How to bring more beauty into your life!

July 15, 2019

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Many of us live our lives in the fast lane, fueled by caffeine and sugary snacks, surrounded by screens, necks craned down towards our devices. How often in our day to day life do we make true eye contact, take time for a big breath, or perhaps look around and observe, soak everything in, connect with nature? How many of us remember to create rituals that remind us of the existence of something greater than ourselves?

Whenever we run on autopilot, existing, witnessing the days pass by, sucked into the matrix, we miss the actual BEAUTY of life. The magical sparkle of the morning sun, fresh air after the rain, kindness in someone’s voice, the way a good coffee tastes when slowly taken in, arms of a loved one around us, the soft fur of our pet, or how a bite of good chocolate melts all over the tongue. Suddenly the beauty becomes limited to the outer and most superficial layers. We no longer remember to search for it anywhere other than in our external appearances, in things and material validation. We shop, and shop some more, chasing beauty and perfection. We subject our bodies to food crazes, obsessive exercising, treatments, products, and all sorts of change, so that we can be beautiful – once we reach that very goal of physical appearance. The more we reside in our heads, the less we remember about the beauty in our own hearts.

And yet it’s here, in the heartspace, that the true gold can be found. The beauty of life can be experienced in kindness, in compassion, forgiveness, in softness and sweetness, in trust, in making contact with all of life through the filter of love. In presence.

Every morning, as I open my eyes, I set an intention. While still rolling around in bed, I connect to what I would like the day to be, and how I want to show up. Once I get out of bed, I spend the first part of my morning on a meditation cushion, or maybe drinking a cup of ceremonial cacao and chanting, going outside for a few moments and looking at the sky, or moving around on my yoga mat. I start my days deliberately slow, and whenever traveling or needing to be somewhere, I make sure to wake up extra early so that I can stick to my mindful start. Not rushing and being able to stay present before I get on with life gives me the space to appreciate the smallest details of my day. I set the stage for the rest of it, and – by removing rush or stress from my morning – am able to connect more mindfully to myself and the tasks ahead. If I can be present, then I will enjoy it more. If I can enjoy it, then there is a big chance that I will appreciate even the smallest of things. Like the most mundane of things – the way washing dishes becomes a truly gratifying task.

I believe nature to be THE healer and so I make time to go outside and breathe deeply. To sit on the grass, to walk barefoot. To connect with Mama Earth, take in her beauty, and fully land in my body. I use daily rituals, as a communication pathway with Spirit, as a way of expressing my heart’s voice, a platform for calling in a deeper connection to myself. It doesn’t need to be anything complicated – lighting sage or a smudge stick of palo santo and clearing the space and my own aura, journaling near a candle, laying down and placing crystals anywhere on my body that feels dense or blocked, using a particular essential oil in my day to connect to that very plant, sitting quietly for a few minutes in front of my altar.

The more lost I am in the repetitive narratives of the mind, the less I remember that all the beauty is already there, I just need to be willing to pause, take a deep breath in, and open my eyes. Re-remember. The more I connect to me, the more beauty I find in everything that surrounds me, and the more I appreciate life (which also means appreciating myself). The more I appreciate myself, the less I care about the external, and the more I cherish the beauty of my own heart. And this feels like a good place to be.

Join Marta on her Peru Retreat in September!

Marta Wanderlust

Marta is a gifted, passionate, and highly experienced teacher and student of Yoga and the teachings of Advaita Vedanta. She has first discovered Yoga when 14 years old, and right away felt the mysterious familiarity of the practice. She began her professional training with a Jivamukti Yoga immersion, under the guidance of Yogeswari – one of the most senior teachers of the method. Marta was certified as an Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow instructor in a traditional school in Goa, India. In India, she also had the privilege to meet her Spiritual teacher Rishi Sudhir of Tiruvannamalai, with decades of experience in Pranayama, meditation, and a depth of Vedic knowledge. Aside of the studies of Vedanta, she has also spent time at the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi, set at the foot of the sacred mountain Arunachala.

Marta’s love for the practice of being, Yin Yoga, comes as a result of her training with Joshua Summers, an experienced teacher and TCM practitioner. Her studies with Joshua initiated her into the system of meridians and Traditional Chinese Medicine, helping to establish a deep understanding of the subtle body and its many pathways, and their interrelationship with the Yoga practice.

Marta lives in Peru, sharing her practice with the guests of a variety of plant medicine healing centres, teaching occasional workshops and classes in the Sacred Valley, working with private students, and leading personal Yoga retreats internationally. She has a passion for culture and tradition, and often travels in her mission to experience, grow, and develop a platform to share with others, spreading the message of love and compassion.

Over the last years, Marta has been studying with the plant medicines and traditions of Central and South America. She has had the opportunity to learn under the guidance of shamans and medicine people from various communities and traditions, including Shipibo, Mexica, Mestizo, Quechua, Lakota, and Kogi. Her studies across diverse traditions devoted to understanding both our human physicality and the pathways to Spirit have led her to understand that all paths are complementary, and ultimately lead to the very same realization of Unity. She is deeply grateful to all of her teachers, past and present, human and non-human, for shining their light under her stumbling feet.