My Bucket List ????

Inspired by a good friend who turned 50 a few months ago, I am creating my bucket list. At first I thought it was a morbid suggestion, my friend had a stroke a last year and so has the deep seated fear of another one.

I am not going to call it my bucket list, I am going to figure out a more positive name for it but there are a few things I have always wanted to do but never had the money/time or really wanted to be away from my kids for too long.

Now I have the time, and can probably afford some interesting things if I budget well for them.

1) Road trip to Kripalu with some Yogini's - unlike the road trips with girlfriends while in my 20's I hope to remember the entire trip.

2) Cost Rica for a yoga retreat

3) Pay off the studio mortgage - so I can travel more

4) Study at Agama in their Teacher Training program (3 months)

5) Take Teacher Training with David G at Downward Dog....master Bakasana...(
Teacher Training is just a great reason to do more yoga...)

6) Turn the Durham Yoga Festival into a weekend event....and raise a ton of money for local youth charities.

7) Travel to India...is this getting boring ? It's all about yoga and traveling

8) Visit New York City and take some classes with Dharma Mittra - okay more yoga...shop as well....

9) Run a marathon....sigh...I keep putting this one off

10) Cycle the Cabot Trail with Frank - Frank is from Cape Breton Island and this is one we both share.

11) Buy a big old house on a lake and open a retreat centre.

Sheree's Trip to Thailand

So here is part of my trip in pictures...after a 15 hour flight I arrive at the Hong Kong Airport...a world class airport in a city I would love to tour but will have to pass on this trip.


A 3 hour stopover give me just enough time to change planes...


From Hong Kong to Bangkok is just under 3 hours.

From Bangkok to Koh Samui Airport about 59 minutes. The airport in Koh Samui is billed as the most beautiful airport in the world.




If only the travel ended in this gorgeous place but from here I catch a ferry to Koh Phangan....an island in the South China Sea. To my final destination the Ananada Resort right beside the Agama school that I will be attending.





There I will stay in a bungalow over looking the pool and the water.




Upon arrival the very next day I start my studies....with Swami Vivekananda, I am studying yoga a more traditional form.

Each Day I attend 2 x 1 and 1/2 hour yoga classes/lectures and in the evening there are morelectures and films.

They take place in the Yoga Hall.

I have plans to also have some fun, maybe some diving or surfing lessons as times permits. Maybe a detox at the resort and some Thai Yoga Massage. I plan to book time with Swami V...to discuss my path, and to clear out some head stuff.

I plan on being absorbed by my studies and just enjoying this amazing opportunity to live and study yoga with no distractions.

I honour the light that is within you, it is the same light that is within me, therefore we are one (when we are both in that place LOL).

Namaste

Tick Tock...

So it is shameful to admit but I have only had one day off since my last post...being busy stifles my creatively and when I try to blog I can only think about how busy I am...that gets a little boring, several times I sat down to blog and thought...boring...or even worse sometimes I thought "God this is so self righteous"...so I deleted them.

I am now officially winding down...I am not teaching any weekend courses until September and quickly took a Friday class off my schedule that I thought I wanted to teach. I have decided that Fridays are sacred, they are my day and a well earned day off as I teach 13 classes plus run club from Monday to Thursday...

I love my Fridays off, I get up and drink coffee, I putter around as only a woman can putter and then I head to the Beaches for a yoga class with David G.

David G. is a renowned teacher in Toronto, one of the very few certified Ashtanga teachers, I am loving his class, his energy and the day to myself in T.O.

Sometimes I grab lunch and other days I just try to beat the weekend traffic but no matter what I decide, the yoga class centers me. I am learning tons and deepening my practice.

Yoga is about quieting the mind stuff and I have mind stuff...the difference inside my head before and after the class is remarkable, I am more relaxed, centered, happy and my inside voices are too.

Wow this yoga stuff really works, practicing what you preach is always a good idea.

So why the tick tock ?....it is my countdown to my trip to Thailand, I leave July 17 and return August 20th. It is a trip I deserve, I work hard and for many other reasons that are too personal to blog about In fact my trip to Thailand is more of a calling for me...I feel drawn to Thailand. I have met Swami Vivenkanda and his teachings make sense to me, my mind can buy what he is saying, that is important.

I am heading out for a 30k cycle and hope to be blogging about my trip this week.

I Made It

I made it to my first full day off in a couple of weeks...I am sitting at my computer drinking coffee in my pj's. The last couple of weeks have been full, too full.

I found out a couple of things about myself, one is that last week I just started to get bitchy...being too busy made me stressed and impatient inside...I managed to hide most of it but I really really heard this inside voice loud and clear. I remember always feeling this way so it was a real remember when.

Plus, I ate junkier food, simply because I didn't make the time to grocery shop...it is so easy to reach for unhealthy food when you are busy and tired.

I did make time for some personal exercise, which was good, aside from running 3 times with the Run Club I ran with Misty on Friday and cycled with her on Tuesday. These moments were probably my saving grace...a time to clear my head and work off the junkier food.

I also got enough sleep...I went to bed between 10 and 11 each night, I know that sleep is a big factor for me....if you combine stress, bad food, feeling bitchy, with no sleep...I am not sure what kind of red headed monster would have been released.

So I would say that when under stress my weakness is eating properly and maintaining my patience.

I ended the week with the perfect day....our run club ran their graduation run and I went down to shoot some pictures and cheer them on...it was great being a spectator, I got sooo excited when I would see one of our runners or perhaps an old acquittance's from my Running Room days.



We had a celebration lunch at a local Mexican restaurant...and I then I forced myself to go grocery shopping for the fruits and veggies, even though I was exhausted.



For the end of a perfect day we rented Tooth Fairy and borrowed 3 of our grandchildren for the night, Frank picked up our daughter Lori and we ate pop corn and just hung around.
It was the perfect night. the movie was really good, the kids were amazing and Lori is just a great energy to be around. I felt so grateful to be a part of the MacKinnon family.

Tonight is also about family....we are taking our youngest son Jacob and our daughter Margaux with their respective partners out for Sushi.....just writing about spending time with our kids makes my eyes tear up.

When I was young I made choices, one of those choices was to only have one child, at the time it was the right choice, but years later I was blessed with 5 step kids and they have brought so much into my life...but that would be another whole blog....

Today is about laundry, cleaning bathrooms and a short run by myself.....oh and maybe a walk with the dogs and Frank.

Am I a Creeper

I have written before that I really enjoy my female friends, I am fiercely loyal and not a gossip. So today when I found myself stalking a guy for my friend I will call Madame X...I wondered am I a creeper or a good friend.

Some background.....a very handsome man came into my studio, now this is a rarity....he appears to be single...so a good looking single man walked into a room full of women...he stood out. I was probably not the only womenn wishing she had a little lipstick in her yoga pants.

But I am married so looking is as far as I go....but I did enjoy Madame X chatting this guy up, laughing and smiling and all that stuff.

I thought to myself what a great match....alas Mr. hot and single has not returned we have waited and watched but he has been a no show...but he hangs out at Starbucks on occasion. So today I decided I needed a latte and headed out in search of this man....my first experience stalking and it was not even for me..does make me creepy to if I stalk for a friend ? Or am I just being a great friend.

How many lattes is it reasonable to drink on behalf or my friend ? And, should she be chipping in for their cost ? But most of all does this make me a creeper ?

Today is the beginning of some busy times...the next 2 weekends are booked which on top of my regular schedule makes for one busy yogini. I hope to be able to maintain some time for me and not just get through these next 2 weeks but to enjoy each day.

In preparation for the next 2 weeks I spent the weekend with my husband, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and enjoyed tons of time together doing things we like to do, like eating great food, shopping and more. In fact last week I told my husband that this weekend was sacred that we needed the time together so not to make plans. He agreed and what a great time we had.

My husband loves to shop, way more than I do, he loves art, and things for the home. Yesterday we wandered through the shops in Port Perry for the afternoon.

I have found that when my schedule gets heavy like this I have to really just focus on the day...what has to be done today...what doesn't...don't worry about the busy weekend...just stay in the day...this really helps. I have also been very very careful not to forget about my personal workouts, I will still cycle at least once and do some yoga...these are the things that help me stay sane and fit.

I have 2 yoga classes planned as well as a cycles, combined with run club and the bits and pieces I get from teaching I should have a full week.

I won't be blogging much as I plan to rewrite and update a manual...so I must focus.

Many of you don't know that I used to be in Marketing I ran a small company for years, I still have a client and that client has awarded me a large print and direct mail project (maybe 2) that is big and will, if all goes well, run for 5 years. So this week I will be putting on "real shoes"..LOL and a suit and heading back into corporate Toronto.

I love the corporate world when I have the choice of being there or not, otherwise the thinking in corporate world makes me have to breath (alot) as many companies are built on principles of the armed forces and expect employees to think a certain way, and people buy into the thinking out of fear of financial problems. It is often only when you step away that you can see this fear based thinking.

But I love this client she is amazing and has been a client for 10 years, she is fair, smart and great to work with.

My weight is amazing I have lost over 20lbs now, my stomach is toned and I feel great, I have been sleeping and eating well and I hope to be able to maintain this over the next little while. As good sleep and quality food always make me feel better.

Last week I cycled 24k, ran twice, did 2 yoga classes and taught....a slow week LOL.

To be a Yogini or to not be a Yogini

Recently a major hot yoga franchise opened about a block or so from my studio, I have known for a while that there were coming.

In the U.S. major chains are wiping out the small owner operated type studios, so there is definitely a need be be smart and stay focused.



Yoga would teach us abundance for all so I choose to believe that if I run my studio as a business and serve my customers well, I should be okay. I also work very hard at bringing new ideas to my studio.

I am a highly trained teacher, I love what I do and I hope to be around for a long time, if this is what the universe has planned for me. But I am open to change, I am not without the realization that I need to allow myself to change, if the fact that we now have 3 yoga studios within 2 blocks in a small community of around 8,0000 starts to affect my business, I need to make decsions that protect me and my family.

Yoga would teach us that change is inevitable, like a flowing river we will always be changing, to stay the same is really to become stagnant. Picture yourself with the same hairstyle for 40 years, or the same knowledge and thought patterns.




Yesterday while sitting at my reception desk, in walk 3 young girls, at first they don't look at me, then they say hi and ask for some brochures...they turn their backs to me and whisper. So, I ask if they have questions...one finally steps forward to tell me they are from the new yoga studio that just opened up, while I knew that when they walked in, I had decided to wait for them to introduce themselves to me ...they asked a few questions and shared their surprise that Brooklin now has 3 yoga studios in 2 blocks....it was interesting to observe their body movement and language. I am not sure why in the end they dropped in but they did.

It is in these moments that I must be a yogini, if I only teach postures in a room night after night I am a fitness instructor, which would be fine, but I have chosen to embrace yoga as a lifestyle, it is not always so easy.

They choose to begin our relationship with a lie, then the truth came out and so I sat before them in that moment breathing and waiting. I decided to show them my studio, we talked abit about yoga then they left.

I made a decision to react out of love rather than fear, I always have a choice and I choose assume this meeting was for the highest good of all. The more yoga the better, and I hope that in the end they do well, I know that things have always worked out for me in the long run.

So today I will head out on my bike to enjoy this great day, and not worry about business.