Hannah Renew

Blink and it’s almost an entire year since I posted here. We have been completely absorbed in life and the ebb and flow of parenting our twin boys: where time is on fast forward, and you never get to press rewind or replay 🥹

📷2 - The kids became best friends. I never believed twin mums when they would say just wait, they’ll start playing which each other and everything will get easier. And then they turned 3 and it’s trueeee 🙌🏼
3 - We made it out of the room mate phase of parenting and get to go on dates again. I’ve never been more in love with this guy.
4 - The kids suddenly showed a big interest in yoga ✨ There is something very special about doing it together. Me teaching them, them unaware of how much they are teaching me every day.
5 - We moved house! The extra space has felt like the whole family can breath again 🙏🏼
6 - I healed almost 20 years of gut issues by focusing simply on whole foods
7 - so grateful for another summer hosting private yoga retreats. A particularly special one back at Bore Place where we married
8 - So proud of almost 10-years-ago us for quitting our corporate jobs to follow what makes us happy, and seeing that happiness expand further now with the blessing of time that we get with the boys.
9 - Matt turned 40…
10 - …and I didn’t 👹

A week in the autumn sunshine, bar one ☔️

••🌬AND BREATH🌬••
Breath.
It’s the weekend.
Turn off auto pilot,
And feel it all.
# renewyoga

••SHINING A LIGHT ON OUR REASONS••
“I can’t do yoga because.....”
☝🏼I'm not flexible enough
☝🏼I'm not good enough
☝🏼I need to lose weight
☝🏼I'm not strong enough
☝🏼I'm not fit enough
☝🏼I can't balance
☝🏼I have to wear tight expensive yoga clothes/I don't look good in spandex
☝🏼I have asthma
☝🏼It's too easy and just stretching
☝🏼I'm on my period
☝🏼Everyone is going to be watching me
☝🏼I'm injured
☝🏼Yoga is for women
☝🏼I'm religious
☝🏼I'm not spiritual
☝🏼Yoga is for hippies

👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 YOGA CAN BE FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS TO TRY! IF YOU CAN BREATH THEN YOU CAN PRACTICE YOGA!
If you already have an activity or combination of activities that give you the same physical, mental and emotional benefits as yoga and you spend your days feeling pretty good then of course you don't neeeeed to take a yoga class. But in that case, perhaps you've already found YOUR yoga!
But if you do give it a go and you find a good teacher, they will place particular emphasis on creating a non-judgemental space where people of any experience, ability, background or beliefs can develop at their own pace and feel instantly at ease. If you’ve been thinking about it for a while, why not make tomorrow the day you try 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️

••GOOD MORNING••
If yesterday was a bad day,
remember that it wasn’t your last!
Good morning 👋🏼
The sun is appearing again,
providing a new day and a new start.
The sun is the best preacher,
wake early if you can and watch her rise.

🌿🌿••LIFE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR GARDEN!••🌿🌿
1. To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow: Do today something today that you and others will benefit from tomorrow, not just for instant gratification.
2. Stop watering dead plants: Put a water ban on dead projects and relationships. The water is your energy and it’s worth rationing.
3. You can’t see plants growing unless you speed up a camera, but they are: Be patient, there are little changes happening each and every day.
4. Trees and plants always look like the people they live with (of perhaps I look like the plants in this dress 🤓): You are a mixture of the people you choose you spend your time with, so choose wisely.
5. Most plants without water will die: You need to meet your basic needs like sleep and nutrition before setting out to achieve both the mundane things on your basic to do list and your grand life plan.
6. Apparently speaking kindly to plants helps them grow: Imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do!
7. Some plants have big beautiful flower heads and others have harsh looking spikes: They both produce oxygen that feeds our lungs. Everyone is of value and equality, no matter their appearance or success.
8. Plants lean towards light: Find your light in life, a passion, something that puts you into a flow state of mind, and channel your energy into reaching it.

••YOU’RE NOT A REAL YOGI IF....•• you can’t do the splits, right? Wrong 🧘🏼‍♀️🙏🏼 It took me a decade to be able to do some of the ‘insta yoga poses’. Some days I still can’t do them but that’s fine because yoga is so much more than just the fancy stuff... it's not about being good at something, it’s about being good to yourself. It’s about giving the world good energy, shedding the drama, closing your eyes and opening your mind, becoming friends with your shadows, hanging out with your soul and ultimately self-acceptance... and none of that includes being able to do the splits!




Using the wheel (gifted)

🍋🍋🍋••When you squeeze a lemon, you get lemon juice.
When you are squeezed, noticed what comes out, because it’s what’s inside of you••🍋🍋🍋


Wearing gifted from the amazing

••STEP BACK ONTO YOUR MAT. STEP BACK HOME••
One day rolls into a few and then suddenly I haven't practiced yoga myself for three weeks. I feel cranky, like everything is drama and just generally a bit off. Plus for some crappy tasting icing on the top, I feel like a s**t teacher because the obsessive climate of our culture has us believe that if we're not compulsive with our activities, then we're really not dedicated at all. I slip back into old habits of wanting to avoid physical activity at all costs and being 'kind' to myself by having a night in: relaxing (numbing) in front of the tv.... you know, that show that is on at 9pm every single bloody night of the summer 🙄 But something pulled me to the incredible ‘s class last night and it was honestly like I had found my reset button (admittedly helped by her amazing singing voice at the end of the class... she remembered mine and Matt's wedding song ❤️)
I came away from that class with the clearest of messages - true self kindness, self love, is giving ourself time to be with ourself: physical (yes that's the night in), but also mental and emotional. Away from distractions. And for me, that's stepping onto my yoga mat. It's like meeting an old friend, but really that old friend is just our true self. Reminding us that we have everything we need inside of us, it just takes a little bit of mindfulness, movement (doesn't need to be fancy) and breath to find it. Your mat and that old friend will always be there waiting for you to return; No matter what you are experiencing in life, or how long you've been away.

••STEP OUT FROM THEIR SHADOWS••
This little light of mine,
used to be too scared to shine,
and when mine met yours it would run and hide.
But in time I came to find,
I wanna shine so bright it makes the whole world smile
and give back the beautiful feeling,
that allows me to be,
whoever I wanna be,
and I am gonna be free and easy.
Free
and
easy.




Wearing (gifted)