Nothing important is far away.

Facing down

In Bikram Yoga classes there is a series of postures that alternate with Savasana facing down.

In this posture you simply lay down with your chest on the floor, legs straight, arms straight next to the body with palms looking up and your face looks to the side, alternating right and left, each one time.

Savasana is supossed to be a short recovery of 15 to 20 seconds after every posture.

Those 20 seconds mean the world.

You recover.

But if you look far away from you, you don´t rest.

If you keep looking around the room, or checking how the other yogis are laying, then you are lost and before you can think of it, time is gone and you didn´t rest a bit.

The way to really rest is looking close to you.

Focusing your attention on a spot in your yoga mat or towel.

Or on the floor next to you.

That means no further than 20 cm.

Really.

20 cms or less.

When your eyes are there, your mind rests, your body recovers and your breath gets back to its pace.

Closer to you

When we are in our normal lives, we have plenty of energy and we are ready to waste it looking around and concentrating our attention on unimportant things.

But Bikram Yoga class is a fight for survival where your body and your breath go beyond their limits.

There,

your energy is limited.

And you need to preserve it.

When your energy is limited and you are fighting for survival is when you realize that nothing important is that far.

Don´t look so far.

All the important is inside you,

Or at least not so far, at the reach of your hand.

Take care of those things, those inside yourself, those very close to you. And the rest will fall into place.

I had heard it before.

I had heard that we,

In the western countries,

Have transformed yoga into something completely commercial.

That the original Yoga from India is something different.

Yoga for us is a series of postures that, together with some simultaneous breathing, bring your mind into a quieter place and make your body more flexible.

Only in some cases you can find some kind of meditation exercises with the similar purpose of leaving the mind blank.

But I just started reading The Illustrated Light on Yoga

And only in the introductory chapter it brings up some interesting (and shocking) concepts as the following:

• We in India continue to value the purity of purpose, the humility of discipline and the selflessness that are the legacy of our long bondage to God
• Work alone is your privilege, never the fruits thereof. Never let the fruits of action be your motive; and never cease to work. Work in the name of the Lord, abandoning selfish desires. Be not affected by success or failure.
• When the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within himself finds fulfilment.

Apart from that there are 8 stages of Yoga, 3 of which are Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath) and Dhyana (meditation), but there are still 5 more, which include for example moral commandments, self purification, concentration.

All this is mind blowing for me.

It´s not just some exercise and relaxation for the mind, but an integral approach on how to live. It´s more of a religion or philosophy than some sports activity.

This I could sense,

But now I am seeing it.

So I am feeling the need to change my approach.

I had in mind making a career switch into becoming a Yoga Teacher, in the same style as I had created my business, in the same style as I had found my previous jobs: very western style, very productive and goal oriented. But now it feels more like leaving myself out of the equation, following the process with humility and letting myself be surprised by what Yoga can offer.

I am 40.

I have some savings and a job that pays the bills.

I feel that it´s time to follow this new path with more soul and less urge.

In this high-speed western world, where everything has to be the fastest possible (no matter what), maybe there is still time and place for values, for calmness, for a selfless approach to life.

Yesterday I thought something.

Today something else.

We´ll see tomorrow.

Work in progress.

If you ever thought of changing career or becoming an entrepreneur,

There are are probably some obstacles blocking your way.

The main one?

Your mind.

In my case, I recently the decision to become a yoga instructor.

That´s why:

1. I am practicing yoga more often,
2. I am posting more often on this blog and
3. I started posting on Instagram

I do these things because:

1. The best way to learn is by teaching
2. I want to follow the process, have a diary of it
3. I want to have a portfolio that shows what I can do and connect with like-minded people, the same way I did with my blog.

Reasonable, right?

Well, apparently not, because there is the mind,

Coming once and again,

Pushing me away from this new dream that I have.

Here are some of the thoughts that come repetitively:

1. I am not really that

«This is all fake.»

«I am not a yogi. Who am I trying to fool?»

Although this is true for now, it also happened to me when I was studying to become an architect. I was not an architect yet, but I wasn´t fooling anyone, I was just getting ready to become one, following the normal path.

Probably that´s the key.

That changing  career is not the normal path.

When you change the path, you are getting out of the way, especially if it is because you are following your heart or intuition in something much less practical and efficient.

Note: Firstly I tried to write it as «you», as if the mind was speaking to me, but it doesn´t bring the same effect.

«You are not a yogi. Who are you trying to fool?»

It´s not that. It´s not someone (the mind) speaking to me inside my head. It´s me myself speaking to me.

2. I don´t need a change. I am fine

Really?

The first time I remember researching a bit about becoming a yoga teacher was in 2016 (6 years ago). Then in 2019 I even made the first payment for a  Yoga Teacher Training Course which in the end I didn´t follow.

On the other hand, although I like my work, I have been thinking for years that I should go into something more physical, less on the computer (here I am, though) and that connects more to me and to other people.

I am sure these are enough reasons for a change. At least for a try.

But the mind is stubborn, fighting there.

3. It doesn´t really feel that good

«It doesn´t really feel that good. I don´t need it.»

After finishing a yoga practice, the feeling is from good to amazing.

The best is after Bikram class.

And the benefits are not only immediate, but they extend usually the whole day and even longer.

Anyways, the mind is hesitant. 

It keeps saying that we are happy just the two of us. We don´t really need to do these things. Which is not true, because it feels great and when I don´t do it, the mind spins.

4. You are not good enough (and never will be)

I keep believing that I am not good enough to achieve what I want.

But that is why I am practicing and commited to learning.

These are just some recurrent thoughts that the mind tells me secretly, silently, quietly.

So quietly that I don´t even realize.

But, if repeated, they become true.

That´s why it is important to bring them up and keep on with the plan.

We´ve been thrown into this world without our consentment.

(I wasn´t even asked to accept all cookies).

One day you are in the arms of your father.

Warm.

Being fed.

Next thing you know is that you need to learn how to live by yourself, how to deal with money, how to deal with other people

And in the meantime we have to deal with our bodies, with our emotions, with our thoughts.

We are kids playing the role of an adult.

And the process is not over.

Everyday new challenges com up. And the old ones come back once and again.

Sometimes life can be hard.

Focus on that spot.

Fill in the belly with air.

Let it out.

Everything is fine.

You are doing fine.

The more you give, the more you receive

I have built a life around working as little as possible.

Around being free.

• My online business gives more than enough money to live with just 10 hours per week of work.
• Also I am pursuing early retirement by investments, which means working even less than those 10 hours per week.

But the less you do, the less you want to do.

Because I want to work less, I become lazy. I come to believe that my energy is limited and I need to save it.

That is a bad spiral to go through.

Although this life can be abundant in money and free time, I’ve been lacking contact with people, sense of purpose and that energy that you get when you give your best.

I don´t want to be that lazy guy anymore, afraid of working more than 3 hours per day.

I want to be full of energy, full of life and giving my best.

The commitment

A couple days ago I made a commitment with myself.

«I want to keep muy business alive at its best and, at the same time, I want to become a yoga teacher.»

I am a father and a husband, I have my responsibilities and I like being the main provider of the family; therefore, forgetting about the business is out of question.

But I also want to follow my intuition.

Becoming a yoga teacher has been calling me for years now.

It does good to me and others, it brings me energy, flexibility and piece of mind and I want to get deeper in its practice and in its teachings.

The result

In a way I started to be double-employed.

Or, better said, I have a job and I study on the side.

As counterintuitive as it can sound, the fact that I have those two ways opened up and am currently walking them, I feel more energized and focused. 

I feel abundant.

I feel I can do everything.

I know that I can achieve any goal that I set myself to.

I like this feeling of abundance, much better than that of scarcity of energy and laziness. I know that abundance will come in the shape of money, quality time, focus, energy and connections with people. And of course in the sense of purpose and meaning.

Disclaimer 1

I have to admit that, in the path of yoga, I am lost (not know where it will all end up) and a bit afraid (I don´t know if I will be good enough), but I am excited to go through the process and see where it leads me.

These last posts are just little steps in this new direction.

Disclaimer 2

I am not that lazy.

During these years having lots of free time I have learnt Russian to level B1, I have learnt some carpentry by doing beatiful pieces of furniture (check them out), I have volunteered through Workaway in France and New Orleans, and have built a website and some courses to teach Geometry.

Maybe saying that I am very lazy is not so accurate, but it helps me get to the point that I can give more, commit myself more to pursue what I am willing to have in my life: abundance.

El ocio vacío deja una satisfacción poco duradera y ninguna gratificación.

Solo en el trabajo duro, aprendizaje y esfuerzo hay una recompensa real.

No hay alternativa.

Hay que vivir según tus principios.

Lucha por conseguir aquello que anhelas.

En julio de este año cumplí 40 años.

¡Vamos! Que tengo 40 años.
(a veces resulta difícil decirlo y más creérselo).

Antes pensaba que con esta edad ya tendría todo claro, que ya habría aprendido todo lo que tenía que saber y que sabría cómo serían el resto de mis días, semanas y años.

Pero la vida es caprichosa.

Y yo no dejo de seguir aprendiendo.

Es como una energía dentro de mí que no me deja estarme quieto, que me impulsa a descubrir cosas nuevas.

• Ensuciarme las manos. En 2019 me fui de viaje por el mundo sin fecha de regreso. Después de 1 mes dando vueltas decidí que haría voluntariados de «ensuciarme las manos» y así fue como ayudé en jardinería y construcción en Francia y colaboré en un hostal en Nueva Orleans.
• Carpintería. En febrero de 2020 me picó la curiosidad, me apunté a un curso intensivo y saqué dos mesitas de noche que ahora usamos a diario. Desde entonces he seguido dos cursos online (este y este) para construir con mis manos dos taburetes y una cómoda. Puedes ver los resultados en mi Instagram.
• Idiomas. Como ya hice en 2011 con el alemán en 2020 estudié ruso varios meses por mi cuenta y en 2021 me apunté a clases, 5 horas semanales durante 8 meses, hasta alcanzar un decente nivel B1 que me permite manejarme en San Petersburgo
• Yoga. En 2014 probé el Hatha Yoga. Me gustó. En 2015 seguí con Ashtanga. En 2019 probé Bikram Yoga (a 40ºC). Estos dos últimos son los que practico actualmente. Ya desde hace años tengo la curiosidad de profundizar más y ha llegado el momento. Me he matriculado en un curso de YTT de Ashtanga para enero 2023. Estoy muy ilusionado.

Admito que a veces esta necesidad de aprender se hace impertinente.

Que me gustaría vivir más tranquilo, sin necesidad de buscar cosas nuevas para aprender, pero esto es lo que hay.

Es enriquecedor y entretenido.
Y sobre todo inevitable.

Por eso entiendo a los alumnos que se apuntan a mis cursos de dibujo técnico, especialmente a los profesores y opositores, porque la vida de estudiante no se acaba con la carrera, sino que dura para siempre.

Siempre es buen momento para aprender.
Y sobre todo si con ello vas a mejorar en tu situación económica o profesional. Si aún no has hecho los cursos de Sistema Diédrico y Tangencias, te animo a que les eches un vistazo.

Un abrazo
Pablo

(Newsletter de 10endibujo.com de 10 de octubre 2022. Suscríbete)

Sometimes, the mind spins around so much,

That the only way to stop it is by doing as much sport as possible.

By getting exhausted.

For your mind there is no exit, problems get just bigger and bigger by thinking of them, and the thoughts are basically the same, coming once and again.

Get out there.

Go to the street and walk.

Or practice sports intensively.

Long walks (for at least 1.5 hours) help to free the mind (better 3 to 4 hours).

Blood pumps stronger, the constant pace of steps makes some kind of meditation in movement… whatever the reason is, just go out for a walk.

Sitting on the sofa is not going to help.

Staying at home and checking the phone is not going to help.

Get tired,

And the mind will get calmer.

This is one of my biggest fear for sure.

I am afraid that for any reason the business stops working as it had and it´s not so profitable or not profitable at all.

What would happen then?

I would have to work more on it, put more hours in front of the computer.

What is the problem with that?

Firstly, I like my life how it is now, I wouldn´t like to change it and I don´t want to have to work more in front of the computer.

What is the problem with putting more hours in front of the computer?

I would feel like a failure.

I like being able to go to the swimming pool whenever I want, waking up without an alarm clock and be able to work on my hobby of carpentry or practice yoga whenever I want.

What would be the benefits of putting more hours in front of the computer?

If I saw a growth in the business, that would bring some peace.

Furthermore, accomplishing such a thing by setting the habit of working everyday and having the discipline to follow my goals would be very rewarding.

I would feel proud and empowered.

1. The real fear behind all that

Probably I am afraid of having to go back to a standard job that I don´t like, as I used to have before my business.

Having to go to an office everyday and feel emprisioned in order to get a payment at the end of the month would make me feel miserable.

I don´t want that.

2. The real real-fear behind all that.

Probably there is another fear behind that, which is that I am afraid that my energy is limited and that my tolerance to do what I don´t like is also limited.

When I am not enthusiast about something, I get quite pesimistic, and I don´t like that.

I don´t know if in the future I will have energy, the hability, or the will to work in order to get a salary or new income.

I don´t want to be again in that position of exchanging hours of my life for money.

3. Possible Solutions

1. Working more hours in front of the computer, Pablo, is a very honorable sign of love to your life and also it can bring beautiful feelings of achivement and self-discipline which are very enriching for your daily life.
2. Instead of having to find a job that you hate from the beginning it could be more compelling to find a job that is fulfilling, maybe something related to hostels.
3. You could give a try to start a new cheap-to-start business, maybe related to your most appreciated areas at the moment, such as carpentry or yoga.
4. You could also work harder on your geometry business.
5. Your investments are growing and they almost add to a third or half of your expenses. Apart from that, your business might still be running even if it´s not giving as much as before. And your mindset is not the one of an employee as it used to be when you worked as an architect. In that sense, you will find alternatives to escape the 9 to 5 life. (But I don´t really believe this)

4. The real solution to the fear

Trust.

The first solution that comes to mind is work more. I know I can do that now, starting from today. But fear is not goint to go away even if I earn double. Because there will always be the fear of the business not working.

So the solution is trust.

• Trust that you have succeded other times.
• Trust that you are valuable, that you have good skills to find a good job or make an income.
• Trust that you will have enough energy and will to work when it will be necessary. These energy and will will probably be coming from your emotions, the ones that have never let you down. Emotions like fear will come up, the fear of not having enough money to feed your family. Or emotions like love, the love of taking care of your family.
• Trust that you will cut down expenses that are not necessary, that you will sell the things that you don´t need. Trust that you will know what to do best for you and your family.

5. Another real solution

Anyways, trust is the solution.

But if you are scared of the business going wrong or not as good as you would like it to, an easy immediate solution is working on it right now.

Stop complaining.

Stop being afraid.

Act.

Sit down and get the work done.

You will feel better.

6. Conclusion

When it comes to this topic, I always start spinning around.

Meditation or sport to calm my mind and actual work are usually the ways to go.

Four years ago I lost 16 Kg.

I was overweight (92) but I was not aware of that.

After a break up I had lots of time, energy and emotions to throw away, so I excercised a lot and followed a dietist. I got in a couple months into a stable 76 kg.

Recently 3 thoughts made the right connection in my mind and put me 4-5 kg down that just by following new eating habits.

1. If you want to be tougher, be tougher

I heard that sentence from Tim Ferris from an interview to Jocko Willink.

It is as clear as that.

You don´t have to meditate on it.

If you want to be tougher, be tougher.

Feel it in you stomach, in your abs, in your guts.

• If you want to lose weight, get it done.
• If you want a better body, work on it.
• If you want to achieve any goal, set it and get it done.

Set your mind.

Do it immediately, you don´t need time or days.

You can do it now.

Be tougher.

2. Eat half

I learned this from my wife.

As she would say: «Stand up from the table knowing that you could start eating again the same amount.»

Instead of eating your normal portion, serve yourself half.

Come on!

You are at home, or maximum 10 minutes away from the closest shop.

You are not gonna die of hunger.

If 2 hours later you are hungry, then you eat something extra, but again, just half. You know that you will be able to get food almost immediately if you need it.

This sets a mindset of hunger.

Feeling hungry is good.

It means your body is burning calories and you will be eating because you need it, not because of habit.

Plus you will enjoy more your food.

When you feel hungry and you feel that your mind is weak, get back to the 1st thought: if you wanna be tougher, be tougher.

If you are hungry, just be tough.

Stay there.

Enjoy it.

And get distracted doing other interesting things in life.

This estate of being hungry has lead me to stop eating uncontrollable amounts of chocolate and candys at night. Not only evening but in the middle of the night. Now I enjoy having long hours of fasting, as long as possible. If I can stay for 8-10-12-14 hours without eating, I know it is good for my body.

Stay focused, stay tough.

3. The best fat-burner is caloric deficit

I saw this as an Instagram post from Marcos Vazquez, from Fitness Revolucionario.

Sure there are different ways of losing weight. He mentions three: caloric deficit, enough proteins and training of strenght.

But the main one is caloric deficit.

That is the essential one.

Without it, you will get nowhere.

Think of it: Sometimes you train hard in order to burn calories.

What if instead of burning calories, you just don´t have them in the first place?

I never counted calories, I have just some basic notions, but what if instead of eating 2.000 Kcal a day, you eat 1.600?

It sets the condition for your body to be really burning fat, without effort on your side. You only have to skip some food, not even all the food.

It´s just eating less and you will forget about having to lose weight because it will happen on its owin.