That's me! Themz my sklllz.

Hello yogis! I’m changing up the niche of this blog from here on out. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of information out there on the interwebs that will help you learn how to save your money, be nice to people, and set goals. But this one’s going to be a little different from now on.

My name is Corinne, but my friends call me Redwood. I’m a 200 RTY yoga teacher and I’m pretty excited about it! I just completed my Forrest yoga teacher training, like, less than two weeks ago. So, I’m an extremely new yoga teacher. I’ve been released out into the world after a month of chanting, howling, crying, opening up, breathing and… I swear we did something else… oh yeah, learning how to teach yoga.

Now that I’m strapped with these new skills, and I’m no longer surrounded by thirty eight of the most amazing people on the face of the planet, I’m starting to feel a little bit lost. I’ll be honest when I say that in the past two weeks, my practice has fallen by the wayside, I loose sight of my abilities, and I forget about my breath every now and again. It sucks, but I’m not too worried. I know that my love for yoga, and my new found love for breath will bring everything back. It’s just a matter of time.

But what about the rest of it? What about developing as a teacher? Unlike other types of yoga, Forrest yoga teachers aren’t off the hook when the month is through. Now the real work begins. We have a list of… a billion books to read (that’s accurate) and a ton of things to complete. I have to get my nose pierced and a slather myself in yoga tattoos, right? We’ll see.

To keep me on track  with the real tasks at hand, and to give others a resource when they’re feeling like a puddle of confusion after training, I’m starting this blog and I’m calling it The Yoga Teacher Diaries. I’ll be updating it with my progression (hopefully), challenges (surely) and successes (absolutely).

Well, I better get to it. I look forward to sharing everything I learn along the way!

Namaste,

Redwood

Well budget planning can be a nice thing to do. At least the generations are going to be economically literal. I know that the majority of you that saving up money for bad days is a thing of the past and that the only ones doing it are your grandmother and your grandfather. Well it’s time for everyone to begin saving up a little more. If you’re spending your money just like that you are risking to come into a moment when you can’t pay for your credit card. Although in some cases it is better to have money in cash, we might cover that too. If you want to have a healthy budget you should first understand what is really important for you and what is not. Food is of up most importance but you shouldn’t feed only on pizzas and fast food. Though it might save you time and taste great, it’s neither healthy nor such a good idea for your wallet. Even if you give a mere 10-30 cents more per meal from a fast food restaurant, if you multiply that by a 100 you will see that you are losing around 30 bucks over a few months. And if you think that you’ve never had money to go to the cinema, this is the first thing you can do – begin preparing your own food.

The next is entertainment. Do you go to the discos twice or thrice every week? If so you are obviously going too any times and spending cash on entrance fee and drinks inside the club. I know that you’re young and you need entertainment because it’s the only good thing in life (studying sucks when you’re young) but you should try to be a bit more economic. If you can, go with only one or two drinks. No need to treat your mates every time you get a little drunk. The next thing you can save money from is your car. Even if it is an old car or if it doesn’t use up that much gas. It’s still better to go by bus or on foot. I know it might be humiliating for you but if you want to ensure yourself a healthy budget, you might have to do that. I am no accountant so I can’t really tell you a way to lower your taxes, but if you are interested you might consult one and get a tax reduction.

1. Do a time audit. This will let you see where you are wasting time.
2. Create a to-do list. Put the most important stuff at the top.
3. Keep of Facebook and Twitter. This is where you will probably spend most of your time.
4. Get the worst things out of the way first. This will keep you more motivated to get the easier things done too.
5. Avoid distractions. Whatever distracts you, get ride of it. Whether it is mess or the TV.
6. Know when you peak. If you are a morning person, do the bulk of your work then.
7. Do things immediately. This is a good habit to get into. Do something the moment it comes into your head.
8. Get ride of clutter.
9. Have a clock in sight. If you aware you are wasting time, you are less likely to do so.
10. Work out a filing system.
11. Shop online. It will save you time and not stress you out.
12. Pay bills by direct debit
13. Buy in bulk
14. Have a savings account. It’s easier to be organized when you are not struggling for money.
15. Do things little and often. That will stop things piling up and becoming big jobs.
16. Keep your purse/wallet and keys in the same place all the time.
17. Keep all important dates in your diary and look at the weeks and months ahead in advance. Plan accordingly. This will also stop you getting stressed out by not having to do last minute gift buying.
18. Keep your passport, birth certificate and any other important documents in a safe place. Maybe invest in a flame retardant box.
19. Always keep bread, milk and butter in the freezer. You never know when these will come in useful.
20. Make sure your wardrobe is sorted.
21. Put things where they are supposed to go.
22. Lay your clothes out for the next day before you go to bed.
23. Don’t skimp on sleep. This will just make things take longer.
24. Exercise. Even if it is just for 15 minutes. It will make all the difference.
25. Eat properly. You have to take care of yourself first, no matter how busy you are.
26. Delegate.
27. Be decisive.
28. Have a planner, and use it.
29. Buy a smart phone. Never waste a moment. Answer your email when you are waiting for the bus. You can also link your smart phone to your computer.
30. Multitask. I am the queen of multitasking. I do it all the time. Don’t do this if you really have to concentrate on the thing in hand.
31. Post it notes are a godsend. Just don’t lose them.

The world is a hard place and there will always be someone who will want to be rude to you or hurt your feelings. So, with this in mind, shouldn’t you always be good to yourself? While being selfish is not thought of as a nice quality, you should allow yourself to be a little selfish. Whether you are one of the people with careers in education or are a stay at home parent. If you are not looking after yourself, you can’t look after anyone else. Disagree? Read on….

Give yourself a break.

Know your faults and what you have done wrong but don’t beat yourself up. You are only human. Do not punish yourself in any way. Emotionally or physically.

Be kind to yourself.

Do something you love which will make you feel better. Have a duvet day, watch a film that you love, eat an entire tub of Ben & Jerry’s or go shopping. If you can’t be kind to yourself, who else will? You have to let yourself know that you are worth kindness and nice things.

Don’t compare yourself to others.

You are on your own journey. Someone may look like they have a perfect life but you never know what is really going on in someone else’s life. If someone else has something that you want then make steps to get that thing for yourself. You have the same chance as anyone else.

Put it behind you.

Don’t let the past affect your future. It is very important that you do not let bad things in your past negatively affect your future. You will live for a long time, but not long enough to get wrapped up in things that have already come and gone. If you cannot let go then make peace with whoever or whatever is affecting you. See a therapist if you need to. Go out and meet people. Read and learn new things to clear your head.

Move on

Always move your life forward (apart from your duvet days!). Do things you always wanted to do, read good books, cook new things, meet new people. Life is an experience, grab as much if it as you can.

Don’t feel sorry for yourself.

There is no upside to it.

It’s good to remember that people around you influence you and your life. If you hang out with someone with bad manners not only will this reflect badly on you, but you could also pick up their habits. You are influenced by the things around you.

Talking behind your back. No true friend is going to bitch about you to other people.This is a clear sign of a bitchy person. Not the type of person you want in your life.

Making snide remarks. If someone it bitter, negative, or just plain rude then drop them. Life is too short to spend it with horrible people.

Not being there when you need them. A good friend is always there for you whether you are having a bad day or wondering what to wear.

Not being happy for you. If something good happens and they are not happy for you then they are not a real friend. A real friend only wants the best for you.

Not forgiving you. Everyone has off days. If you are grumpy or late to meet a friend and they won’t forgive you, then they are not worth investing in. A true friend accepts your good and bad points. Though be apologetic.

Not making an effort. If they can’t bothered, we should you?

Being two-faced. If they are nice to your face and rude behind your back, it’s time to say goodbye.

Being dismissive. Even if they don’t have time, it’s not okay to dismiss someone or make them feel like they are not worth your time.

Not respecting your opinion. A good friend agrees to disagree. It is our differences, not just what we have in common, which brings us together.

Making remarks about your body. Though it is normal for teenagers to compare their bodies with other woman’s, watch out for a friend making negative remarks about your weight or anything to do with your appearance. This is done to make you insecure, but just shows how insecure they are.

“Life, if well lived, is long enough.” Seneca

We should all review our life and ask what makes us happy. What you wanted when you were sixteen may bare no relevance to your life now. You will be a different person, but may be holding onto the things you think you want because you don’t want people to think you failed. The only person you have to answer to is yourself.

The best ways of achieving your goals is to take it step by step. It is much less daunting if you break it down bit-by-bit. If you want to work as a business administrator  you could do an online degree, research it heavily and ask around for advice. You could even find someone to mentor you.

Even if you are happy with your current career there are New Year Resolutions to incorporate into your life all year round.

Get fit; Eat Healthy and exercise. It will be hard to achieve anything if you are ill or unfit. Most people take their health for granted until something goes wrong. Yet, without your health you have nothing else. Even if you just eat five portions of fruit and veg a day and go for a thirty minute walk your health will dramatically improve.

Save money: Only the few privileged of us will be getting pensions. Put money into an ISA, invest in property, have some shares or invest in some art or jewellery. Have something to fall back on. Every time you are about to waste your money think about how hard you worked for it, take how much the item cost and then work out how many hours you had to work for it. That usually does it for me!

Be Nicer. To yourself and others. Never treat other people how you wouldn’t want to be treated.

Stop smoking. This is the worst thing you can do for your health. Did you know that smoking brings the menopause on by approximately four years for a women? That means, if you got the menopause at forty naturally, you would be infertile at thirty-six.

Drink less. Not only is it bad for you and your bank balance, it’s also full of empty calories. It you cut down on drinking you will lose weight.

Good luck!

What do you think?