Dubai.....freedom and solitude

I needed a break.

From life, from work, from friends, from myself....

When it came time to pick a destination for my Spring break a lot of ideas came to mind....Belgium to be with my mom, London to see theater, Boston to be with my sister, Jeddah to go diving....

But in the end I realized that I just needed one thing....the beach. So I booked my flight and hotel in Dubai with the intention of spending my break completely at peace alone on the beach not "doing" anything and not planning a single thing.

It was just what my mind and body needed. 

Every morning I woke up at 8 am and went to a hot yoga class. It was so refreshing to be back in a yoga studio and be able to just surrender myself to my mat and breathe and take direction from a teacher. As much as I love teaching yoga, there is nothing I love more than just silently moving through a class listening to the guiding instructions of someone else, allowing me to just let go of control and feel truly free. 

The yoga studio was called Rawr Yoga and it is definitely worth a visit anytime one is in Dubai. It's in Dubai Media City on the 7th floor of Concord Towers. It was only a 10 minute taxi ride from Jumeriah Beach Resort, where I was staying. Not the nicest looking area, but the studio had a window that looked out over Dubai with the Burj Khalifa in the distance. 

After yoga I returned back to my hotel, slipped into my swim suit and sprinted down to the beach. The water was so blue and warm and refreshing. I spent the entire afternoon sun tanning and reading and listening to music. It was pure heaven. That's really all I need to be happy: a beach and a book. 

I felt positively elated. My hotel room overlooked the ocean and was up on the 31st floor. I woke up every morning feeling so grateful and high on life. My hotel room was absolutely stunning -- the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and a spacious bathtub that I could sit in and still see the ocean. 

Sometimes I can hardly believe my life.....

It feels like a dream sometimes. I feel like I don't deserve this. Yes, I've worked hard my entire life and made numerous personal sacrifices in order to achieve success, but I still struggle to accept this joy and happiness. Maybe it's the Catholic in me. Whatever it is, it makes me an incredibly grateful person and inspires me to work harder and try and spread my joy and wealth around as much as I can.