The True Face of A Yogi

a week of little yoga wonders

I've had good progress with my practice this week, although I must say it's hard to stay patient. To let my body work into the postures on it's own time and not over work or stretch my muscles. This month I'm doing two yoga challenges on instagram (see which in this post or by following my instagram here). They are both great for someone who is new to the practice, or are getting back into it. Now that I've done an entire week I thought I would revisit the yogasanas each week to try and track my progress. I would love to hear about yours too! The more we share, the more we learn! 

looking back

My first week of #yogaeverydamnday has been absolutely amazing. I already feel the benefits of regular yoga practice. My body feels stronger, leaner and more beautiful. My mind deals with problems in an efficient and more practical way which leaves more space for peace, love and positive focus. I find myself feeling a lot less guilty for saying no to people. I've always had way too much on my plate and never had the conscience to say no when people asked me to do stuff, but now I'm finding room and peace in my mind to create space in my life. Please follow me on instagram @officialtrine for daily updates on my yoga journey.

January Yoga Challenge

These are the two January Yoga Challenges I'm doing. There's one by amazing @kinoyoga and @beachyogagirl on instagram but at this point it is just too challenging. I'm hoping they're doing one next month and that by then I've gotten strong and flexible enough to join in. The hosts of these challenges are such inspirational yogis and I recommend everyone go follow every single one of them.  

New Years Exclusive After Party

What better way to ring in the new year than with amazing green tea, great company and yoga?! After dinner at my aunt and watching the fireworks over our little town together with my love, I took us home where we had our own exclusive after party with some psychedelic tunes, mate tea and the first yoga session of the year. Some exciting blog stuff went down yesterday, but I can't confirm till in a few days. So excited to tell you though! 

So to the actually important stuff. As this was in the middle of the night I did the Moon Salutation routine. One of the few routines I'm actually pretty comfortable with. The sequence I did was Pranamasana, Hastauttan-asana, Padahastasana, Ashwa Sanchalanasana, Dandasana, Shishuasana, Ashtanga Namaskara, Bhujangasana, Parvatasana, Ashwa Sanchalan Asana, Padahastasana, Hastauttan-asana, Tadasana.

Goal planning: Become a certified yoga instructor

This is the continuation of this post where I wrote about my goals and how to reach them

Time:

Next year, when I want to do the teacher training I'll (hopefully) also be studying economics and management. I'm applying to this amazing course where all the lectures are streamed online, so you can choose wether you want to go to class. So I won't be tied down by a job or anything like that, however, I need to make sure I'll be ahead with my work and that the training doesn't clash with any exams.

Funds:

I always find it so hard to spend big money on things, but when I don't they dissapear and I have no idea what I've done with them. So, now I've been putting aside money every month especially for the yoga course. At the moment I have 10 000 NOK saved up, which should be enough to cover the expenses of the course, but I still need another 10 000 for food and boarding, and about 5000 for the flight. Still, there's a plan at work and I'm making actual progress.

Practice:
I can't actually do the course without a basic understanding of yoga theory and practice and also the human anatomy. I'm pretty busy with work and have a little dog that requires a lot of attention and exercise and so yoga has been down prioritized lately. But I'm serious about doing the course so I've made a plan that'll help me get where I need to be. Actually booking the course and paying the deposit will also help.

Yoga plan:
My goal is to do 365 days of yoga, starting on the on the 1. January. It's such a big, almost overwhelming idea but I know it'll be worth it. I have a terrible patience and I'm a bit of a commitaphobe. Not about relationships, but pretty much everything else. I have restless legs syndrome and sitting still or focusing on a single task for a long time, does not come easy to me, which it's exactly why I need to do this. At the end of each month I will post the plan or challenge for the next month. I've found so many amazing challenges on Instagram and I think it's a good idea to stick to those as I share the experience with other people.

Embarking on my yoga journey

I've been doing yoga on and off for a few years. When I moved abroad for college at seventeen I stopped dancing and yoga took its place. I don't actually think I knew I was doing yoga in the beginning. Listening to music and doing my stretching routine always had a meditative effect on me. It helped me relax, regenerate and focus.

After an exhausting final year of university, heartaches and let-downs I re-discovered yoga and its healing effects. This summer I made the decision to go to India one year from now to do a 200 Hour Teacher Training Course. As of today I will do yoga every day till I arrive at the retreat in India. Once a week or so I will post an update and summery as well as share my plans for the coming week.

I think it's beneficial for the yoga practice to have some sort of intent or objective. I often find it very hard to get into the right state of mind in order to reap the full benefits of doing yoga, thus one of my main goals is to spend more time meditating and practicing "letting go" or "shutting out" the noise. I also hope to develop a greater inner calm and gain physical strength and stamina.

I hope you will take part in my journey, comment and share your own. Reading about other people's yoga practices has given me so much inspiration which is one of the reasons I wish to share my own.