Back to Basics
#goodMorningSunshine ?
#morningsAreBeautiful ?
#rituals of #theBeautifulJourney 
This week I decided to go back to basics so I can learn more about the techniques behind the yoga poses. The course was by Nikki Estrada.
Although I have been doing yoga for many weeks now, I now finally feel I have enough patience to slow down and take my time with proper class type learning. I am motivated by the fact that maybe some day I might want to teach yoga, hence I am curious about different styles of teaching and building a repertoire of cues. Also, noticing that I am really enjoying this and can do well at it, I want to be able to take it further and further, hence proper technique (as well as understanding of anatomy) becomes essential.
The course covered Sun Salutations, downward dog, pyramid pose, triangle pose, tree pose, warrior II and others. I found it useful
During this lockdown I’ve also started painting and I’ve realized that I apply the same approach to that as I do to yoga. I just do it. And only after a while, I take my time to learn techniques, learn about the trade. This is a sort of learning by doing and it works for me. The risk to progress is in postponing the technique learning for too long.
But once you figure out you like something and truly want to get better at it, you will start looking at doing the right things at appropriate times.
For example, doing yoga and sports for me is important, it is an essential part of my wellbeing. Last week I mentioned how simply happy I feel from just e.g. 20min on the mat, how that changes how I experience life’s events. And I want to get better at it, I want to put time into it, I want to learn about it, I’m now willing to train in a way that builds up the right skills set.
Yet, with painting, I’ve decided that I am not willing to dedicate more time than I already do, hence getting better or really good at it is not a priority. I invest only Sunday time in it, 2h 30min to 3h, nothing more. This might sometime mean that it takes me two weeks to finish a painting.
There is only that much time in a day, as the saying goes, isn’t it? Prioritizing is important. And priorities can change as we get to master some things and they become second nature. They leave room for something else to become an evolution focus.
I am painting cards, by the way. That’s because I can then send them to people on birthday, Christmas and other occasions. My mind thinks in very practical terms at the moment and is not interested in having a collection of canvases with beginner level paintings. Cards are more accepting of in-the-making-talent.
This Sunday I decided to paint a butterfly. It was a brave decision, as I have been avoiding this for a while. I have this idea that I can’t paint butterflies with their wings open. I have tried and it didn’t work. But today was one of those days of Do Something You Are Afraid Of Every Day. It was also one of those This Is Quite Special days given the lovely coincidence of a butterfly deciding to land and rest on the patio next to the kitchen glass door and windows behind which I was just sitting down to paint a butterfly. It sat there for 15min while I was drawing my butterfly. It flew away once my partner went out to take a picture of it.
For my paintings, I use youtube videos as inspiration.As I mentioned, I don’t looks much at the technique, instead, at the moment, I just try to reproduce the final picture.
Here is my butterfly painting:
Although I don’t want to master painting the same way I want to master yoga, this activity has helped me a lot during lockdown. It clears my mind of everything else and at the end of a session, I do feel good seeing something I created, but mostly … seeing something I didn’t think I could create.
Here are some other of my lockdown paintings:
Until next time … have fun!
This has been week #14 of daily exercise started during lockdown.
#theBeautifulJourneyWithiuliana