Love and Yoga: Q and A with Fahima and Duncan

Love and Yoga: Q and A with Fahima and Duncan

"Love is not about finding the perfect person it's about learning to love the imperfect person, perfectly"
Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of this day of love, we asked our favorite yoga couple Fahima and Duncan to share with us their keys to creating a healthy relationship that thrives on trust, friendship, love, playfulness, passion, and of course, yoga! From making each other the best they can be, traveling the globe together, and learning to be patient and trust their journey, this love story is filled with an abundance of joy and self-love. We're sure you'll fall in love with them as much as we have. Namaste! 
How did you two meet?
 
We initially met in a yoga class (probably no surprises there!). We re-met a year later in another yoga class and really hit it off when a group of us went to a casual lunch after the class. We went on our first date three days later and the rest is history! 
 
 
How has yoga influenced your relationship?
 
Obviously we bond over our passion for the physical practice itself - getting to take amazing classes together, teach each other new things and also partner up for some playful acroyoga is incredibly fun and fulfilling for us. The spiritual practice of yoga though is what we’d say keeps our partnership strong. We make a big commitment to holding ourselves accountable and staying mindful and positive at all times. Our daily practice teaches us the importance of showing compassion and patience and forgiveness in all areas of our life and we both recognize that these qualities are much easier to radiate when you are taking care of yourself properly. We make sure to make time for the things we love like surfing, cooking, hiking, and gardening. It’s important to make time for each other and for nurturing the simple activities we love doing together -like going for a swim or chucking the frisbee around.  This allows us to stay connected with each other and with nature and to feel truly supported by each other. Yoga helps keep us grounded with an open heart and grateful for everything we have. It is from this place we can sit in the seat of our softness and be our authentic selves with one another. 
 
 
What is your favorite yoga pose to practice together?
 
Ooooohhhh it's hard to just pick one pose!! We love doing seated forward bends (like upavista konasana and paschimottanasana) facing each other and linking hands so we can slowly move deeper into the pose together. We also love to sit and meditate together in the morning at the beach or play around with some acro yoga - our favorite acro pose is whale pose
 
 
What has been your favorite travel experience together?
 
Wow thats another hard question as we’ve had quite a few of travel experiences together! Two stand out experiences though would have to be diving the great blue hole in Belize (we swam with tiger and bull sharks!) or riding the quad bike around the jungles of Costa Rica. We have never seen land that magical before!
 
 
What do you think of the Buddhist quote “The Buddhist say that if you meet someone and your heart pounds, your hands shake, and your knees go weak, then that's not the one. When you meet your "soul mate" you'll feel calm; no anxiety, no agitation, no doubt or worry.”
 
Awww I haven’t heard that quote before but it was certainly true for us! The night after we first had dinner Duncan walked me home and gave me this hug and I just felt so calm, so safe and peaceful. I walked upstairs and told my flatmate at the time it was a really unusual hug for a first date! It felt like we had hugged many times before. The next night we sat on the beach all night talking and it was just so easy. No anxiety, no doubts just pure joy and a feeling of freedom. I think we both knew it was going to turn into a relationship right from the getgo. Everything seems to just work and fit perfectly and there was a deep trust between us right from the beginning. 
 
 
What are your 3 favorite things about each other? 
 
Fahima: My three favorite things about Duncan are definitely his humor, his sincerity and his passion for life.  
Duncan: My three favorite things about Fee are her spirit, her silly jokes and her kind and loving nature.
 
 
In what ways have your grown as a couple and as an individual since being together?
 
We have definitely both learnt how to compromise more and to be much more selfless.  When you meet the right person they really do inspire you to be your best self and to grow and evolve everyday. We both make sincere efforts to support each other even if this means having to be apart while we both work and travel. In the past I think we have both had to be a bit selfish in order to achieve some of our goals but since being together we have really softened and learnt that our relationship is worth sacrificing certain things and making special time just for us. In that way I think we have made each other more grateful for the small things in life and more connected to our true spirit.
 
 
What advice can you give to manifesting and attracting the right kind of partner into your life?
 
Our advice is really just to wait and be patient! Don’t rush into a relationship out of loneliness or fear. Instead work on cultivating a lot of self-love and loving life fully just as you are. It’s absolutely true that when you start doing the things you love - that’s when love will find you! We both had taken a decent amount of time out to nurture ourselves and just when we felt ready again to get back out there we found each other! I’ve met so many amazing couples who also met after a similar journey toward healing and self-love. So don’t worry at all about finding a partner! Just focus on yourself and finding happiness within and everything will fall into place as it should!
 
 
Any other funny stories, antidotes, advice, or sweet words to share.
 
Make sure you always continue to play together! We love making fun of ourselves and doing silly things in front of one another! Be light hearted and don’t take it all too serio