Capital of Madeira - Funchal where Lucia lives |
Hello! this is my first post from a guest... Let me introduce you to Lucia whom I met on this blog as she was referred from another guest you'll meet later on in August! She is now one of my regular follower on this blog... she was glad to volunteer some of her inner thought with me... and you of course!!! Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did when I first received it!!!
What stuck me most is that once again, yoga was started to deal with health problems.... and it brought diet change and minimalism... she is neither the first not the last... it has to mean something!!!
Hello, my name is LĂșcia and I'm 30 years old. I live in a wonderful place in the middle of the Atlantic, in the island of Madeira. It is a very small island, but with very special places to visit. We can see the natural landscapes, being on the beach and close to the mountains at the same time. Furthermore, we can walk though the beautiful “levadas” that run throughout the island.
In a place like this you should think that it is difficult to feel stress or walk always in constant motion. Unfortunately, it is not only in the big cities that people feel tired and sad.
Since a few years ago I felt always very tired, sad, disappointed, sleepless and without motivation to do nothing. Furthermore, I suffered from bad memories of several years I had to be in the hospital because of health problems I was born with. The first 14 years of my life were surrounded by doctors and hospitals, and how you might think this kind of experience does not leave anyone motivated.
Fortunately, all this has passed and after some bad moments I ended up going to the doctor and started taking medication for generalized anxiety disorder. Starting with medication was not easy. Apart from getting much sleep I was always very forgetful and “stopped” in time.
But then I joined a yoga school. It was one of the best things I did. I learned how to meditate, how to better control my thoughts and emotions, to be calm and to do the asanas, which are so good! I can say that yoga has helped me a lot these past two years.
Through yoga I also learned a lot about food and changed my way of eating. Since childhood I could not (or liked) to eat pork. Here on the island it is tradition to kill pigs at Christmas (pigs that are raised in people’s lands and killed in people’s houses) and to see that as a kid, left me very sad. No one ever got me to eat pork, since very I was a toddler . In addition, over the years I stopped eating sausages, burgers and so on.
About a year and a half I stopped eating meat (chicken and beef). Currently I eat fish, but it is something that sometimes costs me. I do it because my family insists that I should eat at least fish (they already get super stressed because I do not eat meat ...) and because I have not managed to change my eating habits completely. By changing my diet, too, I started eating more vegetables, fruit and I have a more varied diet. I think I'm on track.
Another of the things that have been changing in my life is the way I look at things and objects. I've always been clinging to things. I’ve always kept everything that people offered me, everything that I liked, everything that reminded me of something or someone. I still have some children's toys, which I cannot give.
However, I have been trying to be more minimalist. After reading the book "The 100 things challenge", I started my own challenge, but instead of getting only 100 things (too soon to do that, I cannot do that yet) I decided to abdicate of 100 things. I managed to give, offer and recycle 172 recycle things to date.
Gradually I have been giving more value to the people I love and have left aside the objects that are just that ... simple things.
Reading the blog “Savvy happy living” has helped and inspired me a lot and I cannot wait to read the book "Life happens" that is coming from Canada straight to me!
I must say that Nathalie is just amazing for sharing wonderful experiences with all of us.
A very big thank you from me, LĂșcia Jasmins.
And what do you think of Lucia's post? Isn't it amazing how we may do things that makes us feel great? How some people will go "against" what they were taught as kids and find their own way to be happy and healthy?
I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!
Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...
love and peace,
nath
xox
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