stretch your mind!

Everything around me has changed.

The air, the water, earth, people, their languages, faces, voices, noises, animals. Everything.

It seemed very scary at first. I was too afraid that I would give up easier than I had thought. I was lost. I was completely lost because I had nowhere to go. I had almost no one to speak. Nobody could understand me, I thought. What was I supposed to do? Walking on the streets that I didn't recognize or among the people that I didn't know?

I jumped into another life, suddenly. It felt like a portal was opened in front of me and I passed through it to a different universe. I was an alien wandering on a different planet. I felt like that.

I was patient with myself, though. I have been training my mind on that. "Be patient. Patience is the key to everything you are looking for." I tried my best to not to cry. I tried my best to avoid from my screams and fears. I tried my best to sleep while I was with a lizard in the room. I even smiled at the mice I saw on the streets. I stayed strong when I couldn't find anything vegetarian. I said, "The coffee, at least, is perfect."

But there was a time where all my repressed feelings came to light. I was on my bed, too lazy to do anything. I didn't stop myself and I cried like hell for about one hour. I accepted what I had been feeling lately and only then I thought "What you are doing is not an easy thing. It is absolutely okay to be lost. It is perfectly fine that you are not comfortable." I embraced every little piece of emotion that I was keeping inside. I hugged them, I hugged myself.

It was bravery. I taught myself how to brave on my own. I was too proud when I was wiping my eyes. I chose to come here. I chose to leave everything and everyone behind me. I chose to be brave. I had known it would be difficult for an introvert like me. Some people are made for this kind of adventure but I am not one of them apparently. I needed to be calm and teach myself.

It is my second week in Ho Chi Minh and I am getting used to it. I am getting used to its chaotic traffic, its lizards, mice and cockroaches, its humid and polluted air. I am getting used to the way people look at me. I am learning and experiencing a whole different language but you know what? People are people. They are multifarious. Plus, it is still good to drink bamboo juice. In two weeks, I have seen that there is a life apart from my comfort zone.

Now, trying to build a fresh life here, I have turned back to my yoga mat. It was high time to reopen my legs and stretch my back. I have realized I am much gentler towards myself both physically and emotionally. I am not rushing. I am now only and that feels like I have updated myself to a whole different level. That means, as Adriene says, I have stretched my mind along with my whole body.

Yoga is a perfect tool to help you anywhere, anytime. Just be there and be open to take the good energy which is presented you by the universe itself. It doesn't matter you are on a yoga mat or on any towel. Trust me, I have tried both. Yoga is there to catch you.

Be brave. Teach yourself to be brave.

Namaste.