My Feet are made to Wander

My feet are itchy, and it’s not just from the mosquitos that love my ankles. They are itching to move and to continue to wander and explore. It’s a decision I struggled to make, but I have decided to leave Hoi An. I get rather emotional when I talk about it, but when I place my hand on my heart and ask, “what should I do next, stay or wander”, I have my answer.

I go back to that ‘a-ha’ moment I had during savasana about halfway through the yoga & mindfulness teacher training (YMTT) back in June. During the first half of the training, I found myself anxiously dwelling on what I was going to do next, what was going to happen after the training. I was pretty set on heading back to Australia, finding a place to live, finding work or finding regional work so I could extend my visa. I remember being so stressed out about this decision. But then, in corpse pose after one of our morning self practices, the solution came to me. I started this adventure because I wanted to explore the world, I wanted to see new places, get lost on new streets, taste new flavours and experience different atmospheres so why was I SO concerned about heading back to Australia and doing exactly what I had left back home? That’s when I decided I was going to wander around Vietnam.

This is what I go back to now; I miss the complex combination of feelings you get when you explore somewhere new. The excitement of being somewhere you’ve never been before, the nervousness of not knowing your way around or whether you’ll like this new place or be welcomed by the community, the part of you that’s scared because you’re alone, and the joy that walks hand in hand with all of these emotions because you’re also grateful you get to travel. This is why I left home, I’m exploring the world and collecting so many life experiences at the same time.

It’s very bittersweet. Hoi An has been home for the last four and a half months and if you read my last post, you get the feeling for how much I love it here and how happy my heart became in Hoi An. I’ve met so many incredible people who’ve now become family, who I’ll miss dearly because they made every day life in Hoi An so enjoyable (and why I’ve stayed as long as I have). No matter what kind of wild, chill, adventurous shenanigans we got up to! Hoi An will also be a special place for me. Through Nomad Yoga Hoi An I’ve been given the space and support to grow my wings as a yoga teacher, a path I’m excited to continue to develop further, in other parts of the world.

I do however see myself coming back to live in Hoi An again, sometime in the future. Maybe I’ll be back next year, who knows?!

So what’s next you ask? This city gal is headed back to the big smoke – Ho Chi Minh City! When I was in HCMC (or Saigon) before the YMTT, I really did not like it. It was too busy, too many motorbikes and cars fighting each other for space, too much traffic, just too much happening all at once. When I returned to Saigon after the YMTT for a night (before heading to Hoi An), some of my Rhambutan yoga family members took us around to some of their favourite places that evening. And that’s when I felt like “ok, Saigon has some charm”, especially outside the chaos of the tourist centric District 1. I even entertained the possibility of living in Saigon after that night. So I’m excited to be heading back there for a chunk of time, where I’ll get to reconnect with some friends visiting from Toronto as well as spend some more time with my yoga mentors and aunts. I’ve also decided to take a Reiki practitioner training with saigon om. I think it’ll be a really nice compliment to yoga & mindfullness, keep you posted on how that goes. It’s at the beginning of December.

At the end of December, for Christmas and New Year, I’ll be in Thailand participating in the Core Sangha Retreat at Thai Plum Village Monastery with my Xa Co (third aunt) and Sarah (thank you so much for the invitation and allowing me to join you both!). I am super excited for this. It’ll be a week long retreat that will allow me to deepen my mindfulness practice, as we get to practice with the monks and nuns of Plum Village following the teachings of our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Between the Reiki training and Plum Village, I don’t have any other set plans and so I’d like to take the month to wander around other parts of Vietnam, like Phu Quoc Island or Phong Nha National Park where some of the world’s largest and gorgeous caves are. As for after the new year, where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing, I can’t say – too far to think about!

Continue to follow along here on the blog, or via my new Facebook page, for updates on where I wander to next, what I’m up to, where I’m sharing yoga and mindfulness, and what I’m eating!

Until next time friends, xo.
V