Happy Friday and October tidings my darlings! I have just returned from my
Zen Yoga Teacher Training in
Dorset and there is certainly much to tell. Some of you darlings may remember my fundraising efforts for the
Cancer Research UK night
"Shine Walk" some time ago....well, it's done! Though I had to take a day out of my course to travel back to London to do the walk, which will probably mean qualifying as a Zen Yoga teacher slightly later than my coursemates as I have to make up for the time after completing the courseworks and assessed lesson plans, but it has been worth it for such a great cause. In all honesty I didn't have time to do much training for the walk, unless you count a once a week walk round Greenwich park in the two weeks before I went to Dorset, as most of the time before the walk was actually dedicated to Zen yoga practice as well as meditation. Perhaps it was both the yoga and meditation that created a little miracle for me; as not only did I manage to complete the
21km (13miles) Shine night walk in a surprisingly shorter expected time of
5 hours 33 minutes, the painful sores that worked all the way up to my waist disappeared within 2 days of finishing the walk. Mistakenly passing through the massive queues to the
'Striders' gateway when I intended really to be a gradual 'Stroller' after I took a light-up wrist band, I decided to keep up with the pace of other 'Striders' around me and walked silently by myself in a meditative state....which actually worked to keep me focused throughout the whole walk, even when I became mindful of my feet starting to sore at the 7miles point...
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| About to leave Gaunts House in Dorset, where I was at my Zen Yoga Teacher Training course... |
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| All prepared....Lark & Peony won the bidding donation, so I decided to wear a special message for them in gratitude for their tremendously kind support! |
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| Arriving with a whopping 17,000 other people walking for a cure! |
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| Forgot my tutu, but not looking out of place with this colourful combination I have on! |
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| You can sort of see the back of my Beehive and bun hair combo....plus lots of Shiners getting ready! |
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| First amazing London landmark of the 'Shine Walk'; Tower Bridge! (Map below) |
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| How amazing does this look!! |
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| A view of London's night light from Tower Bridge..... |
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| Reaching the first 4miles pit stop opposite St. Paul's Cathedral for some refreshments and necessities..... |
Doing the 'Shine Walk' has shown me a world vividly filled with kindness that has touched me every step of the way. From my very first fundraising efforts months ago to the day I did the walk, the amount of support through kind words, actions and donations has been utterly amazing...if it can be said that I have done something good through this walk, it means that every single one of you who have supported me along the way have actually done this good, and for that I sincerely
THANK YOU. From my coursemate who dropped me off at the bus stop on the day of the walk, to the elderly lady I met at the Wimbourne bus stop who insisted I take her donation, and the other Shiners I said a mere 'Hello' to on the train from Bournemouth to London who gave me accessories to glow through the night (one thing I actually forgot to prepare). Perhaps you can say I walked physically alone, but I actually walked with the genuine kind support of so many that I never felt alone. I started walking for my friend W-N who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer several months ago, then I walked in memory of Junie's loved one in a
Lark & Peony Cheongsam, and continued walking for everyone supporting me as well as the 17,000 other
"I'm Shining for..." messages I saw around me. It kept me walking and made me realise what an utterly amazing walk it has been!
Just in case you have forgotten to drop your donations before the
'Shine Walk', there is still time to
donate as my
Just Giving Page (button below) will remain active for a little while longer:
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| Selfie over Tower Bridge and the River Thames..... |
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| Big Ben at Westminster...... |
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| Can you spot the famous Gherkin? |
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| Up close with the shining London Eye...... |
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| Reaching the red carpet of the last 'Shine Walk' London landmark....Old Billingsgate to cross the finishing line!! |
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| I did the 'SHINE Walk' for Cancer Research UK....Yay!! |
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| Close up of my 'Shine Walk' medal....and messy hair! :) |
I must admit getting the medal at the end of the walk was a lovely experience as never being the sporty type, I never really expected to get a sports related medal, hence the massive grin with an un-hair-sprayed Beehive starting to frey towards the end of the night. [See a full album of the 'Shine Walk'
photos on the
Walking in May Facebook Page:
here] Of course I haven't forgotten that I will be doing the vintage styled Qipao videos I pledged to do in my fundraising as soon as I can get organised. All in all an experience I can thorougly recommend and a cause I was grateful to have been a part of....now the future opens with exciting steps as I make my life-changing transformation to become a fully fledged
Zen Yoga teacher and hopefully make a difference to the lives of others one tiny step at a time. With the recent break in blogging, I hope to make it up to you darlings with some more frequent and exciting posts ahead....from who
Miss October will be for the
'Qipao LoveR' series and two
Cheongsam-Vintage combo videos that will be available on YouTube, to some long awaited
'Travel-Bug Tales' and a
Giveaway still to come. Do stay tuned darlings, keep on walking in positivity and have an absolutely fabulous weekend ahead!
Until the next time,
♥ May xx
♥ Follow ‘Walking in May’ by:
THANK YOU darlings! ♥
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| The 'SHINE Walk' 2014 route map....I did the half-marathon! |
