You can’t suck at yoga

suck at yoga

At the time of writing this, I have done 15 consecutive days of yoga. That is more than I’ve ever done before; I usually got bored and abandoned the daily yoga idea after a few days or a week. I find it so helpful to have great emails sent to me each day – a new routine, a new focus every day. It’s about more than the physical; the emotional and cognitive journey has already been profound. Even so, I was wondering if I’d stick with it once the month was over. Would I continue to find videos? Would I keep enjoying it without the daily changing routine? Parts of it are still so daunting. I struggle with many of the regular poses (like downward f-ing dog) and finish the 30 minute videos dripping with sweat. With some poses that I can only do while heavily modified, I sometimes feel like I’m not strong enough, not flexible enough.

I recently caught up with my friend Sadaf, and she commented that she saw that I was doing yoga now (she has for years). A part of me didn’t feel like I was good enough to be considered in the same league as I imagined she was in. I replied, “yeah, but I sorta suck at it”. She laughed and made the best possible comment. You can’t suck at yoga. It’s only once it came to the West that we started making it a competitive thing somehow, trying to be able to push ourselves into ever more complicated poses, outdoing the person on the next mat. It’s not about getting into the “perfect” tree, chair or crow pose, something that is mirrored in what the woman running the #YogaRevolution often says. Continue Reading

5 Comments Fitness, Health

A file for Harley, or “if you ever want to move overseas”

file safe deposit

It has been a mission getting the admin together to move myself, Dean and Harley to the States. It makes me want to pull my hair out it’s so frustrating sometimes. It’s not that the forms are particularly difficult or that we don’t qualify or something – it’s just a pain trying to get all the documentation and proof that they might need. It’s also made me realize the types of things I need to save for Harley as she grows up. I mean, when did I ever think that I would need to prove my citizenship? When did I ever think that I would need to prove my relationship with Dean? When you live your life in one country, none of this really seems to be an issue. But if you plan to move overseas, there’s a lot of extra admin, and I hope to make things a bit easier for Harley if she ever decides to traipse around the world.

It’s not so much the travel bit, or even moving overseas that’s particularly difficult. Usually, it’s simply a matter of showing a birth certificate, maybe getting a police clearance of some description to prove you aren’t a criminal, and most countries will let you in. However, if you hope to get married and make a life with someone who is foreign, the more documentation you have, the better. It’s all about proving who you are, not because YOU are lying, but because so many other people have lied. It has been so great when my mom and I found documentation that helped – like an old transcript that my mom found, or random medical bills that proved I was in the States to get my wisdom teeth removed or whatever else. It’s random and not stuff you would normally keep, and yet it has turned out to be so worthwhile. As such, this is the file that I plan to keep for Harley, just in case, so that one day when she asks for proof of silly details, I have them. Continue Reading

3 Comments Parenting, South Africa, USA

Chicken, pesto and camembert recipe

chicken pesto and camembert recipe

I get really bored of chicken. I know that chicken breasts are supposed to be one of the best things you can eat, and sure, throwing a grilled chicken breast in a salad or eating it with some veggies is a staple of lean eating. But it’s so boring. The best part of chicken is the skin, and that’s the part you aren’t really supposed to eat too much of. And even if I do eat wings or thighs or other parts of the chicken, it all inevitably becomes pretty boring. Except this recipe – I lived on this for my breakfast for the longest time, and it kept me full and happy for ages without my getting bored of it. This is my chicken, pesto and camembert recipe.

Now, I ate it for breakfast for ages, but please don’t consider this a breakfast food. I tend to eat a lot of “lunch” or “dinner” foods for breakfast. In part because I don’t really care about what time of day I eat whatever foods, and in part because I like to start my day very high in protein (and fat) and most of the time that either means bacon and eggs, or just eating a “dinner” type meal for breakfast. You can make this for an easy lunch, or as your protein source for dinner. Warning, this is quite possibly the easiest recipe you’ve ever seen. Continue Reading

2 Comments Food

A year at home

a year later

Last Friday was a very special kind of anniversary – it was a year since we brought Harley home from the hospital. It’s funny looking back, realizing how little we knew, how we truly didn’t know what we were in for. No matter what anyone says, nothing can prepare you for a newborn, and a preemie in particular. Now, a year later, our lives are so different, Harley is so different. Things have gotten so much easier, and also so much harder in other ways. It’s all part of the journey, but with Harley home for a year now, I thought I’d look back at those dark early days a bit, and also at how things are right now.

The past couple days with Harley have been tough. She isn’t sleeping too well – not horribly, but not great. I think she is teething quite badly, plus she is about to hit a major developmental leap which always makes her a bit impossible. She gets upset quite easily, cries more often and is generally just clingy and cranky. However, it is still a million times easier than it was back when we first brought her home. Sure, she can crawl off now, and get into things she shouldn’t (she ejected my PS4 game yesterday, much to my horror… time to move the console!) but she can also interact, smile, play and have a lot more fun than she used to. Continue Reading

9 Comments Parenting, Rambling

Thoughts after a week of daily yoga

daily yoga

I have done yoga now and then, but never really managed to make it a part of my daily life. I’d get into it and enjoy it for a time, but then lose interest or focus on other things. Usually, my issue was boredom – how many sun salutations can you do before you’re well and truly sick of it? Of course yoga is more than that, but I’d usually find myself doing a set yoga routine for a short while before becoming bored and moving on to other exercise, which is why I’m so surprised that I’ve stuck with the daily yoga and really found myself enjoying it.

As I mentioned in my New Year’s goal post (heh, goal post), Cassey invited me and some awesome mommy bloggers to join her in a #YogaRevolution. It’s quite a cool concept; the woman organizing it has a yoga YouTube channel and this year for January she is doing 31 days of yoga. But it’s not just about the yoga, it’s also about boosting a mind-body connection. She sends daily emails to explain the videos as they come up, and each movement is beyond the pose, beyond replicating what we think it should look like, but really finding what feels good and works for ourselves and moving from there. It’s more introspective and enjoyable, while still obviously helping to tone, stretch and feel good. Continue Reading

4 Comments Fitness, Health