The Yoga Diaries | Week Six

Hello, Lovely People!

This week at yoga I did feel a little stronger but nowhere near the strength that I want to be, but still, I was much happier with how long I held downward dog for. I think I'd like to start doing weights in the week but don't have the money to buy weights, any suggestions? I'm definitely not where I want to be but I'm on my way, it's easy to get down because you want to be somewhere but it's not the movies, we can't have a music sequence of me going from falling over onto the guy next to me to me being at the front leading the class in the grand total of one and a half minutes. Real progress takes time but I honestly believe it's worth it and I fully intend to follow through to find out if it's worth it so I will let you know when I get to the other side!  As for now, I shall tell you a little funny story about yoga this week! Towards the end of the class ( about 15 minutes before we finished ) two middle-aged men came in saying that they'd booked the room so badminton, so my yoga teacher explained that we were in the middle of a yoga class and that we'd be done in 15 minutes so could they come back then. In reply to this, the men said "It's okay we'll just watch" and we were all quite taken aback at the idea that these men wanted to stare at a bunch of young women in all sorts of positions. They then continued to stare and chat until one woman turned to then and said " Can you zip it for five minutes and get out! " it was hilarious, you should've seen their faces!

What went well: I really enjoyed the floor work today!

What I need to improve: My downward dog seems to have got worse again after it improved in week 3

How I'm going to improve it: There's a lovely lady in my yoga class who gave me some help with my positions a few weeks ago so I might ask her if she can show me how to do downward dog properly again before this week's class starts.

This is the ragdoll pose and it's good for lower back pain and I find it really calming to hold ragdoll for a minute or two whilst swinging gently from side to side! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Five Easy Ways to Practise Self Care

Hello, Lovely People ! 

One of my Monthly Goals for January is to be kinder to myself. So, today I thought I'd share with you five easy ways to practice self-care. It has become very clear to me that very rarely do we show ourselves the compassion that we show to others, which is rather silly considering how much you do every, single day. YOU deserve to be loved and respected by yourself. Practicing self-care isn't selfish or a waste or time, it's essential. Let's get going, shall we?

What Are You Excited About ? 

Ask yourself every morning " What am I excited about today ?". There should be something that you're excited about every day. It doesn't have to be big, some days it might be going on a date and others it might be going to yoga class. If there's really nothing then you'll know that you need to add something that makes you feel happy and excited to your day. Perhaps you could make a list of things that you do that make you happy and you could pick something off this list to do on the days in which you have nothing that excites you. 

A Lil Bit of Glitter 

Whether it's your favorite lippy or a pretty new top, glitzing our selves up always give us that extra boost! I was feeling really rubbish about myself last week so I went shopping and spent some to me finding clothes that I feel good in and I felt so much more confident wearing my new clothes it was unbelievable! You deserve to feel that good, I promise. 

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

If you look after your body and eat well and exercise well, you will be amazed on the improvement you feel in your mental well being in such a short space of time ( I'm talking days, seriously ! ). Making sure you're getting the correct nutrients that your body needs is key to making sure that you feel great from the inside out. Think of it this way, think of your body as a petrol car, if you keep putting diesel (ie.junk food) into a petrol car it won't be able to run and will feel awful and sluggish.However, if you give it what it needs and fill it with petrol then the car will feel great and be bouncing around like a bunny! My point is, if you give your body what it needs, it will give you what you need. ( But please don't actually try and drink petrol hehe ) 

Me Time 

In our busy lives it can be hard to find time to just be with yourself, so try to schedule some time each week to sit with yourself and do something that you enjoy. You could go to a yoga class or do some cross stitching or read a book ! How do you like to spend your me time ? Let me know in the comments! 

Learn to Say No ... and Yes 

Firstly, trust me when I tell you that you do enough. It's okay to say no every once in a while. Too tired for that night out? Say no and have some rest. Don't have time for another extra-curricular activity? Say no, you're doing enough. On the other hand, don't turn down fantastic experiences that will make your heart race because you're afraid. Take chances and let yourself explore the world. Fill up your time with the things you love and nothing else. 

I hope these tips are helpful, I'd love to hear how you practice self-care in the comments and perhaps we can always learn something! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

lots of love, Marianne xxx

P.s. I'm very sorry for the lack of photography at the minute, I'm balancing A-levels with running a blog so I will sort this soon ! 

The Yoga Diaries | Week Five

Hello, Lovely People!

This week I went back to yoga for the first time following the Christmas break. I was a lil bit nervous about the session because if you recall week four of yoga did not go quite as well as I hoped because I went to circuit training first and was exhausted to the point of almost fainting by the first 15 min of Yoga. If you missed week four then you can read all about it here. So, it may not come as a surprise to you but this week I gave circuit training a miss and instead had some me time whilst my girlfriend went and then she had some time to herself whilst I went to yoga, I really like this new plan because it's helping me meet my January goal of having more me time. I definitely felt more capable in yoga and although I didn't feel as strong as I did in week 3 ( to be fair though that was a month ago ) I knew that I was holding poses for much longer and I even did a little better on the flow routines that I usually struggle on! I'm really looking forward to next week and improving my skills, I know I'm the worst in the class and that makes me feel a lil bit rubbish sometimes but it's okay to embrace being bad at something if it's making you happy.

What went well: I coped better with the fast pace of the flow routines.

What I need to improve: I feel like my lack of confidence in the class affects my focus and therefore my performance.



How I'm going to improve it: I'm going to buy some of my own equitment, only the basics like a yoga mat and a nice yoga top but enough to give me some more confidence. It will show myself that I am worth making an investment in myself because I do have the ability to be good at this if I keep trying no matter what everybody else thinks.

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Monthly Goals | January 2017

Hello, Lovely People! 

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my absence in the past two weeks. I moved house two days before Christmas, so unfortunately we could only get the wifi connected today. I promise there will be regular posts on a Tuesday and Friday from now on. 

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of fresh starts. So, new year’s resolutions are right up my street! However, this year I’ve decided to try something a little new and although I will be setting five overall goals for the year, I will also be doing a monthly goal post each month where I will set a few little goals at the beginning of each month and will review my progress at the beginning of the next month. By doing this, I’m acknowledging that situations and needs change and develop throughout the year and by adapting to this I will be more likely to succeed and become the best version of myself! 

So, first I’m going to run through my new year’s resolutions/goals to achieve in 2017 and then I will let you know about my goals for the month of January. Ohh this is all very exciting! I’m certain that this year is going to be amazing because … well because that’s how I’ve decided to make it. 

My Goals For 2017 

1)Stop biting my nails

I’ve always wanted lovely long nails that I can paint and show off but I’ve never managed to stop biting my nails long enough to do it! I’m going to try to keep my nails painted because I think that helps me to avoid biting them so hopefully that will do the trick. If you have any tips that helped you to stop biting your nail’s then PLEASE let me know in the comments. 

2)Focus on healthy living 

This year I am determined to use eat far more healthily and exercise more so that I can give my body the nutrition that it needs and the exercise it deserves to keep me happy and healthy. I’m going to be blogging about this a lot in the new year, including my Yoga Dairies series that will be restarting next Friday when the classes restart after the Christmas break. 

3)Refocus my blog on healthy living for the mind and body

I want to really focus Don’t Burst My Bubble on self-care, mindfulness, looking after your body and positivity this year because I think it could definitely help me and hopefully a few of you guys as well.

4)Get into University 

This one is pretty self-explanatory but I’m very worried that I’m not going to get into the university of my dreams so I really want to buckle down this year and get in! 

5)Practise Self-care 

I’ve realized that I don’t spend much time focussing on myself and making sure that I’m happy, so this year I’m going to make sure that I have more me time. 

My Goals For January 

1) Exercise at least 3 times a week 

I'm hoping to achieve this by signing up to classes rather than just going to the gym on my own because I feel that way there's more pressure to stick with it. 

2)Take smoothies to college with me 

I worry a lot about the lack of fruit and veg in my diet, so, in order to change this I'm going to take a smoothie to college with me every day ( apart from Friday ) to help me get the vitamins my body needs to keep me happy and healthy. 

3) Have more me time 

I really want to focus on being kinder to myself this year. I was thinking of doing this by scheduling an hour or two each week when I get to just be with myself. I'm thinking of making a little "Me Time" Box with relaxing bits and bobs in, so if that's something you'd like to see on my blog then please let me know in the comments. 

I really hope you enjoyed this post because I had so much fun writing it and I feel that it has really benefited me in understanding what I want to achieve and how I'm going to do it! My inspiration for my monthly goals posts came from Kim's blog over at The Thirty Something Life so be sure to check her out. 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Let me know one new year's resolution and one goal that you want to achieve this month! I find it so interesting listening to people's plans to improve their lives. 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx