Real Life: Expectations of Dream Followers & Goal Getters

Welcome to another "real life" blog post! I try my best to keep it "real" both on my blog and social media. To me that means being a bit vulnerable sometimes and sharing my truth. You can check out my past real life posts about a week in my life as a yoga teacher, Yoga Practice, not Yoga Perfect, and what it takes to follow your dreams. 

Ever since I stepped on to the ledge and declared loudly (ie: in a moderate tone that only some people could hear)  that I was going to follow my dream, achieve my goals, make some changes, live my best life, etc etc... I have felt a level of expectation placed on me. Some of (maybe most of) these expectations are of course, self-imposed, but some of them are societal in ways. A lot of these expectations are simply unrealistic and seem to set people up for disappointment and discouragement. Most are meant to be empowering, but if not met can leave one feeling like a failure. I wanted to share some of the expectations I experience, in case some of them are being placed on you, by yourself or others, or maybe you are unknowingly placing them on people around you.

Expectation #1: As a dream follower/goal getter, you are going to make really bold choices like Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love.

AKA: "So you're going to quit your job to do this thing you love?" (or else you're not really doing it)

Photos that seem to spread the message of making bold moves found here, here and here

Reality: I have certainly placed this expectation on myself over and over. The reality is, if I quit my steady income job, I will struggle a lot paying bills and buying groceries, because I am just not making the funds to support myself doing what I love right now. I know this, so while I have changed my schedule around at my day job to allow for more time to start my Yoga Program and get it off it's feet (I have gone from having 1 person in a class to selling out my latest Beginner session in 6 months time!!!) I still need to go in for my 9-5. This doesn't mean that I am less committed to making this Yoga Program work - in fact I have to be super committed to fit it all in! The goal is that there will come a time that my Yoga career will edge out my 9-5 and then I will gladly hand in my walking papers and hit the yoga mat full time. Life is not like the movies and TV shows we love where the hero/heroine makes a bold gesture and still manages to live in their upscale apartment or travel the world. The boldness in real life is in the statement that we, dream followers, want more out of life and are working at getting that.

Expectation #2: Success comes faster when you do something you love and are good at.

AKA: "So how long are you going to give it??"

Photos that make success sound as a "natural" occurance if you're doing something you love found here and here

Again, some of these are self imposed or my interpretation of things based on the immense pressure I put myself under to achieve my goals. However, success is not EVER overnight. It's actually more like: attempt - fail - attempt - mini success - attempt - fail - attempt - bigger success - attempt - fail again - and on and on.... I can recall every high moment I have had so far in this journey, because that is what keeps me going. I can also remember exactly how each of those low moments felt, because I feel them very deeply. There is not a straight line to success, so if I give myself a timeline, and at the end of my timeline I am in a "fail" moment,  I may be giving up before my next big success! I'm certainly not saying to hold on to an unrealistic dream until you're 45, broke and have to go back to working in retail for the next 30 years to pay off your debt (again, see above expectation). I am saying that I don't know how long I will give this thing. I don't know how long I will give this because I don't know when all this hard ass work I am doing is going to pay off! I didn't know I would sell out a session in my first 6 months - that wasn't the goal. So, the answer is: I'm giving this my all. And really.....

Photo found here

Expectation #3: Success is measured in dollar signs.

AKA: "Is it worth it?"

The first 6 week session I ran, I lost money after paying my rental fee, buying yoga props, advertising and having very a low participant count. The second session, I think I broke even or came close, and the third I made some money, which all goes into my program and I personally do not see any of it.

BUT.

The first session, I had a brand new participant start my program and attend every week of the session and sign up for the second session (a returning participant means she loved it - success!)

The second session, I met a participant who ended up telling her friends about the program and 3 of them signed up for the next session (she must love it if she is telling her friends - success!)

The third session, I had people asking me to email them updates on Fall programming so they could be sure to sign up.

I am bringing yoga into the lives of people who maybe wouldn't have tried it otherwise. They are falling in love with the practice, how their bodies feel, and how they feel in their bodies. This is how I am measuring success. So, yes, It is worth it. 

I would love to hear from you! Are you experiencing pressure from expectations, self-imposed or otherwise? Are there others I have missed? Let me know in the comments :) 

Real Life: Yoga Practice, Not Yoga Perfect

This post was supposed to be my favourite restorative poses to do with the Yoga Bolster, however, I didn't get the photo's all done for the poses... nobody's perfect right??? 

Let's talk about that for a minute. As a Yoga Instructor there are some real, and perhaps imagined, expectations that are placed on me, either by students, other teachers or myself. I got to thinking about this when I found myself in my car shouting at another driver (all windows closed of course)  and feeling slightly road rage-y. I thought, I am a Yoga Teacher, I should really be better than this. This is not in line with Yoga values. Well guess what?! The very next day I'm pretty sure the entire situation played over again - shouting in my car, feeling bad about it, scolding myself for not being better. This is just one example of an expectation that I have put on myself, but what about expectations others may have?? Some examples that I have heard of or have experienced include:

"I thought I saw you in your car, but the person I saw was eating chips so I thought it couldn't have been you"

(This happened to another teacher I know....Just so you know, I eat chips and love them)

"You must be vegetarian" 

(I eat all types of meat) 

"You must be pretty calm and zen all the time"

(Yells at people in the car on the reg')

So, why am I telling you my dirty little meat eating, road rage secret? To let you know that it's a Yoga Practice, not Yoga Perfect. You don't have to get it all right, all the time or even some of the time, and do not expect your teacher to. Do not put a teacher on a pedestal - that leads to all sorts of problems - they are human just as you are, so when they are at the front of the class talking about presence, or gratitude, maybe it's as much of a reminder for themselves as it is for the class. It doesn't mean someone is a "bad yogi" - at least in my humble opinion, it means they are human. It certainly shouldn't mean that you think less of them as a teacher or student (or that they should think less of themselves). So, next time I find myself shouting at another driver, I will continue to practice mindfulness by recognizing the behaviour and feeling and then maybe, someday, I may be able to drive around Winnipeg only raising my voice to sing loudly in my car. 

Have you ever had an experience where you felt there were expectations placed on you, by others or yourself? Do you have expectations of your yoga teachers? 

Yoga Props: How to Make Your own Yoga Bolster - No Sewing Required!

Yoga Bolsters are one of my favourite Yoga Props to use. When I arrive to a class and the teacher asks us to get a bolster, I know some lovely restorative poses are coming up and I'm about to feel realllllyyyy relaxed ;) Yoga Bolsters can range in price and quality of course, so I wanted to try my hand at making my own before investing my dollars in a more pricey one ($60 - $100). This home-made bolster cost me about $25.00 to make in total, and I'm actually quite impressed with how it turned out. It's firm, but not hard, and it's a good length and depth for my body shape. The entire process took me less than an hour - and that included a small crisis with the liquid stitch, which I ended up throwing away and not using at all. Keep reading to find out how you can make your very own Yoga Bolster - no sewing required! 

What You Will Need: 

IGNORE THE LIQUID STITCH! :) 

1 Foam Pool Noodle - $1.00 at Dollarama

1 Flannelette* Pillow Case - Free, as I used an extra one I had at home 

1 Bag of Cotton Batting

1 Package of Adhesive Velcro - $1.50 each (I bought two to be safe)

Packing Tape

Scissors

Sharpie marker

Measuring Tape

*You can use a cotton or other type of pillow case if that's what you have. 

Step 1: 

Measure the pool noodle and mark it with the sharpie in the middle. Fold the noodle in half and use scissors to cut it. You want your two pieces to be as equal in length as possible. Use your packing tape to secure the two pieces together side by side. 

Step 2: 

Take your cotton batting out the bag and fold it in half once so you have a double layer. Place the pool noodles on the far end of one side (not like in the picture) and roll them up in the blanket. 

Step 3: 

Secure the cotton with packing tape. 

(I also placed a long strip of tape over the rough edge of cotton so it was smooth - sorry for the lack of photo)

Step 4:

Place your bolster in the pillow case, making sure you push it all the way into one corner of the case. 

Pull the fabric tight around the bolster and cut the pillow case, leaving enough room to add the velcro to attach the pillow case together. Put the piece of pillow case that you cut off aside as we will use it later. 

Step 5: 

Press the adhesive velcro strip on to the outside  piece first, then pull it tight and mark where your attaching piece of velcro needs to go. You want the material to stay in place once velcro-ed. 

Step 6: 

Use the piece of pillow case that you cut off and place it over the bolster so that one corder of the bolster is in the one corner of the pillowcase. Once again, pull the fabric tightly and make your cut. 

Step 7: 

Back of bolster

I was able to simply tuck the fabric in to the velcro-ed piece and because it was flannelette, it stayed in place. You can always use adhesive velcro on this part as well if you use another type of pillow case. 

And here is the finished product!!!! 

It's really quite simple - I literally made this process up as I went along, which is why some of the photo's are missing details - and took less than an hour to complete. You can make a variety of changes to make this bolster suit your needs - add another piece of pool noodle to make it wider, wrap an old towel around the pool noodles before you roll it in the cotton batting to make it thicker etc. 

Check back in a couple weeks to see some of my favourite restorative poses to do with this Yoga Prop. I'd also LOVE to know if you make one of these yourself, so be sure to let me know by leaving a comment below, sending me your pictures or tagging me in them on Instagram @sandrayogawpg.

Check out Yoga Design Lab for some premade yoga props and be sure to look at their infinity and curve mats, specifically made for taller yogi’s!

Free Shipping on the Infinity Mats!

As a Yoga Design lab affiliate I earn a commission on eligible sales.

Real Life: Moving from "Worrier" to "Warrior"

This illustration inspired the title of this post. Keep reading to learn my tips on moving from "Worrier" to  "Warrior". 

Welcome to another "real life" blog post! I try my best to keep it "real" both on my blog and social media. To me that means being a bit vulnerable sometimes and sharing my truth. You can check out my past real life posts about a week in my life as a yoga teacher, and what it takes to follow your dreams. 

Worrying happens. It’s part of being human I think. The good news is, when you start to have anxious,limiting thoughts, or are filled with self-doubt, you have the power to change the dialogue. Recently I was informed that a Rec Centre Yoga class I have taught for a couple years would not be renewing their contract with the studio that employed me.  This situation had great potential to send me into a self-doubt spiral, and honestly, would have in the past. This time, however, I was able to navigate the situation with much more ease and much less worry, which inspired me to write this post.  Here is what helps me when I find myself deep in that self-doubt/worry spiral – maybe it will help you move from a Worrier to a Warrior too. 

1. Be Mindful – We have millions of thoughts a day, they just float in and out of our consciousness and sometimes, we get stuck on one or two. If you can work on being mindful with your thoughts, then you can catch those less than constructive ones in their tracks, simply by noticing them. For example, when I read the email about the situation above, the pit in my stomach said “They don’t think you’re a good teacher”, “you’re not good enough” and a variety of less than helpful and kind thoughts. I noticed those thoughts, and responded “hello limiting beliefs” (not out loud of course… ;)) Just being able to notice and label the thought gives you a grasp on it, which is what you need to be able to let it go. 

2. Be Present – Most times the stories that we tell are future stories (Well if this happened today, then tomorrow this will happen and I will end up losing my job and all my money and no one will love me by next week!), or past stories (this probably happened because that one time I did this and if I just had done that instead – let’s play that over and over and over). We have little to no control over past and future situations which is likely one of the reasons they are so bothersome.  What I find helpful when I haven’t been able to mindfully label my thought and let it go - therefore ending up in “story mode” - is to get grounded in the present. What am I doing right now? Where am I right now? What is happening in this very moment? I am sitting in my chair in my office. I just ate lunch. I am working. I have to send an email. I’m going to make some tea….. None of these thoughts are particularly activating, and get me grounded in the here and now, which is the only moment I can do anything about.

3. Be rooted in the truth – Now that we are in the present moment, let’s be truthful. What is true right now? I have a partner that I love and who loves me. I have a family that I love and who love me. I have a job that provides me with enough money to survive and live a good life. I have friends. I have a body that is healthy. These things will not change if I lose this teaching job or if I lose all my teaching jobs. My family doesn’t love me because I am a good Yoga teacher. My friends aren’t only spending time with me because I teach a certain number of classes per week. The Yoga studio didn’t revoke all of my classes and tell me I can’t teach for them anymore. The email said “thanks for the great instructor”. These are the facts. 

4. Be Grateful – Once you have your true facts, throw some gratitude at them. I am so grateful to have loving family and friends. I am so grateful that I have more than one job to support me. I am so grateful for the yoga studio that continues to support me and provides me training to help me grow as a teacher. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to teach that class for as long as I did because I loved teaching that group. And so on, and so on…. Gratitude really does have the power to shift your entire perspective and mood.  

Feel Better? I know I do, and I truly hope that next time you find yourself in a self-doubt/worry spiral, you’ll be able to use these tools to make your way out of it.

Real Life: A week in my life

In the age of social media, it's easy to get caught up in the curated versions of people's lives that are seen on Instagram and Facebook. While I am sure there are some Yoga teachers whose lives are filled with sunrise meditations, beautiful organic, vegetarian meals, time spent journalling and making vision boards between classes, and bedtime self care rituals everyday, that is not my reality as a Yoga teacher (if this is your life - show me your ways!!). There is a lot of work, hustle, and non-instagram worthy stuff that goes on behind the scenes and since I believe in capturing real life on this blog (check out my other real life series post here) I thought I would give you a little peek into what a fairly typical week looks like for me as I try to balance work, Yoga, and life. This life may not always be filtered to perfection, but it is mine and I am loving what I am creating and living everyday. 

Monday:

7:00am - Wake up with my alarm - check my emails, and social media on my phone. Get ready for the day and pack up my breakfast, lunch and vitamins to take to my day job. 

Bagel, cream cheese and apple for breakfast, mini meatloaf and mashed potatoes for lunch

Go to the computer to publish the blog post for the week that I worked on and finished over the weekend and then get out the door and head to work by 8:30. 

I get home from work around 5:00, quickly make some dinner - often I make food on Sunday that I can easily reheat and this week it was individual meatloafs. While I eat, I review my classes that I will be teaching this week. 

6:45 - I leave to teach my class at Dakota Community Centre

Savasana

I get home around 8:30 and usually shower, relax while watching some netflix and am in bed by 10:00. 

Tuesday:

Tuesday and Wednesday Morning's are the same as Monday as I work during the day.

I leave work at 4:30 on Tuesday and head down to the rec centre in St. James where I teach. I usually get there a bit early so I spend time in my car listening to podcasts, sequencing classes, going over my budget or watching youtube videos. 

After teaching I am home around 8:00 and was greeted by home-made BBQ burgers for dinner - yum! I take some time to prep and pack things up for my classes tomorrow and spend some time with my bf before heading to bed by 10:00. 

Wednesday:

After work on Wednesday I come home by 5:00, have a quick snack, and pack up everything I need for the Your Best Yoga classes. I have more prep to do for these classes as I run this program and am not just a contracted teacher. 

All the props and mats packed up and ready to go! 

I teach a Beginner Class from 6:15-7:15 and a Flow Class from 7:30-8:30 this night and get home around 9:00 to prepare a late and easy dinner of perogies and salad. I spend some more time with Netflix before heading to bed around 10:30. 

Thursday:

Today is a day off from my day job - I recently went to part time for a term to allow myself more time for teaching. I sleep until 8:30, get ready for the day, and head to breakfast with my mom at Marion Street Eatery - their Mexican breakfast is my favourite! 

After breakfast I head home to change and then have a gym date with my bf - it was leg day :(

Killed my wide legged squats today ;) 

I get home and settle in to work mode from 1:30-4:30. My to do list included setting up for the new Your Best Yoga Session (Starts February 24th - sign up now!!), writing a blog post, submitting teaching time sheets, and setting up my February Goals.

Writing class descriptions for the website

After I conquered that To-Do list, I relaxed for a bit and made myself some dinner - Roasted Sweet Potatoes and broccoli with chicken fingers and homemade honey dill sauce.

I finish up this evening sipping my favourite Celestial Seasoning's "Sleepy Time" tea and am in bed by 11:00. 

Friday: 

Day off from my day job and day off from Yoga work. It's a real day off!!! I sleep in until 9:30, have a slow morining watching Kelly and Michael Live (I seceretly Love Kelly Ripa haha), get ready for the day and then meet up with a friend for Pedicures - because when you walk around barefoot for a living, it's always pedicure season :) 

After the pedi I stop to pick up groceries, head home and make dinner and then I leave to get to an Advanced Teacher Training workshop. This weekend the workshop ran Friday from 7:00-9:00 as well as Saturday and Sunday from 1 - 4:30 and was a practice based workshop that included a silent day on Saturday. 

After Teacher Training I went home and was in bed by 11:00 - very exciting Friday night :)

Saturday:

Up around 9:00 - make a big breakfast to set me up for the workshop ahead. Take some time to post on social media on my Yoga accounts and make some notes for this blog post. Then off to teacher training. 

This day of silence was pretty intense for me. It included three 20 minute meditations that were dispersed between active and passive Asana practice as well as pranyama. 

When I got home I was starving so I had a quick snack and got ready as we were heading to the "Great Ice Show" at the Forks! We went with another couple and then headed to dinner after. 

Chillin' with the penguins ;)

Sunday: 

Honestly, Sunday the exhaustion was setting in. I was tired, a bit sore from the gym and the practice yesterday, and still had things to get done before Monday. I was feeling overwhelmed but still headed to the Teacher Training for more Asana practice and meditation. 

After teacher training I came home and ended up giving myself a break in the "get things done" department. I had put some soup in the Slow cooker before I left for teacher training so I came home to cozy up to a big bowl of that and some homemade garlic toast, did some laundry and watched Grease Live. 

Then it was off to bed in order to rest up and do it all again next week! 

If you are a teacher, I would love to hear about your experiences trying to balance it all - leave me a comment below!! :)