It Takes a Village

So here we are in November.  In the UAE that means we can get back outside and enjoy bluer skies, fresher air and beautiful sunsets.  It also means the bugs are back and I am currently being eaten alive by the feisty mosquitoes who have been laying low and are clearly hungry and making up for lost time.

Psychologically and physically autumn is the time to get your act together, finish up projects that you have started and put aside the ones that aren't working out the way you had hoped.  We should be cleaning up our diet with a cleanse and plenty of seasonal veg and spices, and getting our respiratory system working with lots of breath work, fresh air and outdoor exercise.  It's also the time of year to focus on commitment, so whatever you say you are going to do, make sure you stick to it.  Get a healthy morning routine in place that you can stick to that wakes the body and stimulates your lymphatic system.  For me that means some dry body brushing followed by a cold shower (well at least for the first few minutes, and admittedly there is no way I would have been doing this bit in Scotland) and diffusing lots of aromatherapy oils that clear the airways (eucalyptus, peppermint, thyme and tea tree are great).  In our practice we focus on using the breath to guide our movements, opening the chest with back bends to increase our lung capacity and starting and finishing each session with some pranayama.

I'm relieved as the slower pace and focus of the flow is suiting my body as I continue to heal my injured back and learn to work with a recently discovered scoliosis in my lumbar spine.  This causes uneven pressure through my SI joint resulting in occasional flare ups and a lot of tightness through the pelvis, hips and glutes.  My commitment this Autumn is therefore to stay focused on this healing process and invest my time and money in working with the right people to keep me on track and guide me in the right direction.  I have been so lucky to find some amazing people who have helped me so far on this journey and I thought I would name check a few of them in this post to say a big thank you and help others who may be wondering which way to turn to fix things when they are broken:

My doctor: The orthopaedic doctor at Harley street medical centre in Abu Dhabi who saw me when my pain was severe, worked out what was causing the issue by giving me an X-Ray within half an hour and then promptly stuck a needle in the sore bits to help me walk out of there. Thank you for your quick, kind and friendly service.

My sports massage therapist: Thank you Google for finding me Claire Wyness who got me on the massage table and helped ease the muscle spasms. She is continuing to work with me to release the tension in the soft tissue that is pulling my spine and pelvis out of shape. She in turn referred me to...

My physio: Amy at BounceBack in Yas Marina, who analysed what is causing the problem, stuck more needles in me to promote healing in the joints and muscles, moved me about to get things back into place and gave me a programme of therapeutic exercises to strengthen what is weak (mostly my pelvic floor and adductors) and release what is tight (hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes). 

My yoga teachers: Santina Giardina Chard from afar and Nea Ferrier slightly closer to hand at Ashtanga Yoga Dubai. Both these beautiful Aussie yogis have stepped up when I have needed them and taken the time and interest to check in with me, keep me motivated and make suggestions that help me stay on the mat and practising in a way which is both safe and healing.  A big namaste to you both.

The anatomy guru: Stu Girling of Love Yoga Anatomy whose workshop in Dubai last weekend helped me to understand what is going on in my body and how to use yoga to both open up what is stuck and protect what is vulnerable.

In AYD's fancy new location at The Westin, Al Habtoor City for some anatomy fun with Stu Girling.

My osteopaths - Lindsey Docherty in the UK, for introducing me to this magical treatment and helping me find someone who could carry on her good work here in the UAE.  I've just started working with Dr Esther Navarro at the Osteopathic Health Centre in Dubai who is taking a holistic approach to healing the mechanical issues in my body with her amazing craniosacral adjustments, whilst also helping me to rebalance my hormones and digestion, releasing tension and rebalancing energy through my whole nervous system.

I should of course also thank all my friends, family and colleagues who have stepped in to lend a hand when I have needed it.  I am very lucky to be surrounded by such awesomeness.

That's a lot of people, and a lot of time and money (thank goodness for insurance), but I only have one body and I have learnt that I can't rely on one person, least of all myself, to fix it.  True healing takes a village and it is up to you to seek out the right people in that village to meet your needs.  

Yoga has taught me that everything in the body is connected - breath, mind, body, spirit.  We are an amazing mix of atoms and emotions magically thrown together and capable of doing great things, but we are also pretty breakable and there is usually a whole host of reasons that lead to any crisis point. True healing is hardly ever as simple as sticking a plaster on something and waiting for it to get better.  My physical problems have been caused by a multitude of factors that have built up slowly over time and it will take a lot more time, effort and commitment to carefully undo them.  However, I quite like my body and would like it to keep working for a while longer yet.  I wish I had sought help earlier, but now that I have found it, I won't be letting go any time soon. 

Indian adventures and springtime similarities

I have just returned from an Easter break to Kerala with my family. We could only stay for four nights, but it was the perfect introduction for my 7 year old son and husband to this amazing, beautiful and crazy country.  It makes me smile that India is an affordable mini-break destination for us now that we are based in the Middle East, and I already have another trip booked to explore Jaipur in May.  It's certainly not somewhere I could imagine us ever considering as a destination for a family holiday when we lived in the UK but I'm so glad we have been given the opportunity to explore and learn from our experiences travelling here.

Kerala is a gorgeous part of the country, filled with coconut palms, rice paddies and peaceful backwater canals.  It is also heavily influenced by its long history of 'visitors' from foreign fields.  Fort Kochi in Cochin is a unique blend of crumbling Dutch warehouses, Christian churches, Shrines, Mosques, Jewish synagogues, Chinese fishing nets and shops filled with Hindu antiques and local fabrics and treasures.  It hadn't occurred to me that Easter would be being observed there, so it was with some surprise that we discovered on Good Friday that the churches were packed but the palaces, museums and many of the shops were closed and there was no cooling beer to be had anywhere!  This unique melting pot, known as "God's Own Country' may have developed with many struggles and difficulties on the way, but it has left something quite beautiful and inspiring in its place.

We are very lucky to be able to take our son to a place which not only highlights how privileged he is, but also that no matter how many differences he can perceive in how people look and live, what's really important are the similarities.  The children who waved at him from the side of the river or played cricket with him in the park may not have a room full of expensive gadgets and books like him, but they have the same smile and the same dreams and ambitions.  We live our lives in a protected and affluent part of the Middle East, but what is important to me is that he goes to school with people from around the world with different backgrounds, languages, cultures and beliefs.  He has many friends, and when they fall out it is not because of where they are from, the colour of their skin or who they worship.  With everything that has happened across the world so far this year, and the fear and anger that is generated on all sides by such terrible actions, my main hope remains that my son will grow up to see a world where there will always be more similarities then differences.

Yesterday when I was contemplating about what to write in my blog this month, I opened a book of daily meditations by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov which was gifted to me by my teachers at the end of my yoga training. The entry for 30th March inspired me to share these thoughts and the words seemed so appropriate for the difficult world we live in, that I decided I would share them here too:

"If some people do not want to make the effort to be in harmony with others, it is because they fear being absorbed by the community.  No, every person is a separate individual, but while still maintaining their own character, their particular way of being, they must work for unity.  Look at the cells of the body: they are not identical, and they do not fulfil the same functions.  A cell of the heart is not a cell of the stomach; each retains its individual nature.  But the similarities and connections between them create a state of harmony we call health. Is that so difficult to understand?

We do not have to ask a black person to become white, a Muslim or a Buddhist to become a Christian.  In the past, Christianity sent missionaries to convert people all over the world, and with what violent and tragic consequences! All believers, like all human beings, must keep their particular characteristics, their differences, but at the same time establish fraternal links, through which they create unity."

Me with my new Keralan friends outside the Jewish synagogue in Cochin on Good Friday.

Jamie being taught how to play cricket by the locals. The Indian cricket team has nothing to fear for the future!

2016 already?

It appears that another year has passed by and we are already racing through a new one. It doesn't really seem possible and I am left with a slightly dazed and confused feeling about what I actually achieved in 2015.  I certainly didn't manage to find any time in the last 6 months to update my blog! Before the same happens in 2016, I'm trying to take a little time out for planning and reflection before diving back in to the daily routine, but this only seems to be creating a slight sense of anxiety that I've been muddling through life without focus for too long. I'm also trying to find some time to renew my inspiration for yoga. Don't get me wrong, I still love it every time I step on the mat, but it's been 2 years since I qualified now and I am feeling in need of a boost. I guess I'm sharing this because it highlights to me that yoga, like life, is a journey that has ups and downs, moments of triumph, moments of failure, laughter, tears, pain and pleasure. It is not perfect, even if the carefully selected pictures on Instagram make it seem that way! 

Perhaps I am spoilt, and need to live more in the moment. I am certainly aware of how lucky I am, and how churlish it seems to find things to complain about in my life. When I was at university a boyfriend told me once during an argument that I would never be happy, because the minute I had achieved something, I was dissatisfied with it and looking forward to the next problem, predicting a set-back or setting out to achieve something new. It hurt at the time, sometimes it still does, but it is a part of myself that I try to manage positively now. Without goals and without taking action every day to achieve them, I feel flat, dissatisfied and unfocused, so I know it is important for me to take the time to address this. However, it needs to be balanced with enjoying the moment and forcing myself not to constantly push on to the next idea or project the moment that it occurs to me. 

Yoga has helped me a great deal with this, and I am committed to keeping it that way. I live in fear of slipping back entirely into self-destructive old habits, rather than keeping sight of what makes me tick and how to manage it. The space for reflection and self-realisation that yoga gives you, can be the first step towards accepting who you are and expose both the confines and potential of your personality, enabling you to get the best out of life. That's why I need to make sure further study and the development of my own practice remains a priority. 

That said, I fully expect to make the same mistakes as last year and end up over-committing, rushing around, saying yes to everything, being constantly late and ending up stressed and frazzled, feeling disappointed when it all goes wrong and taking these frustrations out on others. But just maybe, if I can continue working on finding the positives out of these traits and finding ways to use them to my advantage, 2016 will turn into the happiest year yet.