A Somewhat Regular Blog Post #17
Long time, no blog! It’s funny how I used to blog three times a week back when I was a trainee lawyer. I feel like these days three times a year is more where I’m at blog-wise?
Dubai Summer Summer Summer Time
Another long Dubai summer is here. Actually, summer 2021 does seem better so far than summer 2020 when Dubai was just coming out of lockdown and the world felt really uncertain. Things still feel somewhat uncertain but I’ve definitely settled into a “new normal” now and feel like I’ve taken parts of what lockdown life gave us along with being able to cautiously return to most elements of the former world that I enjoyed.
Life is busy, really busy, and I think I have finally acclimatised to the heat a little. By acclimatised, I mean that a 5.30am walk is acceptable. A friend of mine recently adopted a dog and taking her on walks is such a joy, even if it is hot. A rooftop bar after 8pm is also acceptable, too.
Unfortunately travel is still difficult, there are no flights to the UK and with the rules seemingly ever-changing, I don’t think i’m in the right headspace to book a trip. I really miss the ease of being able to hope on a plane for a summer long weekend in London. Although I also feel that the days of taking 6 trips in a year are long gone. Now that I feel so at home in Dubai, it doesn’t feel like too much of a burden not being able to leave, although I would like to see my parents and reschedule all of the pandemic-cancelled visits before the end of this year.
International Yoga Day 2021
I marked my second International Yoga Day since I started teaching. It’s still surreal sometimes. I remember going to classes when I first moved to Dubai and seeing the teacher come in and set up, and thinking to myself that I wanted to do that one day but never really believing that I could, or that it would ever happen. Now when I turn up at the studio I still sometimes have moments where I realise that, oh, I’m here to teach the class?! Wonderfully surreal and I feel like I enjoy teaching more and more, the more I do it.
Goals and Plans for July and August
Saturday Flow at Barakah – I’m teaching the 9am flow class at Barakah every Saturday from 17th July for six weeks. I love teaching in this space, it’s so beautiful and really feels like home. I can never resist Instagramming every corner of the studio each time I teach here, it’s so beautiful but also so thoughtfully designed
Continue my Prenatal YTT – I’m doing an online Prenatal YTT with Jo Shakti (she co-taught my 200 hours in Bali in 2019 – another lifetime ago it seems!). I honestly never thought I’d do a Prenatal course but I’m really enjoying it, Jo’s teaching style is so lovely and I love how honouring and celebrating the feminine is combined with anatomy, theory and safe teaching methods. Two of my yoga students are currently pregnant so it’s perfectly timed!
Read more – I still feel like I’ve not got back into my pre-March 2020 reading groove? I just finished Transcendent Kingdom which was wonderful but it took me four weeks to read a relatively short book?! I’ve been unashamedly reaching for more “poolside read” type books which have fit my mood more than things which require more thought.
Share more writing – I’ve been enjoying sharing longer, more heartfelt and free form Instagram posts recently but I’d love to share my writing somewhere else too. Obviously I have this blog as a platform so maybe I should not leave it four months before my next post?
Relax more – we have an Eid holiday coming up in the UAE and I desperately need to block out a couple of days to just. Do. Nothing. A couple of weeks ago I took a morning off, wandered to Starbucks for my matcha, and then sat back in bed to drink it with my book and journal and it honestly refreshed me for the next week. I have a tendency to feel like I’m not using my time “well” unless every hour is spent productively,
Discover/rediscover the UAE indoors – I revisited Dubai’s cat cafe a couple of weeks ago and it was such a nice way to spend part of the morning. I also want to check out The Etihad Museum and Sharjah’s Cultural District, and revisit some of my favourite indoor cafes, too.
Frugal girl summer – in keeping with my 2021 pledge to only buy pre-loved items, I’m also trying not to order things online or order Deliveroo too often too. I actually did a 30 day “no Deliveroo” streak in May/June and now I’m trying to stick to only ordering twice a week. It’s honestly so easy to be lazy here, and I feel so much better when I leave the house for errands and food rather than just ordering online.
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What are your plans and goals for the summer?