Celebrating 10 years of Cycle Your Heart Out, and the birth of my new book with loved ones in the beautiful Jardin de Hara in Barcelona. I couldn't have wished for better way to celebrate. Reading my poetry to an audience is only something I've started to do recently, and I've just discovered how much I enjoy it! To be able to share my heart & help you feel less alone in this crazy world was the reason I decided to publish this poetry book. If you're tired of people pleasing, toxic relationships, ashamed of your sensitivity, & sick to death of not following your own heart, I hope my words can help comfort you and ride you back down the right path. Thanks so much to all of you who've supported me and my project over the last 10 yrs, and everyone I’ve had the pleasure of cycling my heart out with! All my family and friends for always supporting & reminding me to never give up on my dreams, regardless of how crazy and unrealistic they seemed. Thank you also to those who knowingly, and unknowingly shaped some of my poems! To David and Maya, my beautiful poem that came true. Thank you for all the days and nights you took care of me while I was drowning in a sea of writers block and procrastination, I love you. My editors Jacqueline Suskin, Katia Ariel, and poet Tanya Markul I’m so happy I found you all. Thank you for helping me bring this book into the world, and making me believe it was worth publishing. Now available worldwide on Amazon as paperback! Click below to look inside and get a copy for yourself or a loved one. "Beautiful poetry, I love the concept of heart shaped cycling and its therapeutic and mindful effect! I absolutely recommend the book to anyone who is sensitive, observant, and in search of inner world expressions."
- Magdalena Grucza Psychologist & Career consultant “I highly recommend this book, even if you have never been or intend to get on a bicycle the journey through the poems will inspire and touch your heart”. - Kathy Ward WHO Mindfulness Consultant, TEDx Speaker
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Follow Your Heart
This is a pretty special month, not only is April 30 Days Of Biking, but it's also National Poetry Month! A beautiful combination and a lovely way to share with you some exciting news! Over the last few years I've been working hard on creating something special, something I hope will inspire you to travel deeper into your inner world and follow your heart. Yesterday I cycled my 40th heart route to share with you my big news... I've written a book! Location Barcelona Heart Route A flat 11.9km route Cycle Your Heart Out Highlights - El Born - Bogatell & Barceloneta beach -Parc de la Ciutadella - Arc de Triomf - Sagrada Familia - Poblenou Spread the Love For the whole of April I'll be cycling my heart out in Barcelona and sharing poems along the way, two of my favourite things all rolled into one! So if you also love bikes and poetry, why don’t you join in with me? Click here for my top heart making tips! Offline Inside my Cancerian shell Cooking up a feast A feast full of love, dreams and ambition A feast full of drinks, overflowing with gratitude, A feast ending so sweetly Reminding me what was missing from all the other meals High in courage and free from self-comparison A feast so delicious I invite you To travel To this VIP location Inside yourself For the most rewarding meal of your life Then once you're full Feel free to invite others Follow your heart
Cycle your heart out ... offline Location Delta del Ebro, Spain Accommodation: Camping Ampolla Playa Heart route 5.16km, all flat Cycle your heart out Highlights: Watching the sunrise at Platja de l'Arenal Seeing Flamingos! Sketching Maya and David sleeping like babies Taking Maya Kayaking for the 1st time! Delicious Paella for lunch at Lo Goleró The sunset at Mirador norte de la bassa de les Olles Celebrating our 2 year anniversary at Restaurant La Barraca and seeing a blood moon!! Spread the love If you would like to disconnect and create your own heart route, click here to learn my top 5 steps! 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! 13/2/2020 0 Comments Heart Route 37 in BarcelonaQuiet Love No need to sweep me off my feet Just a forehead kiss will do No need for extravagant jewellery Your hand holding mine will do No desire for a giant bouquet A plant that blooms will do No surprise luxury hotel A tent under the stars will do No fancy restaurant needed A heart-shaped ride will do No need for changing you Your quiet love will always do 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 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. After taking an 8 week mindfulness course a few years ago in Barcelona, I decided to deepen my understanding and travel to the south of Spain to take a MBSR Teach Mindfulness course with Mindful Academy International. Cycle your heart out ... mindfully “The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.” Prasad Mahes Location Altea, close to Alicante in Spain Accommodation: Hotel Tossal Altea Bike Rental: Ashe bikes Heart Route Several different bike maps, two helpful bike assistants, and dozens of attempted heart routes, not one 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, she'd found it! 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. Cycle your heart out 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 will always remind me of the life changing course, the people I met, and all those I hope to help ride inwards. Highlights: -Parròquia de Nostra Senyora del Consol -Mirador Paseo Maritimo Spread the love I couldn't have completed this course had it not been for my teacher Kathy. Her years of experience and wisdom was truly inspiring to learn from. Grateful to my beautiful international group, it was such a joy to support and learn from one another. My top mindful tips for you: Meditation doesn't mean you always have to sit still, next time you ride your bike notice the following... 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? Try paying attention to the present instead of worrying about your to do list today, or your conversation with whoever yesterday. My 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, Starting tomorrow? How about now Doing it wrong? No, you're not Click below for more tips on how to ride inwards heartfully!
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