Finding My Passion For Yoga In China

”Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.”

Jason Crandell
Morning yoga stretch at Songshan Lake, Dalang, Dongguan.
Morning yoga stretch at Songshan Lake, Dalang, Dongguan.

Sometimes it’s too much too handle…

Today’s post is very personal. I sometimes feel an urge to share my feelings and mood swings when in China with a larger group of people (one of the perks of being a blogger). I came back from Europe to China 3 months ago with certain ideas and goals in my head to implement:

  • Travel more frequently around China on my days off.
  • Plan South America Journey for 2015 (6 months on the road).
  • Start learning a new language and improve my oral Chinese.
  • Maintain a healthy lifestyle and inspire others to do so.
  • Make eTramping more informative.
  • Publish our first e-Book.
  • Improve my teaching skills at work.
  • Get myself ready for moving to Europe for a year to do my Master’s Degree in Social Media and Blogging.

I love challenges and I’m ambitious but this time it was definitely too much to handle. I worked long hours in the kindergarten to become more efficient teacher. I spent hours in front of my laptop blogging, e-mailing and working on our social media channels. I worked out a lot. I studied a new foreign language for hours (Dutch). I traveled like crazy during the weekends. I didn’t sleep much. I put too much pressure on myself. One morning I just broke down in tears…

I was sleep-deprived. I had a bad cold. I felt miserable. I hated my blog. I hated my travels. I hated China. I fell out with Cez. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Total slough and emptiness.

Time for meditation
Time for meditation.

Then my mom came along saying Sit down for a minute, quiet down, meditate and pray. Make your mental and physical health priority. Find serenity and fight your stress!”

So I did.

See also  Magnificent Scenery of Fenghuang Plus Tips on How to Explore It (<$25)

I packed my yoga mat and put on some sport clothes. I cycled to one of  the most relaxing and charming places in Dalang – Songshan LakeI sat down on the grass. I totally chilled out. I closed my eyes. I started controlling my breathing. I calmed down. It was just me and my thoughts. Nobody around. The time stopped…

Yoga at Songshan Lake
Meditation.

After a couple of minutes I started loving this feeling of not being stressed anymore. I smiled. I was getting back to my old me – full of energy and positive attitude towards life…

That day made me realize that I lack balance in my everyday life. It’s been always black or white, one extreme or another, my way or no way, 100% in or out. I wanted to change this. I don’t need to be perfect all the time – nobody is. I can’t put so much pressure on myself. I need to find this balance between working hard and chilling out. It’s ok to be lazy for a day or two, go for a trip without making notes every 5 minutes while thinking of the next blog post and taking photos like crazy. I need more fun and more time for myself.

Finding the balance through yoga and meditation

I started reading about yoga and meditation a lot. As Catholic, I don’t believe in Buddhist approach to life and after-life (although I fully respect it), but I found yoga (as a form of exercise) and meditation (as a form of relaxation) so beneficial.

A girl is doing yoga poses for beginners
My favourite yoga poses

Yoga:

  • It increases my strength and flexibility.
  • It lowers my blood sugar.
  • I feel much healthier and fitter.
  • I sleep much better.
  • I’m definitely more relaxed throughout my day.
  • I have my energy.
  • My migraine and tiredness is gone.
  • I started to appreciate little things happening in my life I never paid attention to before.
  • I focus more on fixing things, not destroying them.
A girl is stretching her body on the grass
Stretching my body before yoga routine.

Meditation:

  • It helps me quieten down and release my stress and get myself ready for a busy day in China.
  • I started listening to my body and follow my heart.
  • I became more organised when it comes to work and travel.
  • I’m on a good way to change my lifestyle and find my balance between work, travels and sport.
See also  Philippines - Singapore - Indonesia: Planning The Itinerary

What I love the most about yoga is the fact everyone can do it and I can do it anytime I want and anywhere I want. All I need is a piece of ground, a yoga mat and some water.

A girl is trying new yoga poses
Trying new yoga poses

I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation for more than a month now. I’m totally new to it so I discover new things every day which is so exciting. I do some meditation right after I wake up to get myself mentally ready for a busy day at work. As for yoga, I try to practice it every two days for about 15 minutes at home or go for a longer 45 minute sessions at the lake.

I try to be creative and innovative so I often come up with some “weird-looking” poses nobody else could follow (Cez can’t stop laughing when observing me), but I don’t really care as long as the poses make me feel good and more flexible.

A girl is exercising
Up and down

Everyone has their own way of dealing with pressure and stress nowadays. I’m glad I found mine. So far it’s been working well and I hope it will stay this way.

‎”The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind & the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”

B.K.S. Iyengar
apple, coconut and water
My 3 yoga companions – apple, coconut and water

Have you ever practiced yoga? How do you cope with the stress when working, traveling and/or blogging?

Share

Search
Close this search box.

We want you to know! Some links on this page may be affiliate links. We may earn a small commission from what you buy. 
It will never cost you extra, or make us bias, but helps us run this blog and occasionally get a good cup of coffee. 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Agness Walewinder
Agness Walewinder
Travel freak, vagabond, photography passionate, blogger, life enthusiast, backpacker, adventure hunter and endless energy couchsurfer living by the rule "Pack lite, travel far and live long!"
Do you want to contribute?
Publish your guest post on Etramping!