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Follow Your Heart This is a very special route for 2 incredible souls, and I feel so grateful to have been a part of it all!! Nic wanted the heart-route to symbolise all the exciting new adventures that she and Sonny will now have together as Mr & Mrs! A 3 day wedding in exotic Goa was a great way to start! Surrounded by family, friends, sunshine and sea! The whole ceremony was utterly breathtaking. I had the honour of reading out a poem I'd written to celebrate their new adventures together. Since they're both fans of Pennywise the Clown, I couldn't help slipping him in there! Keep reading to find out how we celebrated the 3 days, PLUS all the highlights of my Goa adventures! Location Kenilworth Resort & Spa, South Goa, India Heart Route I contacted the hotel a few months before the wedding to ask if there were any bike friendly paths close to the venue. After sending me a map I couldn't believe it when I saw there was a little heart-shaped route directly around the wedding venue! Cycle Your Heart Out The whole heart route went past all 3 of the wedding locations! Day 1 was the Mehndi party on the frangipani lawns. The Henna symbolises positive spirits and good luck and is used to wish the bride good health before the wedding. Nic even managed to get their dog Pablo hennered onto her arm, while Sonny decided to get one of their favourite film characters. Day 2 was the Pithi, a traditional ritual where you apply Turmeric, oil and water to both the bride and groom as it’s believed to bless the couple before the wedding. We then had more messy fun with a Holi colour pool party, sliding down those flume rides in style! Day 3 was the magical beach wedding ceremony. Nic's dad drove her to the aisle on a quad bike, while Sonny arrived on a white horse! The whole day was just stunning, with fireworks and dancing all night, even the camera crew joined the dancefloor at the end! I believe in a thing a called love, 8 lyrics from a song, and a love story for you all Crisps, what's your favourite flavour? 1 line of curiosity, sonny typed into his app They all float down here, 5 words Pennywise whispered, on their very 1st date Come and meet the parents, Plus 10 cute alpacas, Nics invitation to welcome him to the Andrews Fancy some fireflies? 1 miscommunication that led to Five Guys burger Anniversaries That Amalfi coastal climb, 35 degrees, to find a closed sign on arrival, but endless views of awe Pablo, their unexpected fur baby, 1 loveable pomsky which led to no more cinema nights, but endless amounts of joy An entire month of yoga, 30 days straight, leading Sonny into crows pose, and a ring on Nics finger From the Grove pub to Goa's beach, 3 days of wedding celebrations, and a lifetime full of adventures I believe in a thing called love, let's raise a glass to Sonny and Nic Chauhan Spread the love: - Grateful to Nic and Sonny, a truly beautiful couple who just belong together! - Nic and Sonny’s parents for helping them plan the most incredible, unique wedding that I’ve ever been to. - The Wedding Waale photographers for managing to capture every single magical moment! - All my friends for making the whole week so freaking fun, I can’t remember the last time I danced and laughed that much! INNER RIDE QUESTION Are you craving more adventures? What one thing can you do today to help get you there? If you're looking for inspiration and thinking of heading to Goa, have a read below of all the places I travelled to solo after the wedding! With only a week to explore I managed to really get a taste for Goa and all the wonderful things it has to offer. I felt super comfortable travelling alone and had no problem meeting kind people. Despite the crazy roads, I even managed to find somewhere to cycle in traffic free bliss! Keep reading to find out where it was... North Goa ARAMBOL: One of my favourite places! Accommodation: Love Temple Beach Resort Yoga: Ana is an amazing Yoga teacher and currently offers classes in the morning at Love Temple. I met Ana on a 10 day Vipassana silent retreat last year in England, so it was lovely to reconnect with her again all the way in Goa! Ecstatic dance: Forgotten land with Dj Artemiy and at Shunya with Esta Polyesta Food: Love Temple and Forgotten Land do delicious food! Shopping: Walk right from the beach towards the rocks and you will find so many great shops along the coast. I bought my skirt for the wedding here and the owner was super fast at sewing it to make it fit better. MANDREM: A short walk along the beach of Arambol and you will find yourself in one of the best spots to watch the sunset and relax in peace. Accommodation: Wigwam - a half hour walk from the beach, a stunning paradise where you can shower under the stars and sleep in a wigwam surrounded by tropical plants. Nicki does chakra yoga here and I had a couple of really lovely classes with her. I also met Pranav from Mysore who shared the same zest for life, and tasty dosas! Beach Street Eco Resort & Spa - Gorgeous beach huts with a lovely spa. I highly recommend you try the Shirodhara Oil treatment, an Ayurvedic healing technique that involves having someone pour olive oil onto your forehead. PANJIM: The Capital of Goa Accommodation: O Abrigo - A beautiful Portuguese style home right in the centre of Fontainhas, the oldest Latin quarter of Panjim and looks like a small Mediterranean city. Bike Tour: I did a tour with Cycling Zens. Whilst the roads in Goa are not the most well maintained for bicycles, my tour guide Nabin took me to Chorão, a small Island with hardly a car in sight, just plenty of Banyan trees and cows. Guided tour: I found Exotic Goan Excursions and had a great time with Mario. He was happy to explain all the history and gave me plenty of knowledge about all the sites we visited. My highlights were visiting the spice plantation and learning about how everything is grown. South Goa PATNEM: Accommodation: Palm Trees Ayurvedic Heritage This place is stunning and only a short walk away from the beach. They do regular yoga classes and retreats, and the 2 cute kittens here make it hard to leave! Food: Tantra Cafe Restaurant & Huts - They serve delicious fresh fish, plus it's a great spot to watch the sunset. COLOMB BEACH: Best beaches: A short walk from Patnem will take you to a small quiet cove surrounded by rocks, and perfect to read a book on or journal. PALOLEM: Art: After Colomb beach you will end up at Art Resort Goa were you can do painting classes. I highly recommend you check out the beautiful bike themed art by Swaroop @ticketarts, really happy to have bought one of his beautiful paintings! They also have a cute bookshelf here so I decided to leave one of my books to help spread the love! Want help making your own heart route? Click below to find out how I can help you, wherever you are in the world! (cycling is optional) 
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Meet Colette, we met back in 2013 working as British Cycling Breeze ride leaders. Ten years later I invited her on a heart-shaped route to help her ride inwards and get clarity on her 2023 intentions! Step 1: Follow your heart First we sat on a sun filled bench and took some gentle mindful breaths to help settle into our bodies. We then searched for any 'punctures' using my NEW wheel of life activity sheet (see below). This led to Colette realising her tyre was a little flat around community, and just how much she wanted to pump it up. Ironically I had the same sort of puncture! We then listened to my heartful ride meditation and had a pleasant conversation (in our heads) with our ideal self. It's a lovely way to start your ride as it really helps to reinforce your intention, or sometimes shed light on things you may have been previously unaware of. INNER RIDE QUESTION Looking at the wheel of life, can you notice any punctures in your life? What area needs pumping up the most? If you need some help getting clarity, listen to my Heartful Ride Meditation on Insight Timer or download it here. "I love what you are doing and how you're creating a greener and sustainable way of living. I enjoyed our day and found that creating my own affirmations really helped me to focus and move forward. I feel more able to make clearer decisions for myself now, thank you"! Step 2: Location Furzton lake in Milton Keynes, England. A beautiful lake surrounded by swans, ducks… and dinosaurs! It's also part of the route 51 cycle network that leads you all the way to Oxford. INNER RIDE QUESTION: Where would you like to cycle your heart out? Once you've chosen your country and place, take some time to collect physical maps / online maps. If your route is in the UK, try looking on the Sustrans website for advice on bicycle friendly paths in your chosen area. Step 3: Create your heart route I first made this 2.7 mile route when I started riding heart routes as part of my morning routine. I found it was a great way to start the day and help reinforce your intentions. After over 11 years in 10 countries of making heart routes, I can honestly say that the Milton Keynes redway maps are the best to use when it comes to finding heart routes! INNER RIDE QUESTION: Need help with your heart route? Here are my top 3 tip:
Remember your heart routes don't need to be perfect, because neither is life! Step 4: Cycle Your Heart Out Before we rode I suggested Colette write down a short affirmation about how she wishes her community to be. Repeating this to yourself before your route is such a powerful way to bring your intention to life. Always write it in the present as if it's already true, for example: "I have a loving supportive community and I feel like I belong" Once we had set off we then tuned into our 5 senses as it's such a simple way to ground yourself and enjoy the present moment. As we rode we soaked in the sounds of the chatty ducks, views of the sun bouncing off the lake, the cold sensation of the winter air on our cheeks, the smell of the half naked trees, and the taste of coffee on our lips. Here were some of the highlights along the route: Dinosaur Valley for scary crazy golf Sul Lago Restaurant one of the best places for pizza in Milton Keynes! Tattenhoe Valley for traffic free peaceful cycling and walking trails INNER RIDE QUESTION: How about you? Do you have an affirmation you'd like to write down and repeat along your route? Try practicing the 5 senses activity and see how it makes you feel, look for 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Step 5: Spread the love After the route we practiced my 'Heartful world' meditation (coming soon) which is based on the well known loving kindness meditation. This is one of my favourite practices as it's all about sending compassion to those you love, strangers, those you find difficult, and every living being. Sharing your route with loved ones and your community is a beautiful way to spread the loving energy that you created on your route, and a great way to bring your ride affirmation to life! Colette lives in Houghton Regis and is hoping to grow her community around here and central Bedfordshire in England. Here are 5 ways you can expand your community today:
INNER RIDE QUESTION: Have you created your heart route? Awesome! Now choose 3 loved ones or communities you'd like to share it with to inspire them too! Are you also wanting to grow your community? What 3 baby steps can you do today to help? Now available on Audible! Meet Vanessa Garduño, Co-founder of Branding for Writers, and Talent & Speaker Manager I've known Vanessa since the moment I landed in Barcelona back in 2013. Not only has she been an amazing friend, but she's also been an incredible mentor for me over the years, and a source of motivation in publishing my first book. It was a joy to cycle my heart out with her today and help her ride inwards! Follow your heart Cycle Your Heart Out for… Abundance! “This ride is about putting love into all the things I do and creating positive things from it. I also thought it would be a beautiful way to celebrate my birthday! Location Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain Heart Route A simple 4.6km ride, click here for the map on Strava Cycle Your Heart Out Highlights: What I love about this route is how it goes from a peaceful paradise near the W hotel, to the chaotic and busy Barceloneta center! Highlights: -Salt Beach Club -San Sebastian Beach -Plaça Del Poeta Boscà -Marina Port Vell Spread the love Vanessa works in both English and Spanish, so if you’re a non-fiction writer and need help making your brand and books shine, contact Vanessa at Branding for Writers or on Linkedin. Have a listen and dance to one of Vanessa's favorite songs by Axel - Celebra La Vida, which is all about celebrating life! INNER RIDE QUESTION... How can you create more abundance in your life today? If you would like help riding inwards click here to watch my 5 steps to create your own heart route, and download your FREE meditation! Follow your heart Mindful Maya here! Sarah's let me take over her blog today and I'm super happy to share with you my first heart route! But first let me share a little bit about me... I was born on Valentine's day and my name means love in Nepali, my favourite snack is broccoli and I'm obsessed with chasing pigeons. People seem to think I'm a small bear or cat sometimes... but I'm sure I'm a Pomeranian dog. Location El Poblenou, Barcelona in Spain Heart route 1.64km Cycle your heart out One minute I'm chasing pigeons, sniffing grass and finding a good spot to roll around in, the next minute Sarah picks me up and puts me in some sort of flying bed. It's strange but kind of cosy cause she's put my favourite blanket inside. Not sure why she's put me here... Wow I'm super high up, I miss the floor let me outta here! Ok escape fail, she's harnessed me in... My fur feels sort of strange, it's like she's blow drying me after a shower, except it's nice and cool. So many humans keep staring at me, everything's moving around me so fast, Hold on a minute... I recognise it all, its my favourite walking route in Parc Diagonal! I recognise the smells and the trees, those purple flowers on the floor, this is the park full of dogs that always want to sniff me. Ok we’ve stopped, Sarah is giving me lots of hugs and doing that strange high pitch voice, the same as whenever I’ve peed on the grass or sit down. I think I’ve done something she likes as she’s just given me my FAVOURITE BONE! Nothing else matters right now, just me and my bone, the cool blow dryer on my fur. Sarah just told me we've rode a heart route, maybe that's why she called me Maya! I like this flying bed, I could get used to this. But for now I’ve got some serious chewing to do. Spread the love Would you like to create a heart route with your favourite human? I highly suggest checking out Sarah's top tips! Meet Natalie, an English teacher living in BarcelonaNatalie has wanted to get back into cycling since loosing her confidence a few years ago. Determined to loose the anxiety and fear she decided to cycle her heart out around Barcelona with me, and reignite her love of cycling! Follow your heart Cycle Your Heart Out for… confidence! Location I love this area of Barcelona for nature, and escaping from city life Heart Route A short 5km flat route along Barcelona's bicycle paths Cycle Your Heart Out I enjoyed the route because it went past some of my favourite places, Ciutadella park, the beach, and the pretty streets of Passeig de Picasso in El Born. I loved cycling next to the beach as it aways helps me to feel more relaxed. Although I felt anxious at moments I'm glad I continued as the rainbow and sunset at the end were definitely worth it! “Start a ripple effect of heart shaped bicycle routes, and create a more heartful, loving world”...
Day after day, night after night, that sentence would whirl around my head. Approaching Cycle Your Heart Out’s 6th birthday, I needed to finally fulfill that wish and overcome my fear of organising! For years I’ve helped people make heart shaped routes, but never in a group picnic, June 25th changed all that. Celebrating Cycle Your Heart Out's 6th Birthday in Barcelona with 19 different nationalities was a dream come true. It was beautiful to watch people's faces as they created their own heart-shaped route, and see the ripple effect finally come to light... Click here to read more |
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