Where I wanted to go this summer: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canary Islands,… Where I spent the first month of my summer: Cyprus. Well, sometimes in life, instead of getting what we want, we get what we need. And apparently what I needed was some time off. Which is funny, because I feel like that’s all I’ve been having this year.
But it wasn’t time off in the sense of not having to work or study that I lacked. It was time off from thinking. Time off from worrying. Time off from trying to be everywhere at the same time and at the end never being anywhere fully. Time off from being torn between places and tasks and people. Time off from figuring out what to do with my life. Basically, time off from having too much time off.
So instead of doing what I had set my mind to do, I finally had the courage to follow my heart for once. I guess we all have these things that we want to do sometime in the future. One fine day, when we’ll finally have the time or the money. When we’re done with our degrees, when we’ve worked for a few years, when the mortgage is paid, when the kids are grown-up. When it will miraculously all make perfect sense. When we won’t have anything else to do and finally run out of excuses. A yoga teacher training was one of these things for me. I knew I wanted to do it at some point in my life. Later, of course, somewhere in the undefined future when I would feel ready. But then I realized: I never will. There is no such thing as perfect timing. As long as we’re alive and human, there will always be restrictions, things holding us back, people telling us why we can’t. Following our hearts will never be easy. But oddly enough, it’s the only thing that actually makes sense.
So I started looking for training courses, still clinging on to my ideas of traveling to Central America, learning Spanish, going surfing. Still trying to compromise, still not ready to sacrifice what I thought I wanted to fully commit to what I felt like doing. But finally, against all odds and reason, I decided for the option I was most drawn to. And even though this choice didn’t make much logical sense, it brought me what I had been missing for all those weeks of planning and thinking: Peace.
So this is more or less how I ended up in Cyprus, a place that has honestly never really been on my list. And yet, I couldn’t be more grateful to have come here. The past 3 weeks have been the most relaxing and calming I have ever experienced. Despite of practicing yoga 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, I had an insane amount of energy. On most days, I naturally woke up with the sunrise (around 5.30). I wrote a lot, I read a lot, I learned a lot. I went to the beach almost every day and spent hours just aimlessly wandering around. I shared a house with 5 strangers who turned into my family for these 3 weeks, with all the challenges and blessings that brings. I didn’t wear make-up, I didn’t use Instagram, I didn’t worry about anything further away than the next meal. Life was simple. Life was good. I was content. I was happy. I’m not saying it was all easy. Any type of practice in this intensity is tough for sure. Of course there was pain, there was frustration, there was tension. But throughout it all, there was commitment, there was focus, there was routine. And that, for me, leads to peace of mind. If you don’t have a choice, there’s no need to think. You just do what needs to be done, regardless of the circumstances. And before I knew it, I was a certified yoga teacher.
I don’t really know what that means yet. I realize that there is still so much for me to learn and that this certificate is just the beginning of what I hope will be a life-long journey. But I also have to admit that I honestly enjoyed giving the lessons we were asked to lead as part of the training. And that I am truly amazed by the versatility of yoga and its effects on both body and mind. So even though I once again do not feel ready in any way, I will gladly take the opportunity to share and teach whenever it arises. Because well, there is no such thing as perfect timing. As long as we’re alive and human, there will always be restrictions, things holding us back, people telling us why we can’t. Following our hearts will never be easy. But oddly enough, it’s the only thing that actually makes sense.