or just using words fueled with venom know this; it is what they are going through within themselves, not you why they are being that way. Sometimes we let our anger just build & build over a period of time that it just explodes on the first person near us. I always try to remind myself that anger stems from hurt feelings anyways. So next time someone yells at you, or shows extreme anger at you, ask yourself, "Are their feelings just hurt but they don't know how to communicate in a calm manner?" And if the answer is yes, even then we cannot always get that person to see our side so that when I say..go. Go & free yourself. Go to your happy place. If you live with the person, go to another room, if you hangout with the person, maybe take some distance until they calm down & are willing to see your side.

      As for the third agreement of not to assume, I really love this one too because we always try to assume how others are feeling or what they are going to say. We are not mind readers, or psychics so give that person a chance to tell you why they are acting the way they are. Also admitting our faults is a hard one, because our ego is involved, & also our pride. But sometimes I'd rather have peace than pride, but that does not mean I do not stand my ground. It is all about balance. But that being said, sometimes we will never see eye to eye with certain people, & that is when you have to question whether or not that person needs to stay in our lives. Sometimes it stings at first to make the hard decisions of ending a friendship, filing for divorce, or even not spending as much time with a relative who tries to bring you down, but in the end your spirit will thank you. Life is too short to surround yourself with toxic people, & like I said we don't always have control but we can control ourselves. So try not to yell back as loud as they do, stay calm or leave. Try not to say mean things back either because really why fight dirty & roll in the mud with someone just because they like too? And last but not least, give yourself permission to free yourself. Go for a run, vent to someone who is not judgemental, sing loudly, write, cry, or do whatever will help you escape that ugly energy that is surrounding you. I didn't grow up perfectly, yet who has? So there are a few sacred places & things I tend to do that still, at 29 help me feel free, forget, & just be happy, even if it's just for that moment. For me it has been art, writing, running, reading, calling a friend to hear me cry then make me laugh, & lately it has been yoga. So remember to set yourself free from that toxic person or situation, & if you cannot do that just go to your happy place, whether it be physically or mentally.