My So-Called Yoga Life

I am thrilled to share with you that I have received a nomination for the Sunshine Blogger Award!  My fellow blogger Abhinav Uniyal, I express my sincerest gratitude for this marvellous opportunity for recognition and for your personal appreciation of my blog.   Thank You!!! Abhinav has a fabulous blog where he shares personal development, business leadership, communications and interpersonal skill development for the workplace.  Some great and valuable information can be found on his blog.

Please check him out here- https://abhinavuniyal.com/blog/

The Sunshine Blogger Award is an opportunity to recognize a blog that inspires you and imbues creativity.  It’s a wonderful time to let your fellow bloggers know just how much you enjoy reading their blogs and observe their accomplishments.

As part of the nomination, Abhinav has given me some questions to answer about blogging and it’s a great way for you, my readers to learn a little bit more about me:)

1. When did you start blogging?
My blog went live on February 23, 2017 to be exact. I was looking for a creative outlet and a way to share with others, things I have learned over the years in the realm of yoga, healthy lifestyle with Young Living essential oils, poetry and life through the lens of my personal experiences. I had been collecting my thoughts for a while and it just seemed like the right time to move forward and get my blog going!

2.  What makes blogging special to you?
Blogging is special because the audience who reads my blog have a genuine interest in my writing. I really enjoy writing and when I can help others and bring value to them, it makes it even more worth while.   Sometimes I get so enthralled in how to express my thoughts and demonstrate them so accurately that I have to catch my intentions from getting lost in that translation!  Improving my writing skills is slowly happening over time.  I love the moment I press “publish” every single time. It’s so exciting and sometimes I am nervous because I share vulnerable parts of myself, my heart and my mind. It is new for me but a very pleasant experience.

3. Does blogging bring out the best out of you?
Yes! Blogging helps me to put my own interests and knowledge to work. I am able to think critically and then share about what I have learned. It is a way of being introspective sometimes and then seeing what that looks like when it’s written down.  I feel like it makes me better at life.  Writing and creatively, flowing my thoughts through words is sort of therapeutic in a way.  It helps bring out the best me!

4. How important is monetizing the blogs?
For me it’s not a primary goal. If one day the right opportunity should present itself, I would happily get involved in monetization. It would have to feel right.

5. What is the best thing that has happened to you since you started blogging (within the blogging world)

Getting to connect with people around the world and reading what they are passionate enough to write about and share with others. It is so much fun and I really enjoy it.  It’s pretty amazing to read the perspectives and thoughts of those living around the globe.  It wasn’t something I started my blog with the intention of doing, but it has been a fantastic experience that I am grateful to be a part of.

6.  What is your next goal in the blogging world?
My goal is to connect with more people, both bloggers and readers.  I work towards this goal daily.  Having a blog has really opened up an entire community where we all have in common, the love and joy of writing.  I think there is so much to learn about and stories and viewpoints to receive.  Looking forward to continuing my blogging and having fun.

7.  What are you passionate about in life?
It may be obvious through my blog that I am passionate about Ashtanga Yoga! I am interested in anything and everything to do with it.  I practice 6 days a week and read books to learn more about yoga philosophy, anatomy, current topics and more.  I also believe in the natural power of essential oils and enjoy using them in my every day life.  My family loves them too.  I also enjoy writing and creative expression. I think it is a powerful tool to enhance and help us express ourselves in this world.  It enriches our experiences and brings new ways to view life.  I try to bring all of these to my children and hope that they will also find a creative outlet to be themselves.

8.  What is your suggestion to the fellow bloggers (new and existing)
My suggestion would be to connect with fellow bloggers as much as possible. Blogging isn’t just about writing, it is a community of some pretty awesome people!  Join Facebook groups, instagram groups and other social media groups where you will meet and support others in their blogging endeavours as they do for you.

9.  If you can do one thing different about your blog, what would that be?

Hmmm….that’s a difficult question.  It’s pretty new and so I haven’t really had too many concerns so far.  I did make a change a short while ago to a different theme.  The theme I was using wasn’t easily viewable on mobile devices.  As a new blogger, I didn’t really think about that.  I am enjoying the new theme and it suits my needs better.  I suppose there will be more of these types of changes, I will discover as I go.

10.  As a blogger, you have a certain social responsibility, how to do take care of that?
I believe that sharing from the heart, being respectful of readers and the power of interpretation are important to be aware of as a blogger. I try to share things that I feel can be of benefit to others and ways to connect. I feel like this takes care of my social responsibility.

11.  What effect does recognition have on you?
It is very inspiring! It means that there are people who feel that they can connect to my writing. I feel joyful knowing that what makes me feel and how I express that is helpful and interesting to others.  It’s super fun to participate here because it is another way to connect with other bloggers!

Fellow Blog Nominations

I would like to nominate the following blogs for this Sunshine Blogger Award.  I continue to thoroughly enjoy reading each of these blogs regularly and think that the creativity in writing, photography and skills within their niches are some of the reasons I delight in following them.

NOMINEES FOR THE SUNSHINE BLOGGER AWARD

Kirti Arora- https://www.thefashionflings.com/

Tahnee Flack- https://tahneesblog.co.uk/

Marine Lucas- http://superflysister.com/

Basundhara Ghosh- https://basundharasblog.wordpress.com/

Chikumo Fiseko- https://adiaryofachik.com/

Chelsea Rose- http://www.rosypointofview.com/

****Important Note to my Nominees****

Please thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.  Nominate bloggers who you feel deserve recognition.  Answer my questions for you in your post as well as create 11 of your own questions for your nominees to answer.  The Sunshine Blogger Award Logo must be displayed in your post.  Please put a link to your post in my comments so I can read your answers to my questions.  I look forward to reading them:).

Thank you for continuing to write purposeful, talented and interesting blogs for us all to enjoy!

Here are my questions for you:

1.  How did you get involved with blogging?

2.  How do you think your readers would describe your blogging style?

3.  Where do you find inspiration for your posts?

4.  How has blogging improved your life?

5.  What has been the most challenging aspect of having your blog and how do you work on that?

6.  What has been the most enjoyable aspect of being in the world of blogging?

7.  What do you do when you aren’t working on your blog?

8.  What networking do you do that you feel has benefitted your blog the most?

9.  What do you think the best thing is that a blogger can give to readers?

10.  What is your favorite post on your blog? Why do you like it the best?

11.  What has been your strategy for creating visibility for your blog?

Thank you again for my nomination Abhinav! And thank you fellow bloggers for keeping the Sunshine Blogger Award nominated to blog writers who you feel are inspiring and creative:)

Peace & Love,

Lisa xx