You don’t have 20 sec? Think again.

I got a lot of enquiries lately on the ESSENTIAL OILS I’m using on a daily basis. I can just say that I love them & that they support me not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
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Using dōTERRA essential oils has also taught me to connect even deeper with what’s going on inside me, because in order to use the ‘right’ oil, I need to check-in with myself first, to understand my needs and desires. .
To keep the information as simple as possible, I wanted to start by sharing with you my OIL ROUTINE.

1️⃣ I get up, go to the kitchen, put one drop of peppermint oil into the palm of my hands. Rub hands together, hold them in front of nose and inhale deeply for three times.
RESULT: Immediate energizer to wake me up. It’s also great when you feel tired in the afternoon.

2️⃣ One drop of Copaiba under my tongue supports a healthy immune and cardiovascular system.
RESULT: Soothes anxious feelings, also and especially preventatively.

3️⃣ After my shower, I put 2 drops of Balance oil on the soles of my feet. It has like the name suggests balancing properties.
RESULT: A rooting and grounding feeling.

4️⃣ Over the course of the day, I put 2 drops of Lemon oil, Grapefruit oil or Basil oil in 1litre of water. Lemon is cleansing and refreshing, Grapefruit supports a healthy metabolism and Basil is really good in states of exhaustion, overwhelm and fatigue. I also love Spearmint, it is the oil for speakers, for people who speak a lot, like I do in my coaching sessions and yoga lessons.

5️⃣ When I work at home, which I often do, I switch on my diffuser with an oil combination suitable to my needs, for example, energy, focus, calming, etc. Just go with the flow.

6️⃣ Towards the afternoon, I inhale Peppermint again and use additional oils as per my desired results.

7️⃣ In the evenings, I diffuse Lavender. I also apply Lavender onto my wrists and behind my ears before bed to aid a restful sleep.
RESULT: Calming and peaceful.

8️⃣ At last, I put one drop of Frankincense oil under my tongue to support my entire body and mind system. It is also the oil to support cell regeneration, and works well against wrinkles when applied to skin directly. RESULT: Less wrinkles, better skin.

If you now hold to an excuse of “Oh that’s time-consuming”, think again, because every step listed here literally takes about 20 seconds. BOOM‼️

If you are completely new to essential oils, but like what you read, then schedule your complimentary 15min oil consultation with me here:

If you already know which oils you want, then just click here to benefit from your 25% discount on every product – Select “Wholesale Customer” and follow the steps to get to your results. Results this way please: https://www.mydoterra.com/ninasadlowsky/#/joinAndSave

Questions? Drop me a Pink Note.

PS: You have a specific need? Write me. I have been mixing many individual blends for my clients to support them with their needs specifically, because you know one size does not fit all.

Love, yours Nina

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How meditation improved my relationships & more.

In all friendships, in all relationships I have, (check previous posts @designyourlifeforresults to learn more) I have understood that these only exist, because there is a true, genuine and deep connection I have with the people I surround myself with.
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This deep connection exists, because I have connected deeply with myself. Over the last 5 years and continuously every single day. One of my favourite tools? Meditation. Everyday, everywhere.
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If you are brave enough to do so, i.e. to look deeper into who you are, what you desire and where you are heading, it makes building & maintaining connections so much easier, worthwhile, fun and loving.
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I honestly cannot be bothered anymore to entertain superficial connections and relationships. It is my lifetime, so now I only surround myself with positive, loving and growing people that have a vision and mission to rise up to.
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This is certainly only ONE RESULT I got out from my daily meditation practice.

Tell me, are you meditating regularly?

If you do, what is your Top 1 result? If not, what keeps you from getting started? In my opinion, there is nothing to lose, only a lot to win.

Love, yours Nina ❣️
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PS: Want to get started on your meditation practice and need guidance? Looking to surround yourself with like-minded souls? I invite you to join my Facebook group ‘DIVE DEEP – Design your life for results’ with weekly activities, currently on Sundays. There was a Facebook Live this evening and I spoke in detail about my experience with meditation,  how I got started, how to set yourself up and which essential oil I use and how for my meditation. It is powerful for you to get you results, so come, like & follow my page: https://www.facebook.com/designyourlifeforresults/ . It is all for free, too.

Heal your soul

The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life. (Iyengar)

For me, body, mind and soul are interconnected with each other and I cannot see these three areas of my life separately. For that reason I love the quote by Iyengar, which expresses the connection of body, mind and soul and how this creates the symphony of your life. This to me shows that we need to take care of all areas of our life. We need to design our life in a way that we see results in all areas of our life. The minimum requirements however in order to live a successful life for full happiness are for me:

• Feeling and tuning into my body.
• Understanding and observing my mind.
• Healing myself holistically whilst integrating my soul.

This is a holistic approach that works perfectly for me and I’d love for you to make your own experiences, so why don’t you just what worked for me? Let me guide you.

After having explored how to feel your body and understand your mind, you’ve now made it to part 3 of my holistic approach ‘Heal your soul’. When you’ve already been following my work as Life & Business Strategist, then you’ll know that I love the healing power of natural essential oils from dōTERRA . For me, it’s all about integrating them into my daily life to benefit from its health promoting properties, on a physical, mental and emotional level.

What do you think is yet again the most important requirement to heal your soul? Yes, that’s right. It’s self-love. In my opinion, self-love is key to your life, as it forms the base to your wellbeing. Because how can you feel your body, if you don’t start talking to yourself nicely? How can you understand your mind and observe your thoughts, if you are running away from yourself? How can you heal your soul, if you don’t love yourself for everything that you are?

Do I have bad days? Yes. Do I have days where I’m too hard on myself? Yes, I do. Do I have days where I don’t understand myself? Sure. And do I face days where tuning into my body is coming too short? Of course. You know why? Because I am a human being and so are you. It is part of life to go through cycles, up and down. Better days and worse. At the same time, I do notice my behaviours, as I’m continuously developing my mind and I observe my thoughts and behaviours.

To facilitate your self-love journey as well as supporting you with tuning into your body, understanding your mind and healing your soul, I’ve pulled together a powerful three-step oil routine for you that works perfectly holistically. Following this routine on a daily basis supports you in accepting and loving yourself more; it helps you let go of untruths and limiting beliefs which in return means you have the power to reconnect and reveal your true self; and it encourages you to express yourself and speak your truth so that you can come back to who you really are.

Are you just as excited about this as I am? Then follow this simple, yet powerful routine:

1. OIL OF SELF LOVE: Put one drop of Bergamot oil into your palm, rub gently, then inhale and exhale deeply for three times with your eyes closed. Relax and enjoy the uplifting properties of this oil.
2. OIL OF TRUTH: Put one drop of Frankincense oil into your palm, rub gently, then inhale and exhale deeply for three times with your eyes closed. Relax and enjoy the spiritually connecting properties of this oil.
3. OIL OF COMMUNICATION & CALM: Put one drop of Lavender oil into your palm, rub gently, then inhale and exhale deeply for three times with your eyes closed. Relax and enjoy the calming, expressive properties of this oil.

Oil classes this weekend in Munich: When you want to know more about my essential oils and their benefits, then visit me in Munich at the beautiful event Agape & Zoe, where I will be holding oil classes for you to learn and indulge.

Speaking: Do you want to know more about me and my journey? Do you want to get inspired on how you can design your life, too? Do you want to understand how to choose happiness? Then come to my talk ‘Happiness by Choice’ at Agape & Zoe in Munich on Sunday, 14th October at 4.30pm.

eBook to learn more: Also, for full details on the body and mind work as well as healing your soul along with practical and powerful exercises, download my eBook on Amazon.

Workshop #3: For all of you who are ready to dive deeper into exploring yourself and rising up to your full potential, then come to my 3 hour workshop ‘Feel Understand Heal’ in Munich on 13th December.

I am writing this blog for you, to inspire you and to help you design your life for results. I  wish for you to be truly happy and fulfilled from the inside out. Be yourself and take one step at a time. Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram too.

Yours, Nina

 

Feel your body

The central thought for this article is self-love. Awake to the knowing that a successful body gives you energy and lightness.

Be aware and know that your body is there for your wellbeing. Treat your body accordingly. See your body as your friend, your best friend.

• Observe how you talk to your body. Would you talk like this, if it was your best friend’s body?
• Observe how you look at your body. Would you look at it like this, if it was your best friend’s body?
• Observe how you feel in your body. Would you like it, if your best friend felt like this in her* body?

*Solely for the ease of writing, I will refer to she/her without any discrimination.

I know not only from myself, but also from family and friends and even acquaintances how hard we are on ourselves when it comes to our body, be it height, weight or size. However, when our best friend complains about being too small, too tall, too thin or too big, we immediately tell that person how beautiful she is just the way she is.

Sounds familiar? Doesn’t that feel strange to you? Don’t you feel disconnected when reading this?

Now, I want you to feel amazing in your body. I want you to look in the mirror thinking ‘Wow’. I want you to look down on yourself thinking ‘Wow’. I want you to walk through life feeling connected with yourself, because you think ‘Wow’, because you love yourself. Self-love is not only key, it is the base to your wellbeing.

In order to feel your body, it is essential to tune into it. Feel, observe, and perceive any tensions that you might hold. Consciously or not. Be aware, be present, be curious. And especially, be kind to yourself. Do not fight your body, befriend it.

Do you want to befriend your body? Do you want to get guidance from me on how to tune into your body and feel your body? Then get my eBook FEEL UNDERSTAND HEAL #1 on Amazon. Just click here to receive guidance and practical exercises from me on how to get started with connecting and feeling your body. Also, attend my workshop FEEL UNDERSTAND HEAL #3 in Munich to go deeper in your personal growth journey and to take your body consciousness to the next level. Click here to save one of the last spots.

If you have any questions, leave me a pink note!

Yours, Nina

 

The good practice

Inspired by the yoga retreat with Elena Brower and Ally Bogard in Italy, I have realised even more so, how important the good practice is. You might wonder what I mean and this is exactly what this blog post is about.

What does good practice mean?

First of all, it means that you develop an inclination to do the things that are good for you. The good practice also means that you develop infinity for the good things in your life. Also, it means raising the luminosity towards yourself and others, even the people you don’t like (to phrase it cautiously).

The good practice entails developing self-knowledge as the key ingredient. If you don’t know who you really are, if you don’t know what is good for you, if you don’t know the core values you are living by, if you don’t know what’s draining you, then you’ll most likely struggle with your energy management, which in return means you are not in good practice.

However, if you do know who you are, if you know what is good for you, if you know your core values and if you already got rid of the things that are draining you, then that’s great, because that means that you are on a good way to the good practice.

The practice doesn’t stop here though, because let’s be honest. You will only truly know, if you are in good practice, in balance and in your higher self, when something comes up that does not feel good to you.

This is the crux.

When life happens without any problems, then probably all of us are in good practice. However, what really matters is how we react and act, when there are problems in our lives. And of course we all face problems, challenges, difficult situations, fights etc. in our lives.

So, the most critical question you need to ask yourself is: How does that make me feel? Where do I feel this in my body? How do I react, when this problem arises? How do I act? Am I impulsive or considerate? Dramatic or realistic? Do I want to be a smart ass? Do I feel neutral about the problem or negative-aggressive?

I have noticed over the last months that if I am in good practice, I am more conscious about my own behavioural patterns and beliefs, I get to know myself more, meaning I developed a better and quicker intuition for what is good for me and what isn’t. This in return means I am more aligned with me and my true self, I feel more balanced and the time I spend in my higher self has massively increased.

My good practice consists of yoga, personal development, mindset work and using essential oils on a daily basis. Consistency is key here! My good practice enables me to tremendously shorten the time that a problem annoys me. I get over it way quicker. I also noticed how I can distance myself from draining situations better and faster. Either I literally walk out of a situation, if I don’t feel this is worth discussing or fighting or I visualise the distance to the problem situation whilst I am actually in it. This helps me to react and act with the right amount of energy and clarity. I love that.

Also I let things ‘simply’ run through me without giving it my energy. It is my energy and hence I decide who and what to give this to. My energy is very valuable to me, so I won’t waste it on situations anymore that are not worth it. I decide if and how to react and if and how to act. It is my choice!

Your energy is valuable. Decide where you use it.

Be aware of the ingredients to your being, meaning look at what you are practicing in your life.

To conclude: When something that doesn’t feel good to you, seizes to feel good, then you are in good practice.

Yours, Nina

 

 

Feminine Success

Interview with Henrike Dorndecker about Feminine Success

H: What does Feminine Success mean for you?

N: For me, Feminine Success, means that we, women, use our soft skills more again. I think that we have really good access to our intuition, but that unfortunately we sometimes disconnect from it. However, if we have access to our intuition and if we follow our heart, then I know that we can truly be successful. But first it is really important to use our soft skills and our intuition or to reactivate these skills if they got lost over time and then use them goal oriented. I also strongly believe that the perception of ourselves is key to success. That we are aligned with ourselves and in balance. That we really know who we are and what we stand for in order to be truly successful, the feminine way.

H: Thank you. And which areas are important to you at the moment? What are your successes or which challenges are you currently facing?

N: Well I have to say that since I’ve been going deeper into my personal growth, I’ve succeeded in many ways. Obviously everyone defines success differently, but I looked at questions like ‘Who am I?’, ‘What do I stand for?’, ‘What are my core values?’, ‘What do I want to achieve for this world?’, so I looked at the big picture and I’ve transformed my life in many ways. Nevertheless, there’s always room to grow and I think that for me personally I still want to improve listening and following my intuition, especially faster. I want to shorten the head-heart dilemma, which I think we all know too well. I want to be able to access my intuition even quicker, because I truly think that what we intuitively think is what is right and what we come back to when it is time to decide. However, we often make a detour, because we become insecure by what our mind is telling us.

I also think that especially for us women it’s important that we allow ourselves to be softer again. In a world that feels somehow dominated by men, I think we have un-practised this softness, but it is so critical to Feminine Success. Be strong with softness.

H: Yes, right, I totally agree. What is your profession, Nina? What do you do? What do you offer and where do you see a link to Feminine Success here?

N: I work as Life Strategist. It is my vision to encourage people to reconnect with their true self and to live in full alignment with it. I follow a holistic approach based on body work (yoga), mind work as well as essential oils. Hence, it’s an approach covering body, mind and soul alike. I’m so enthusiastic about this topic as I understood that we cannot be successful only in one area of our lives, but that we need to strive for success in each area of our lives. Everyone of course defines ‘success’ individually which makes it so exciting. To become successful we need to know who we really are, and when we do, our success is unlimited. Moreover, we will be truly happy and fulfilled. If we know who we really are, then we have access to our true potential and we can activate it, but if not, we will never exploit our full potential. And this is what I do, what I’m passionate about, this is my mission.

H: Great, I think the world needs more people like you. Last but not least, do you have a personal advice that you want to share here?

N: Yes sure, my main topic is to encourage people to live in alignment with their true self, because I truly believe that we can only be truly happy, once we know who we are. So I would recommend, don’t be scared, follow your heart and intuition, do not apologise for who you are, feel your body again, watch your thoughts and emotions and reconnect with yourself. And to be very specific, practise yoga, breathe and meditate. If you have never done this before, just start with 1 minute for meditation or lie down with your hands resting on your belly and deeply inhale and exhale into your belly. This is a simple calming exercise, but you’ll notice the increase in your energy for sure.

H: Fantastic, Nina. Thank you. This was a great conversation and I loved your simple but very effective breathing exercise at the end. Thanks. 

N: Thank you for having me.

PS: If you understand German, also watch the live interview on Facebook on my page ninaspinknotes. 

We can be heroes

I have been interviewed by Vollzeit Glücklich Magazin (VGM), an online magazine for your heart, mind and soul, for the format of ‘Daily heroes’. Picture copyright ‘We can be heroes’: Vollzeit Glücklich Magazin

‘Daily hero’ Nina was born in beautiful Munich and made her passion her profession. As Life Strategist, she follows a holistic approach of body, mind and spirit consisting of yoga, mindset coaching and the power of natural essential oils. She wants to encourage people to live by their true self.

VGM: What does ‘Daily hero’ mean to you, Nina, and do you consider yourself as one?

Nina: A daily hero is definitely a positive person, someone who can dream big, whilst staying grounded and realistic. Moreover, I see women as daily heroes who are grounded, balanced, and stable no matter the challenges of daily life. Oh and in general I think mums are daily heroes.

So if I took my definition of a daily hero, then I’d say yes, I am a daily hero, although ‘hero’ is a big word. I just think it would be important and simply beautiful, if all of us in this world knew who we really are in order to live an authentic life. Because then we are all daily heroes, each one of us individual and unique.

VGM: What does your life as ‘Daily hero’ look like?

Nina: I perceive my daily life as quite colourful and that’s great, because this is what I was wishing and working for. I need change and variety in my life, it provides me with inspiration and motivation. This means that every day looks different indeed, but I am in need of structure, too. So I aim to stick to a routine, like getting up at the same time everyday (of course there are exceptions to the rule), switch on my diffuser with one of my favourite essential oils, meditate for 10-15 minutes and practise yoga for about 20-30 minutes. Then I have breakfast and a shower, always finishing on cold. Only then will I switch on my phone and take care of any administrative things, such as writing emails, arranging calls and appointments, checking my social media notifications etc.

Then I usually take care of different topics in blocks, for example yoga, where I experiment with new sequences, practise asanas and prepare a class or a workshop.

Another block is mindset coaching, where I read up on exciting topics in relevant literature or magazines, listen to podcasts or get inspired by people who are already a step ahead of me.

I also work with natural essential oils. I love the power of essential oils for their physical and emotional benefits. I try out new mixtures and share my knowledge with interested people internationally.

In the evenings I teach yoga and during the day I often meet up with like-minded people for inspiration, exchange, co-working and potential cooperations. Tuesday is my Nina-day where I only do what I love to do spontaneously. This could be dancing bachata, going for a walk or scheduling a date with me at home.

VGM: How do you inspire and touch people?

Nina: I touch people with my openness and generous accessibility. I share a lot with others, and of course this makes me vulnerable, but I know I give others the opportunity, permission and the courage to do the same and to be open-minded. I love that!

I inspire people with my courage and the brave decisions I have made, especially in the past three years, in order to live the life I truly want to live and that I have been wishing for from the bottom of my heart for quite a while.

Furthermore, I see myself as true self ambassador and inspire others to connect with themselves and to find out who they really are. With the goal to then live a successful life full of happiness and joy. Because I believe:

We can only be truly happy if we know who we really are.

VGM: Which message do you want to carry out into the world?

Nina: I would like to encourage everyone reading this interview: Be brave, connect with yourself, live your true self and you will experience lightness, happiness and love!

Copyright: Nina Sadlowsky

VGM: If you could fulfil yourself one wish, what would it be?

Nina: That I could be anywhere I want to be on this beautiful planet, no matter when, where and how.

VGM: Who or what inspires you?

Nina: There are actually quite a few people and their stories that inspire me, for example JT Foxx, Tony Robbins, Gabby Bernstein and Elena Brower, but what inspires me most is travelling. Travelling is such a big gift for me! Travelling gives me the possibility to reflect, I receive so much energy and clarity out of it and I simply feel light and free.

VGM: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Nina: My new partner.

VGM: Any situation that recently touched you and made you emotional?

Nina: Yes, when my father spoke out an apology towards a person very close to me, an act of forgiving. I cried, since I felt so relieved, it took the weight off my shoulders.

VGM: What do you do, if you don’t know how to progress in life?

Nina: I breathe in and out deeply, I meditate. I cry. I dance. And I trust that all will figure itself out, once I let go. Because the universe has my back.

VGM: Any wisdoms you would like to share with our readers? 

Nina: Oh yes, there’s actually quite a lot that helped me with my personal growth.

But most importantly: before you start walking, take your time to be still, to simply be. And then you can walk off getting the life you truly want and wish for.

Be brave and take risks in life.

Develop a positive attitude to life, so if you have negative thoughts or feelings, redirect your focus on the good and beautiful things in your life and trust me, there’s loads.

See every painful experience that you make in life as a sign to look into this in more detail and as a valuable possibility to learn and grow.

Last but not least, the matter of my heart is my biggest wisdom:

Be yourself. Speak your truth. Be kind, ’cause life is too short not to sparkle with joy.

Want to know more about how I can help you living a happy life? Then connect with me here or on the following platforms:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninaspinknotes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ninaspinknotes/

Yours, Nina

 

From beauty marketeer to wellness ‘guru’

In interview with Fresh Beauty Fix

This month’s guest is Nina Sadlowsky, blogger, yoga teacher, intuitive coach and Wellness Advocate for dōTERRA. Nina and I were colleagues at ADA, a company that partners with beautiful brands to provide beauty products to luxury hotels. We bonded over a shared love of dancing, exploring London and generally saying yes to things. Since then Nina has moved back to her hometown Munich, but we’ve kept in touch and continued to share our passions, travels and discoveries.

1. Hi Nina, thank you for being my Insider Q&A guest this month. Tell me about your transition from beauty marketeer to wellness guru.

I graduated in business administration and directly landed my first marketing job at L’Oréal Germany after completing an internship. Three years later I was looking for a change in industry, but only 6 months into the new job I realised that my desire to change went deeper. What I was looking for was a lifestyle change, personal growth as well as living a happy, healthy and abundant life. Following a change in my personal life at the end of 2014, I got into yoga and meditation and ever since, I’ve started to actively design my life. I strongly felt an itch to make my passion my work whilst satisfying my travel lust.

As a result, I’m now a yoga teacher, training as a coach, and as a wellness advocate for dōTERRA my passion for natural health and beauty is now reflected in my work. I’ve been using essential oils for a long time, but when I recognized the amazing physical and emotional benefits of essential oils, I was completely sold on incorporating them into my practice to help others live a healthy, happy life. Hence, I wouldn’t call myself a guru, I see myself more as a facilitator, supporter and inspirer.

2. What does your role Wellness Advocate for dōTERRA entail?

It’s a very versatile role, that’s for sure. Being a wellness advocate means educating myself about essential oils, understanding their physical and emotional benefits and knowing their different ways of usage and application. It also includes educating others about the essential oils and sharing my knowledge and experiences in the oil classes that I hold or in one-on-one chats. It means connecting, coaching and networking with other people, through all available media, online and offline. And of course, it entails marketing, which brings me back to my roots, haha. Overall, I see my role as bringing more natural health to as many people as I can.

3. How do you incorporate oils into your yoga practice and yoga classes?

In my own yoga practice, I diffuse them, there are so many different combinations, ranging from calming lavender, invigorating lemongrass, cleansing lemon to peppermint for more clarity. In my yoga classes, I love using the oils for a massage whilst my students enjoy the end relaxation Savasana. My favourite oil for that is Lavender or Balance, an oil blend by dōTERRA. And, when mixed with distilled water, the oils are great to spray onto your yoga mat, too.

Image courtesy of Katrin Hackbarth @the_hackbarths

4. What oils would you recommend for dry/sensitive skin, oily skin and anti-aging?

Lavender is great for dry and sensitive skin, it soothes irritations, dry spots and has a calming effect on stressed skin. Basil is also nice for sensitive skin and soothes insect bites. Frankincense is a very popular anti-aging oil, as it regenerates skin cells, tones, tightens and can help with pigmentation. Tea tree/Melaleuca, Lemongrass and Ylang Ylang help with oily and acne prone skin. I’ve just mixed my own eye serum with 1 drop Frankincense and 1 drop Lavender diluted with coconut oil. Apply morning and evening and the fine lines around the eyes will fade.

5. What does a typical day look like for you?

I usually get up at 6.30am and open the windows in my flat for at least 5 minutes to let some fresh air in. I prepare my morning water with 1 drop of lemon and 1 drop of grapefruit oil and then meditate for 15 minutes followed by my yoga morning practice which takes me about 30 minutes. I take a shower finishing on cold and have breakfast (I love porridge with fresh fruit and peanut butter). Only then do I switch on my phone and run through any social media notifications. At 9am I open my laptop and start ‘working’ which can be anything from scheduling meetings, writing emails, and writing a blog article. Then in the afternoon I might prepare a yoga or oil class and do some studying on oils and coaching techniques. Plus, I teach yoga several evenings per week. I usually plan out my days or time slots during the day, so that I know for example Monday will be all about coaching, Tuesday is my day off, Wednesday I’m creating, Thursday I do admin and so on…

6. What exciting projects do you have coming up in the next few months?

I’m going to teach more yoga classes and tonight I’ll hold a three-hour workshop named FEEL UNDERSTAND HEAL in Munich combining yoga, mindset coaching and essential oils which is something new. My coaching training runs until September and as part of this I’m sharing my learnings and experiences with others on my Facebook page ninaspinknotes. My page and work is suitable for action takers, keen to drive their personal growth and committed taking that extra step to get closer to their true self. I also really want to get into public speaking, so I’m connecting with like-minded people who are already a step ahead of me. And very soon I will start my own podcast, which has been part of my vision for a while now. Stay tuned! 

If you have any burning questions you’d like to ask me why not leave a comment below? Or you can get in touch with me directly by messaging me here, on Instagram and Facebook.

Yours, Nina

Reconnect

I’ve heard the words ‘Connect’, ‘Disconnected’ and ‘Reconnect’ a lot lately. Maybe this is because so many people feel disconnected from themselves and want to reconnect with their body, mind, and spirit, or I’ve noticed it increasingly since it has become one of my favourite topics. I truly believe that if we lost connection with ourselves that we can get it back, we can build the connection with ourselves again. We can reconnect.

Reconnect on different levels

In my opinion, this needs to happen on different levels, physically, mentally and spiritually. Reconnecting with yourself means first of all to become aware, of your body, mind and soul. Ask yourself what is going on here? Where are my pain points physically? Where is my mind going? What keeps my mind busy? Is your soul telling you something? Do you sometimes feel restless? Why? When do you feel most disconnected with yourself? When do you most feel the urge to connect with yourself?

Notice and sit with it

Become aware, notice and sit with it to start with. You don’t have to take any action right away. I know it’s difficult, but it’s better not to fight it, because that would mean you are fighting life, and that in return would mean that you are fighting yourself.

So, start with bringing more awareness into your being. De-automize your being and your actions, whatever you do, do it less automatically, more consciously. Bring more awareness into your life.

Maybe you wonder now, what this is all about and how this should help you reconnect?

Awareness

I know from experience that bringing more awareness to my being, to my body, mind and soul is the first and only step required to commence the reconnection process.

How do you think you can connect with your beautiful life, if you don’t start connecting with yourself? How can you see, feel, smell and taste all the beautiful things in our world, if you cannot even see or feel yourself? Awareness and appreciation are your entry to reconnect with yourself.  Use your 5 senses consciously to bring more awareness into your life, they’ve been given to us with reason, so use them and enjoy them.

Feel Understand Heal

Once you feel & understand, you can heal. Once you start your individual reconnection process, you can come closer to your true self. Once you start the journey becoming the real you, you’ll feel lighter and happier. Of course, there will be difficult moments, of course, you won’t feel light 24/7, but again I know from my own inner journey how amazingly rewarding it is to start this process. To walk the liberating path of personal development.

A liberating feeling

It is liberating. ‘Cause every day feels lighter, with less bullshit, instead with more awareness and gratitude, especially for the small things in our life. Because I also noticed one more thing, it is not really the big things that make up our lives, it is the small things.

And if we manage to appreciate the small things, if we manage to appreciate ourselves, we can reconnect with ourselves, we can let go of bullshit and instead embrace all the beautiful new things flowing (or flooding!) into our lives.

Become yourself

The closer you get to yourself, the more you become yourself, the lighter you will feel and the happier you will be. Because you are truly you. Isn’t that a wonderful outlook?

You can be happy only if you become yourself

If you feel disconnected, if you sometimes wonder who you are, if you truly want to start your reconnection journey, but don’t know where to start, then I cannot imagine anything more beautiful than supporting you on your journey and taking that first step.

I have been on this journey (still am, it’s an ongoing process) and whilst it was tough at times, I am deeply grateful to have (had) people by my side supporting me.

If you resonate with this blog post, then check out my 3-hour workshop FEEL UNDERSTAND HEAL that I will be holding in Munich on Tuesday, 22nd May. I’m so excited about this journey and it gets better every day (with some exceptions haha).

Love to life, love to you and love to myself.

Yours, Nina

 

 

 

Yoga Teacher Training-Episode 5

The last blog posts about my yoga teacher training were a review of the asana and philosophy practice, but this blog post will be different. I don’t feel like writing a summary of these last 3 days, I feel more like writing how I’ve experienced this intensive training from a mental, physical and emotional point of view.

We started on Friday 4pm again and I was so happy to go back to the yoga teacher training. At the same time, I realised that the completion was about to get closer, so I don’t really know if it was pressure I felt or excitement. Maybe both.

Nevertheless, once I stepped into the yoga studio and sat down onto my mat, I just felt ‘home’. I’ve been practicing yoga many times per week, in the studio or at home, but being in this peaceful and protected environment again, just made me feel at home, silent and loved.

We did loads of forward bends on Friday and whilst I’ve been making massive progress on going deeper into the poses, especially in Uttanasana, I really felt my hamstrings and my inner thighs working, to make a long story short, I could feel my entire body working. I don’t know how you feel about physical work, but I love it. I simply love it. I love it from a physical point of view to go further, and I don’t mean pushing myself into poses, nevertheless, yes, I am challenging my body by practicing and executing the poses properly, by really working those muscles, by being in proper alignment and trust me, doing that, builds up loads of heat in our bodies. And then again the challenging yoga poses reflect life for me. That’s the mental and emotional aspect.

The 2nd and 3rd day focused on backbends. I am not the kind of person that you would call bendy. Bendy Nina probably wouldn’t be my nickname, but you can call me Ninja. I had respect for backbends especially for the wheel, Urdvha Danurasana. Since childhood, and until I started practicing yoga, I’ve not been doing the wheel or bridge at all. Simply because I didn’t really like it and I thought – for whatever reason – that I cannot do it. Here we go: another limiting belief that I imposed on myself. The good news is with being on the yoga way, I realise just how much more I’m trying out, I say yes to things way more often, I experiment more, I am just offering even more openness.

This life attitude made me realise that I’ve actually got a good chest opening and that I am pretty ‘strong’, but there is definitely still potential in my shoulder opening. After day 2, I was so physically exhausted (but happy), that I just ran myself a bath with some herbal salt that my closest friend got me as a present from Peru. I listened to a podcast about health and essential oils whilst relaxing in the bath tub and I noticed just how happy and grateful I was.

I started day 3 with feeling literally every single muscle in my body, especially the ones that very obviously I’ve not been using a lot or intensively enough. Getting out of bed this morning was not easy, I felt my hamstrings, my quadriceps, my triceps, my hip flexors, and the area between my shoulder blades. Phew, plus I knew that today’s practice will lead to Urdhva Danurasana as peak pose.

We started the training with a lovely opening. It always grounds me, it gets me to my happy place. Literally 10 minutes later and an intensive warm up – especially for shoulder and chest opening – I had built an immense heat in my body. And yes I had seconds of thinking ‘Why is this so damn hard?’ but the next second I focused on my breath again thinking

Wow, it’s incredible what my body is capable of.

I felt so strong and empowered mentally that I was able to work even deeper into my muscles, because I was flooded by positive energy. We did an intensive training of 3 hours in total repeating forearm stand (Pincha Mayurasana) as prep pose and then reaching our peak pose, the wheel. First of all, I held the forearm stand for a satisfactory duration, but secondly I was so so so happy to be able to go into the wheel, whilst applying the correct technique. Trust me, if you do work it properly, it’s really an intense and advanced pose. If you don’t work it properly, it is still an intense pose, but there is a risk of injury (like in any other pose), so please be careful. This practice made me feel empowered, self-confident, content and strong and it definitely proofed my point of being open to new things, playing around and just trusting myself that I can do this.

Trust yourself. You can do this.

We finished the practice with a beautiful Savasana, gosh, how I love this asana and my teacher’s closing words were

I trust myself and life that all I need to know is already within me.

Match! I left into lunch break feeling very happy despite the physical exhaustion. After lunch, we continued with yoga philosophy and the Yoga Sutra. We talked about the 3 Gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas), how everything existent is a combination of these 3 qualities, and how the gunas affect our mind (Chitta). It’s like a rainbow. A rainbow wouldn’t be a rainbow with only one colour. No, it needs 7 colours, whilst each colour shows up in different intensity. The same principle applies to the Gunas in Chitta. However, the closer we get to Sattva or even beyond, the less we are being controlled by our ego, which in return leads to a calmer mind.

Since Friday, I wished for a Yoga Nidra session with our yoga philosophy teacher Ralph Skuban.  And when he wasn’t sure today whether to continue with the topic Chitta, I suggested a Yoga Nidra session. He said yes and led us through a wonderful Yoga Nidra journey.

And for the first time, I experienced something truly beautiful. The left side of my body felt like it was lifting off the floor, like it was floating, being very light, whilst at the same time, my right side felt totally grounded, touching the floor.

And I happily realised that I was coming closer and closer to a sattvik mind symbolising light, ease and clarity in life. I hadn’t realised just how emotional I was about this experience, until I left my closest friend an audio message on Whats App with tears in my eyes.

I would like to conclude this article with the following words:

I feel truly grateful for my yoga path, as it is leading me to my true self.

Yours, Nina