At the beginning of November, this humble internet space celebrated its first year of life. I originally started BeLikeYoga to share my personal reflections about yoga, especially about its way of calming the mind and strengthening the body (and vice versa!).
However, other health-related subjects I like (such as psychology, nutrition or books reviews) also started to be featured in the blog, getting some nice views and responses too.
Looking back, it is interesting to see which posts have been the most popular among the readers over the last 12 months:
2017 (Jan to Oct)
- “Yoga is so broad that we are eternal students, both in the spiritual and the physical side” Julia Arteaga
- “You can learn yoga on your own, but not from zero” – Interview to Irya Devi
- Best (and worst) qualities of a yoga teacher
- First experience doing a Mysore yoga class
- Yoga journey – or How long have you been practising?
2016 (Nov to Dec)
- Good sites to exercise at home
- Clean eating – how did I get there?
- 6 reasons why yoga is so easy to engage with
- Finding yoga, finding my one and only
- What do you mean by “Be Like Yoga”?
For what I can see, the most read articles have mainly been about yoga, especially the in-depth interviews I did to a couple of great yogis, Júlia and Rosa. This top 10 kind of makes sense considering this is supposed to be a yoga blog, although I have also really enjoyed talking about nutrition, psychology and books.
However, as the months passed and I wrote about most of the ideas I originally had in mind when I first started this little project, I’m left with a number of dusty draft posts about yoga poses, theory and other more “educational” topics that I cannot find the motivation to finish.
Where to go from now?
The thing I’m discovering is that I love writing, but mainly when it is about expressing my own feelings and ideas. Having to write from a didactic and informative side defeats the self-expression purpose and can sometimes feel like a duty. This sense of obligation made me re-think the purpose of this blog. Who am I doing it for?
Reading Affluenza a few months ago influenced me (not affluenzed me!) even more than expected when it comes to ego, “fame” and popularity. The author recommends us to focus on what we enjoy in life (our intrinsic motives), instead of worrying about external results that are out of our control, such as the reactions of others.
This is a lesson particularly important for over-achievers. This characteristic can be positive at times, but also carries the heavy weight of perfectionism and social comparison. That is the opposite of living a happy and fulfilling life and, because this blog is precisely about that (with yoga being a way of getting closer to it), I guess I should practise what I preach.
Since I’m trying to fulfill my inner desire for writing and self-expression, not to become a world-famous yogi, I’m keen on sticking to what feels enjoyable and right to me, even if it means writing less often (I originally was very disciplined with the ‘one post a week’ rule) or about less popular subjects (such as specific yoga poses or how-to posts).
This blog is a satisfying hobby for me, not a way of making a living out of it, so I’m choosing to enjoy it while it lasts and not to turn it into another “should”.
As Jorge Bucay says, “The best thing that you can give me is what you want to give me”
Such as this post my friends, written and given to you with much love! xxx
Wellbeing Lifelong 