SaZiYogi: Three months in Zimbabwe…what I have loathed, what...

SaZiYogi: Three months in Zimbabwe…what I have loathed, what...: First of all, Happy New Year to all my beautiful followers. I truly believe that this year has a multitude of potential for the person with...

Three months in Zimbabwe…what I have loathed, what I have learnt, and what I have loved…

First of all, Happy New Year to all my beautiful followers. I truly believe that this year has a multitude of potential for the person with the right attitude and that there is so much good to come from 2015. May you all find peace, happiness, prosperity and love this year and may your hearts be filled with compassion and humility. I really wish the world could truly become a restored and nonviolent place, where life is celebrated and freedom comes effortlessly. Only time will tell…

It’s taken me a while to get back into the swing of things after the festive break. Even though we were only ‘on holiday’ for just over 2 weeks, it honestly feels like it has been months since I felt like I was in some sort of routine. I am however, slowly but surely getting back into it and finding the normality in my crazy life once more.

The 7^th January marked three months for me in Zimbabwe since I moved here from SA. When I realized that, I actually couldn't believe it. To think that I have been living in Harare and teaching Yoga for a quarter of a year seems so unrealistic. I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun hey?

So I had a good think about the last three months for me in this beautiful yet unforgiving place and realized how much I have actually learnt in that time. Moving to a new country is never easy, however moving here hasn't been all that bad, and I do feel like I am beginning to genuinely find my feet. Yes, I have had my ups and downs and sometimes the downs seem like they’re never going to go back up. And there definitely are certain traits of Zim which I would prefer to not have to live through, but I guess that’s life and you can only grow from experiencing the good as well as the bad.

The first thing which springs to mind is the power cuts. I find this rather amusing because recently South Africa has been going through load-shedding and just reading the comments on Facebook and hearing about the general feeling of people towards these outages, makes me giggle. In Zim, you’re happy if you have a power cut that lasts the ‘normal’ period of time of about 6 – 8 hours. That’s a ‘good’ power cut and you generally make do with candles or an inverter or if needs be, a generator. In South Africa, I hear people complaining about a 3 hour power cut. Not only complaining but also updating violently aggressive statuses and HATING Eskom passionately. Don’t get me wrong, I know how they feel - I was there. However being in Zim, you learn to live with it like it’s part of your normal week. If you don’t have a power cut at least once a week, something must be wrong. You get home from work and breathe a sigh of relief when you see a few lights on in the neighbour’s house, knowing you can cook and eat and watch tv in peace without the hum of a few generators. And when you do have a power cut which happens to last more than 8 hours, well you literally can’t do much about it. You cannot complain to anyone about it. No one answers phones, no one responds to emails. Unless you have a human connection on the inside who can give you some information (for an under-handed fee of course,) you’re pretty much at the mercy of Zesa’s schedule, no matter how irregular, unpredictable or erratic it is.

Another thing that took me a while to figure out was the road system here. I thought it would be pretty much the same as where I am from, being still in Africa and all. In SA you drive on the left-hand side of the road, give way at a ‘Give Way’ intersection, stop at a ‘Stop’ sign; it’s a case of give way to the right or to whomever was first at a traffic circle, and if lights are out, you treat the intersection as a four-way stop. So when driving on the left-hand side of the road here in H-Town, I thought ‘ah this is a breeze and I've got this nailed.’ The only concern I had was finding my way around. Boy have I never been so wrong! ‘Give Ways’ are intersections where if you do not come to a DEAD stop – you will likely be fined the standard fine of $20. Why not put up a ‘Stop’ sign then?? At traffic circles or ‘roundabouts’ as we Saffa’s like to call them, it’s a case of what I see as, whomever is going fastest – has right of way. Apparently in Zim you have intersections where you should know which road out of the 2 or 3 intersecting, is the ‘main road’. Should you be on this apparent main road – well hey, you are free to go. Should you be on the other roads, you have to wait. Say again?? How is one supposed to know which is the main road?? And what if the traffic on the main road never ceases?? That is something I am still figuring out. The same with traffic lights that are out because of our trusty power cuts. You can sit for sometimes 5 to 10 minutes waiting for fellow travelers on the ‘main road’ to power on through. Only once clear, can you and the other minions on the non-main road carry on your journey. It’s mind-boggling but an adventure nonetheless. One blessing is that traffic here is absolutely nothing compared to what I was used to, so go figure they can actually make up their own rules as they go. And another blessing is that I pretty much know my way around now – great feeling!

Life here is amazingly relaxing. Yes, I often stress that me teaching yoga isn't bringing enough money to help pay the household expenses, but for now it is enough to get by and live, and I think for me, that has been the hardest thing to come to terms with. No longer is my life revolved around money – car payments, rent, medical aid, cats bills, food expenses, saving for your future and making it to the end of the month with literally R5 in your bank-account. It may sound strange but I have found it extremely difficult to actually completely relax here in a lot of ways. To take a breath and let life happen around me; to enjoy what we have and to actually live in the moment. Before, I was planning my life around the day of the month – pay day. Now, I don’t even have a bank account, I get paid so sporadically and different amounts depending on the number of students who attend my class – yet, we make it work. No more miss independent over here. I thankfully have a partner in life and we tackle things together and even though it has taken me a while to accept that, I count it as a true blessing. I am so passionate about what I do now, that I actually look forward to Mondays, don’t loathe Sundays, and the week days feel just as good as the weekends because you are treasuring every moment as opposed to stressing about tomorrow. Of course you are still planning ahead and of course money is factored into that plan. We are busy saving for a trip to Australia to go and see my Dad and we are constantly trying to save where we can because you just never know what might happen. However what I have learnt is that life should be lived, you should enjoy the money you do make, however little it may be. To do things which make your heart happy, things that take away the pressures of another day in the future which is not even guaranteed – that’s called ‘living your life’.

I fully credit my life change, my mindset change and my ability to relax and see the positive – to Yoga. I finally have a purpose and that is to teach what I love. The people I have met along this journey of mine are people I can call friends even after a mere lunch or coffee together, because of how they completely and utterly relate to all I am. Yoga has brought me to where I am today and for that I am eternally grateful. In SA while completing my hours, I met so many stunning individuals whom I took so many lessons from. I even managed to get my mom, my brother and my boyfriend to enjoy yoga, even before I had started teaching and I credit that to what yoga offers, not only in a physical way but also mentally, spiritually and emotionally. The yoga community here in Zim is still small but seems to be getting stronger by the day. I am so fortunate to have been given an opportunity to teach here straight out of graduating from my teacher training, and to make my classes my own. It was nerve-wracking to begin with of course but I've been told that that is perfectly normal. The fear of the unknown, the absolute anxiety about teaching a class which people may not enjoy. But you find your feet and once you are there, it’s like you have an ‘ahhh’ moment where everything just seems to fall into place. You have those students who may attend one class and never come back – it’s ok. They may be on a different path to the one you’re on and not everyone is going to like you. You also have those students who keep you coming back for more because their energy is so infectious and so uplifting, you cannot wait to see them again. And then to top it all off, every now and again a student will say something so heart-touching like ‘I cannot wait for your next class’ or ‘that was just what I needed,’ that you literally forget about any anxiety you ever had teaching a yoga class in the beginning and you go home feeling so alive and at peace. Yoga is not for everyone, but for me it was calling me for a while and finally I listened, took that not-so-easy step and look where I am now.

Bottom line, life isn't a walk in the park. It isn't about being handed things on a silver platter and sailing through without a single care in the world. It’s not about harboring resentment for past mistakes, holding on to the negative or even over-stressing about tomorrow. Life is exactly what it is – LIFE. You only have one. You only get one chance to make something of yourself that you feel good about and proud of. Start living; start enjoying; start seeing the moment for what it is and capturing those moments which steal your breath. Then do yoga and find your breath again J

 Look at me…  I live in Zimbabwe… I teach Yoga…and I absolutely, every day - love my life.