‘Hug Yourself with Compassionate Understanding and Loving Kindness Every Day’ ~ Tanya Anne Cole

I went to my Yoga class night. It’s a beginner’s class that my girlfriend gave to me as a birthday present. Twice a week for one month. It is truly a GIFT of epic proportion for me, much, much more than just a present.

I have practiced yoga in the past. Pregnancy yoga, baby yoga and power yoga. However, as I have become incredibly deconditioned after having my three boys and the intensity of motherhood, I really needed to to start back with the basics.

Our teacher Mike is a lovely man, seemingly living his truth. Last night he talked to us about taking our yoga practice off the mat and into everyday life. I listened.

As I left class, I had Mike’s message swirling around in my head and I came up with this sentence in my mind…”Hug Yourself with Compassionate Understanding and Loving Kindness everyday”.

After getting home and putting the kids to bed, I had an overwhelming urge to do something with these words in my head. I wanted to get them onto a canvas. However, I had already had thoughts of making a canvas for myself, celebrating the giving of flight to my creative dreams. I had recently seen some of my other fabulous, fellow flyer classmates (also undertaking Kelly Rae’s creative biz course) do this and I wanted to do something similar for myself to commemorate this time in my life…this beautiful, soul nurturing journey.

However, I was still thinking…  In order to take flight and follow my creative dreams, something else had to happen. I have to check in with myself first, care for myself, honour myself again. I realized that this was missing for me, or rather, I had ‘forgotten’ to honour me amongst all the busyness of life. So I decided to make my very first mixed media canvas something that would help remind me to fulfill those few little steps that were needed first…

TO LOVE MYSELF again. Just like I did when I was small. When all I had to think about was myself.

So here it is. It’s not ‘perfect’, however I like it. I have included a photograph of me in the paper heart, nestled in the palms of my arty self.

This will hang above me in my studio whilst I work.

I like the effect of the translucent glaze over the dress which lets through the pattern and text of the collage paper underneath it. It makes me want to do more of the layering and scraping away to reveal, technique.

My ‘taking flight’ canvas will hang next to this one.

Once I start it that is! I am looking forward to it.

x Tanya

ps. Make sure you hug yourself first too…then embrace your dream. xx