|
26/11/2019 0 Comments Heart Route 35 in Altea, SpainBody still, Mind on fire The numbness spreads My legs gone dead If only I could move The tenacious fly That active gardener If only I had silence My familiar friends Worry and Fear Always around, but never welcome Body still, mind on fire Breathing interrupts Damn that feels good Stomach growing like a balloon Emotions join the stream Thoughts pass like clouds Even the ocean seems calmer Sitting cross legged Silence starts to spread Body still, flames reduced Mind at peace Follow Your Heart Before learning about mindfulness, my mind was like a chaotic snow globe, always shaking, my thoughts flying here, there and everywhere! I craved to have a vacation from my mind, and found life just so overwhelming all the time. After years of cycling my heart routes I slowly learnt that it was focusing on my breath and the sensations in my body that took me to a place of momentary calm. When I learnt that mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment on purpose, it all started to make sense… Cycling my heart out route after route, year after year, had been my own meditation, and learning to combine it with seated meditation everyday enabled me to finally find a way to settle my snow globe thoughts. With a burning desire to deepen my understanding, I travelled to the south of Spain to take a MBSR Teach Mindfulness course with Mindful Academy International. “The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.” Prasad Mahes LocationThe beautiful town of Altea, close to Alicante in Spain! Heart Route 35Only a few hours left in a town I'd hardly seen, making a heart route was a challenge no doubt! Several different bike maps, 2 bike shop assistants, and dozens of attempted heart routes, not 1 seemed to want to emerge. I was close to accepting no route could be found, and just enjoy cycling mindfully along the sea, but that's the beauty of letting go, seconds later Cecilia at Ashe bikes pointed at the map! No it wasn't the most scenic, No it wasn't traffic free, But yes, it was perfect, for me anyway… The route represented the challenges along my teaching course, the doubts, the confusion. With the final part along the sea, peaceful, calm and full of joy… It got me thinking about all the times I've longed for something, and never came close to reaching it, until I finally let go. How to be more mindfulMy thoughts won't stop, I can't sit cross legged, I don't have time, I'm too busy, I'll start tomorrow, I'm doing it all wrong! Sound familiar? The beauty of mindfulness is to practice kindness and compassion to ourselves, and that all those thoughts above are perfectly ok to feel. Thoughts won't stop? It's normal just observe them, Can't cross your legs? Use a chair, No time? Try 2 minutes Too busy? Take 3 deep breaths, Starring tomorrow? How about now Doing it wrong? No, you're not. Meditation doesn't mean you always have to sit still, How do your hands feel on the handlebars? How about your bum on the seat? Your feet as they rotate the pedals? How does the wind feel on your face, or maybe it's a rainstorm. Try paying attention to the present instead of worrying about your to do list today, or your conversation with whoever yesterday. Spread the LoveI couldn't have done this course had it not been for my teacher Kathy, her years and years of experience and wisdom was truly inspiring to learn from. Our beautiful international group where a joy to support and learn from one another.
I made this route to remind me of the life changing teaching course at Mindful Academy International, the people I met, and the future hearts I hope to help. Enjoy cycling your heart out wherever you are in the world! Love Sarah
0 Comments
25/8/2019 0 Comments Heart Route 34 in CopenhagenThe Danish Route to Happiness A sea of cycle lanes More bikes than cars A city in synch Hearts seem to link Boat-lined ports Picnics packed and ready Candy coloured streets Riding to the beach Help that lady off the bus Feed that hungry red squirrel And as the sun starts to set The best hasn't happened yet Replace phones with candles Share love not posts Eat together not alone You’ve discovered hygge in your home! Thank you Earth For allowing me to cycle my heart out Year after year All over your beautiful body, For allowing me to heal my soul One heart route at a time The Rainbow of Friendship Did you see the rainbow? Beneath the Tulum Pyramid My friend woke me from my camera coma So focused on getting the perfect shot My eyes had been blind to the beauty behind it You see that's what's good friends do They bring color to your eyes, when all you see is grey They bring the sun to you heart, when all you see is clouds They bring brightness to your soul, when all you see is darkness They are the rainbow to your heart Every shade of their being Every glimmer of their time They are the gold on either side And I'm rich because of you To those friends Thank you for staying Despite my thunder Those Three Words Where conversation fails to end Where your eyes say what words can't Where your arms feel like home When the moment feels right That sentence Unable to stay unspoken Rolling off my tongue And into your heart Those Three Words In June 2013 I sat on Rambla del Poblenou with my good friend drinking wine. As I complained about my bad luck with men, my friend decided it would be a great idea for me to sketch my dream man, so I did.
I drew his thick dark wavy hair, big beard, tall muscular body, wearing a green T-shirt. I sketched him as if he was sitting in my friends chair drinking the wine, I then closed the book and never looked at it again, until now. Fast forward 5 years... I’m cycling my heart out on my 31st heart route with my boyfriend, and for the first time in my life, I’m in love. We are cycling a heart route which he created himself, and is randomly almost identical to my 2013 one. As we cycle along Rambla del Poblenou, I realise my sketch has came to life, he was real. There he sat, his thick dark wavy hair, his beard, sipping his red wine, on the same street as 5 years ago. It turns out he was along the heart route the whole time, I’d cycled past his flat on my 2013 heart route, but before we could meet, I had a few lessons I needed to learn... 6/8/2018 0 Comments Heart Route 30 in BrightonThe Route to Friendship Sometimes in life you’ll visit somewhere and fall in love Destined to return That place for me was Brighton It stole my heart not once, but twice Recently made fuller Thanks to the beauty of Friendship Sometimes it’s weeks Months Years Time passes and not a word exchanged between you Yet put together in the same room The stories The memories Retold as if they’d occurred last year Jobs, partners, cities, may have all changed But some friendships remain the same Unable to budge for anyone Not even time |
|
RSS Feed
