Pleasures Please

I have observed that we spend much of our time discussing and doing things we don't want to do.....And it seems feeling guilty about the things that we do want to do...........Why is it so naughty to eat some chocolate cake or take the afternoon off to go to a gallery? Why is it we see fit to chastise ourselves for doing things we actually enjoy? 

I decided to spend some time collating a list of the things that really gave me pleasure and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't all frivolous fun, over indulgence and laziness.
It began with obvious points like, spending time with friends and eating chocolate, I then ventured to cheekier things like indulging in a vodka Soda and dancing all night long on tables and then I got a little bolder and ventured in to more intimate realms. No examples needed ;-)
Once you start, the list is endless and takes you on a journey of all your greatest and simplest desires.

I realised how much pleasure I got from buying flowers for my alter, running barefoot in the park and even tidying my bedroom! Some of the things that seem like such hardship at the time are the most rewarding. There is something so satisfying about the ache you feel after a work out or looking at a sparkling clean fridge.

This Pleasure list was a simple excersise but such a rewarding one. The hardest part is committing to do all the things that bring you pleasure on a regular basis. Don't just gaze at the list longingly, there needs to be action!
I chose to do at least one thing a day that gave me pleasure. And that wasn't just eating chocolate! Which I do anyway. Pick things you find harder, like going to a gallery, hosting a dinner party or watching the sunset and make plans to make them happen.



My pleasure week could look a bit like this..........tidy my house, bake a healthy cake, walk barefoot in the grass, buy beautiful flowers for my alter, discover a new chocolate flavour or indulge in one I already love, spend time with the goddesses in my life (In this case being silly)and kiss a handsome man.
It makes me smile just reading about the possibility and doing them just makes my shine.

Share your pleasures please!! keeping the steamy ones a secret for yourself and chosen accomplice.

Big love x

What is your Wild Abandonment?

What does Wild Abandonment mean to you? If you are a mother it could mean leaving your baby at the coat check while you dance the night away and if you are a gardener you have an image of your flowers ravaged by weeds. At first glance it can seem like a negative, something frivolous, to be ashamed of but really the image that is conjures is one of release, freedom and total nakedness!

As I walked bare foot in the park today I told my friend Siobhan that I was obsessed with wild abandonment, a sense of exploring with no limits, loving with no shame and experiencing a life that stimulates all your senses.  It is I added "quite an intense way of living" leaving few moments when the mind is happy with what is and a feeling of always wanting more.
Over the past few year I have become aware of my thrill seeking tendency and made my 2013 mid year resolution..... "to be present in every moment" because otherwise I am always somewhere else!


I spent much of this year "about to go...." or "....just back" and it consumed my life. Everything squeezed into three week blocks. So in an attempt at not being homesick for being away  I chose to spend the summer here, me myself and I, no escaping, just being, no bungee jumping, just being and it has been an interesting journey to the wild abandonment within.


My yoga life teaches me to be present, to breath and be present, to move and be present. Mindfulness, awareness and connection are words I use to guide people to a sense of stillness and ease. And there is something so beautiful about not having a need for anything other than what is, to be content with the here and now.

I will never loose my thirst for adventure and why would I want to?! but it is essential to find a sense of wild abandonment in our every day life. In the freedom we give ourselves, the choices we make, the friendships we keep, our teaching and our passions. We don't need to be climbing a mountain or tight rope walking to feel that sense of adventure, we just need to be present and true.  

Wild: Not tamed or domesticated
Abandonment: to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses usually without self control.

In Short......Get naked, mind body and soul.

x