Eats + Couch + WO, Bike + Low Numbers

   Hey! 

       Hope your all enjoying this Thursday, I know I am!  My morning started off with a cup of joe in bed (J has been making the coffee and bringing it upstairs for me for a little over a week- a girl could get used to this!).. Breakfast followed soon after

         

Sliced strawberries and bananas, topped with 1/4c Chobani plain greek yogurt and a big-ol-blob of homemade almond butter= breakfast of champions..  Instead of my usual gym date, I hung around for a little while- easing into the day, browsing the internet, watching crap TV on Netflix.. After an hour or so I was ready to get my blood pumping and decided that it was about time I tackled Zuzana’s new workout-  ZWOW 23 Burpee Torture- only 20 minutes.. But oh boy, my legs are sore already!

      I’ll be the first one to admit that I love the burpee! I love everything about it.. so I was pretty stoked about giving this workout a go.. I followed right along with Zuzana- I loved this feature BTW and it allowed me to push myself even more! 

   Immediately after completing the workout I sipped on a glass of Chocolate Milk instead of my usual smoothie. (I’m doing a little self experiment to see which I prefer, which gives me better results etc.) I filled up my Camelbak and hopped on my bike to meet up with Paula.. 

    Taking pictures of yourself while riding a bike, not to simple… After the pedal, I shoveled some food and rushed out the door. 

        I’ve eaten tofu, rice and either salad or some kind of green for lunch 3 days in a row.. whatever- I dig simplicity.. (and i really hate throwing food away too)  

    Anyway, as I said, I rushed out the door… to purchase our new couch!

    We have been looking for a LONG time.. but we needed to get something that we could both be comfortable on, and that wasn’t way out of our price range. This wasn’t our first choice actually, the one that I went to purchase had a 23-26 WEEK delivery time.. and there was no way it was worth waiting that long for! So we went with our second choice, and although we could have changed the fabric we stuck with what it was.. it’s a tan and beige stripe and I think it will look pretty awesome against our sage walls. After the 5 year protection plan and the taxes, this came to over $1000! Luckily it is American made and the manufacturer gives a lifetime warranty, so I think we made a good choice.
     By the time we got home from furniture store, it was time for dinner. (These nights seem to be FLYING by lately) and I only had 45 minutes before I had to leave to teach class so tacos for him and a salad for me.

   Totally not an intentional add for Chobani BTW- but I love the stuff on this meal with lots of hot sauce, mmm.

  

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   Now lets talk numbers. 

       The last few weeks have been especially tough for me teaching at the studio.. My class numbers have cut in half, which is really upsetting. I have learned not to take things like this personally, as I realize that people have lives, families, jobs, etc… but man, showing up to teach last night and I had 1 student.. Yes.. ONE. 

    Where I work, I don’t get paid for showing up. I don’t get paid a base rate or anything unless I get students in the class. About a month ago, my classes were going really well. I'd have full rooms and very excited students, which really feeds my ambition to find new things to challenge them and to really push their limits. And just like that, with no rhyme or reason… I am lucky to have a handful, an most times it’s 3 students… or no one at all. 

    Don’t take this the wrong way. I didn’t get into teaching yoga to make a ton of money. I never thought it was going to be easy to stand out among a crowd of millions of teachers. But I did want to share my passion and inspire others to push out of their comfort zones. My classes tend to be unlike a “typical” meditative, quiet and spiritual practice. I try to bring a space that it fun, playful, and challenging because the way I see it, people already take themselves too seriously.

    I’ve talked a lot about my fear of failure, the fear that I just won’t cut it, and I’ll be sentenced to a life of meaningless waitressing jobs. But as I continue to work on myself and notice my patterns of self destruction, I realize that these are just lies I tell myself when things get tough.. because it’s easier to give up and not fail (but also no grow or succeed )… then to give up everything just to go for it 100% without knowing the outcome. 

    I guess I’m just giving myself a pep talk to remind myself that I can do it. That there will always be obstacles that I will have to overcome if I want to grow and succeed. I’m using this as fuel- and I will do it. The only thing standing in my way is myself…