A R I A D N E / / K A P S A L I
yoga + other stories has been awarded the Liebster Award
A few days ago, my tiny little blog was awarded the Liebster Blogging Award. When I received the nomination by the beautiful Lyndsey Eden at Falling Feathers Wild & Free, I was utterly shocked. As I read through Lyndsey’s email where she explained her reasons for choosing to nominate Yoga + other stories for the award, I started to feel that warm, fuzzy feeling of excitement, of honour and pride! Butterflies and all…!
Before I follow all the rules to formally accept the award (and also explain what the heck it actually means!) I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Lyndsey once again for recognising my humble online space and the contribution it’s making somewhere out there! And to ask you, my lovely readers, to all head over to Lyndsey’s online home and give her some love on my behalf (she has some yummy healthy recipes that are in my list to attempt!). The award has led to Lyndsey and I forming a connection, based on like-minded visions and a love for what we do. And that is wonderful in itself!
Liebster (German)
n.
= sweetheart, beloved, darling
Now, what is the Liebster Award about? The Liebster Award is a way of formally recognising new bloggers and their space online. It is awarded from one blogger to another, to support each other and grow a strong community. It is about sharing the love for new bloggers and encouraging them to keep doing what they’re doing.
To formally accept the award, the following steps need to be made:
1. Accept and acknowledge the blogger who nominated you.
2. Answer certain questions provided by the person who awarded you.
3. Carefully choose ten other up-and-coming bloggers to nominate for the Liebster Award + come up with new questions for them.
In this way, the Liebster Award is a pay-it-forward form of gratitude, acknowledgment of contribution, positive energy, giving credit and passing on the blog love.
So, Lyndsey asked me the following intriguing questions and below is my attempt to answer them!
What is your awe inspiring message you want to share with the world?
Live fully & wholeheartedly.
Dare greatly (Brené Brown takes credit for that)
Be kind & compassionate to yourself and others.
Breathe, it will pass.
Have fun, enjoy the ride.
Love above all.
How do you nurture and nourish your mind, body & soul?
The most important thing I strive for is balance, which is harder than it sounds. I’ve learnt, through trial and error, to be flexible with myself. I’ve learnt that to feel nourished I need to give myself space. I tend to take too much on, which is good as I need to be pushed and challenged, but to deliver my absolute best, I need to respect ALL of me. My habits change according to circumstances, seasons, stages in life, but my go-to ways for mind-body-soul nourishing are the following: yoga, meditation, rest, sleep, mindful eating, juices & smoothies, self enquiry and development through books, courses and practice, flowing conversations, good connections. Essentially, what I’ve needed to develop is patience, trust that things always work out and stop taking myself too seriously. One of the sure ways to nurture, nourish & restore my whole self is laughter!
What is happiness to you?
Full presence in the Now, gratitude, expansion, butterflies-in-the-stomach, swallowed-a-hanger kind of thing, not really sure if I’m going to burst out laughing or shed some tears over how lucky I am. A feeling of spaciousness, of connectedness and trust. In my daily life, this translates to flat whites & newspaper reading in the sunshine with my man, a long catch up with friends, giggles with my sisters, being in my creative flow, taking risks and inspiring others. And soon, lying on the beach where I’ve spent most summers since I was a child, hearing the back and forth of the sea. Total bliss.
3 books on your night stand right now?
The Key Muscles of Yoga – Ray Long
The Fire Starter Sessions – Danielle LaPorte
The Four Desires – Rod Stryker
Sex or chocolate?
Can I say sex AND chocolate? Cliché?
How do you unwind after a long day?
Hmm, that depends on whether it was a good day or a bad day… My choices would include: a comforting, juicy hug from my man, relaxing on the couch with a good book, listening to some pick-me-up tunes, watching Friends over and over again (I can’t even pretend I don’t do that), a sweaty yoga practice, chocolate, herbal tea, SLEEP. Or simply saying Man, that was a looooong day and let it all go!
What does your spiritual practice look like?
That’s such a good question. My spiritual practice is something I’ve been exploring for a while and it keeps changing depending on what is going on in my life. It sometimes is simple silence, meditation, breath. Sitting in stillness, connecting, clearing through the fog of the chatter-brain, reaching out to my core true self. Other times I rely much more on connecting spiritually through my yoga asana practice, through mindfulness of movement, getting to know myself and respecting my needs. Spirituality for me however, is much more than a practice that I sit down to do. It is about living my life in a way that feels true, authentic and conscious. It is about seeing the bigger picture, trusting my intuition, my inner wisdom, and accessing the energy, the light that flows through us all. It is about re-connecting to the core of our being and to each other.
Favourite way to move that sexy booty of yours?
Yoga, obviously. Sometimes flow, sweaty alignment-based vinyasa; sometimes, slow restorative yoga does the trick.
What brings a smile to your face?
Brunch with my girlfriends, dogs, being given flowers, a good coffee, a compliment, being home, holding hands.
Favourite type of food?
Anything with avocados in it: guacamole, chocolate avocado mousse, avocado on spelt toast with lemon & chilli, I can keep going… And good thai food – yum.
And now I’m passing on the torch to the following bloggers, nominating them the Liebster Award for creating inspiring online spaces. I have chosen a few newbie bloggers and some not so new, but who I feel deserve the recognition and a virtual hug (maybe a real one someday if I get the pleasure of meeting them). My message to them is Keep doing what you’re doing – we love it.
Rachel from Rachel Davey
// because I love her style of writing which is infused with mindfulness tips and self love. Check out this post on seeing the good in others.
Claire from White Blank Pages
// because I love her way of approaching career issues + her career profile posts rock. Check out this post on 5 questions you can ask at an interview.
Jennifer from Happy Trinity
// because of the variety in her blog posts; you can seriously get lost in travel, recipes, advice and reflection. Check out this post on Stepping Back from others’ dilemmas.
Mish from Meditation with Mish
// because she shares the truth (including watching Marie Forleo while in the toilet) and has a tonne of resources. Check out her lovely account of free-time guilts.
Niamh from Notes from Niamh
// because of her clean, beautiful design and inspiring accounts of daily life. Check out her In little moments post series.
Carolyn from A Life Transformed
// because of her mission to support mothers with post natal depression, her honesty, and her brave account of life. Check out her recipe for homegrown rhubarb crumble!
Leah from Paper Planes Connect
// because even though she is not a newbie, I’ve loved Leah’s blog for a while and want to publicly say so! Her message is create, connect, cultivate change. And she does that through such beautiful stories. Read this post on Word (World Hello Day).
Jasmine from Jasmine Yogini
// because her uplifting posts are a beautiful reminder of the power of yoga off the mat and into our lives. Check out this post on How’s your alignment.
Daphne from This Reluctant Yogi
// because of her laugh out loud accounts of the yoga world and her cynical, funny and truly engaging writing style. Check out her post on Yoga for the Pelvis. And for full transparency – she is also my sister, so I contemplated whether I should pass this on or not. Well I have, simply because when you read her posts, you will know this is a valid recognition.
Claire from The Lifestyle Kitchen
// because of the way she shares her story, her experience of chronic fatigue and healing through food. Check out her recipe for Savoury Muffins.
My questions to these bloggers are the following:
∴ What motivates you when times are hard?
∴ What makes you jump out of bed in the morning (in a good way)?
∴ Where are your 3 favourite places in the world?
∴ What can you not live without?
∴ What does self love mean to you?
∴ Who are your sources of inspiration and why?
∴ Why do you do what you do?
∴ When was the last time you laughed so hard you thought you couldn’t breathe; what happened?
∴ What’s your biggest fear?
∴ What’s your favourite Beatles song (I assume everyone has one)?
++ Now you guys, put your feet up & show some loving to the above bloggers and let me know what you think. Hope you’ve enjoyed this light hearted post; it’s safe to say I am a very, very happy and grateful human right now xx
