Be Love.

I was completely inspired by a quotation I read in 365 Days of Wonder a couple of weeks ago. It reminded me of lesson #1 from my trip in Thailand, which then reminded me I've been wanting to revisit those lessons now that I've been back in the "real world" (a totally paradoxical thing to say...) for a few months. I have realized my stressors will not evaporate because of my yogic commitment, but I am much better equipped to work through them now, because of my practice.

In most ways, my life is the exact same as before I left. Same passions: job, friends, apartment, hobbies, and for the most part, beliefs. But my outlook on the world and my "inlook" at myself, are wildly different. This may not be something many around me notice, but it is something I feel everyday. A certain lightness within. In my mind I can literally feel the physical space my yoga practice creates in my body. 

I can be a pretty anxious person. I'd love to tell you that my anxiety has stopped since my commitments to self-reflection, asana and meditation have intensified, but that is not that case. I still get anxious, but I am much more able to manage it. When I recognize this feeling, I pause and breathe. I understand it takes time to work through, and I accept that. If I'm in a situation where I can close my eyes, I do. If not, so be it. With my breath I picture myself full of peace and love. I fill my entire being with the love I know I hold within. This gives me strength and a feeling of calm.

In our society, love is completely idealized, commercialized and romanticized. To a certain extent, that works. But I also think it leads many people to believe that their life is not complete until they've found a partner, it turns into a mission: find Love and you've found life. As they strive to find love, people often sacrifice parts of their own being. What we fail to recognize is that we are love. The search is based on falsehoods, because the only place we need to look for love is within. Each and every being on this earth is the embodiment of love. We just don't always honor that within ourselves. So, in the words of Hugh Prather, "Don't strive for love, be it." One of the most beautiful aspects of living your love is that everyone feels it. People are drawn to and inspired by your love. Not your love for something, but rather your ability to simply, whole heartedly be love. 

Beauty.

Beauty surrounds us. The past couple of weeks I have found myself in a continual state of awe due to fall colors, smells and sounds. Everything outside emanates beauty.

It's easy to see beauty in change. It's easy to love the colors, the light and the sounds. This beauty is obvious. But what about the hidden beauty? As the seasons begin to shift, the days get shorter and our vistas appear more barren, it can be more challenging to see the beauty all around us.

I stumbled across this lovely quotation from 365 Days of Wonder, a book of precepts to compliment the truly incredible young adult novel, Wonder. (And I think the reverse holds even more truth.)

We don't need to make beauty within ourselves; we are completely, utterly full of it already. What we need is to pause and allow ourselves to see that beauty. It made me pause and ask myself: Where am I allowing beauty to be go undetected? At what moment of my day am I rushing to get through a task, get home or get my work done? In each moment, there is beauty. We can either recognize that beauty or block it from our awareness. It comes back to Corey Booker's beautiful anecdote, "The world you see outside of you, is a reflection of what you have inside of you." The beauty is always in the world; because the beauty is always within. Do you see it? Do you feel it? It consumes every pore of your being, but you can only reap it's benefits if you recognize it's existence; your existence.

Thanks, Mike for getting my words into that beautiful leaf up top and for taking the picture above!

Balance.

School started a couple of weeks ago. I took the first Friday off to stand up in my incredible former roommate's wedding and then missed the Tuesday after for jury duty...needless to say, I'm back in the position of needing to balance my students, my colleagues, my family, my friends, my exercise, my eating, my spiritual practice...my life. It's easy to feel you're living a balanced life when you're sitting steps from the ocean, watching the sunrise every morning, spending hours meditating and exercising. But that isn't my reality most of the time. As I reflect on my first couple of weeks of school, which could easily be referred to as chaotic, I am grateful for the opportunity to truly "practice what I preach," so to speak.

So, how do I maintain balance amidst the chaos of work, a personal life and a need for secluded spiritual time? It's actually becoming fairly straightforward. (Yep, I'm as surprised as anyone!)

((please note, I am in no way claiming to always be balanced. The trick is recognizing when I'm feeling out of balance and using the tips below to re-ground myself.))

1.) Focus.

If you have a million things to do, you'll never get them done if you try to do them all at once. Do one thing well, as long as you can, and then move on. Whenever possible, try to finish tasks once you begin them. Deep breaths help tremendously with focus, and also when things are starting to become overwhelming. I tell myself, "Slow down. You'll get it all done, one task at a time."

2.) Scheduling.

Living in the present moment doesn't mean you can't plan. It means (to me) that you when you plan, you are focused on planning. I put things like "yoga," "dinner" and "call____" on my calendar so I don't have to worry about forgetting, and I'm not stuck thinking about it when I'm trying to do something else. Taking time to plan allows me to mindfully carry out those plans. Be sure to plan down-time where you can sit around on your couch and go to bed early every once in a while (or multiple times a week ;)

3.) People. (positive, kind, grateful people)

I surround myself with people who allow me to take the time I need.When I'm with these people; I'm with them. They make me smile and laugh. They encourage me to do things with them, but respect my choice to head home early, order a water or pass on plans all together (as long as it's not all the time! Total seclusion can be as dangerous as constant noise and company). I'd also say there's a level of stubbornness here for me. I know I feel anxious and less patient when I don't get enough sleep or take the time I need for myself, so it's a huge priority of mine, and is actually better for not only me, but my family, friends and students as well.

4.) Self awareness.

Photo origin

You can't be balanced if you don't give yourself what you need. It's hard to give yourself what you need if you aren't sure what that means. You know what helps? Sitting in silent stillness will help you increase your self-awareness. If you aren't sure what you need, that's a fantastic place to start. I also find balance poses themselves extremely grounding. Next time you feel off balance, take a couple deep breaths and come into tree pose. Feel the power. Feel the stability. (Plant your toes if this isn't feeling stabile! Trees have roots!)

5.) Gratitude.

If you've read some of my former posts, you know this is something I'm very passionate about. I really believe that with gratitude and presentness I can maintain a positive attitude almost all the time. This moment, this life, is a gift to be ever grateful for. 

Top 5 Lessons From a Foreign Land

I've been back in the States for a week now. It's hard to believe my entire trip is behind me. At the same time, however, I know it will always be with me. 6 weeks felt like 6 minutes and 6 decades all at one time. As I've mentioned in previous posts, putting words to an experience like this is far beyond my communicative capabilities. I am however, able to summarize a bit of what I've learned, and how I  am carrying it with me. These lessons may not sound eloquent or profound, but they are my Truth in  this.   present.   moment. 
namaste.

Lesson 5: It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter: adj. 

1. Describes an attitude that recognizes most concerns, conflicts and thoughts in life are simply insignificant. 

2. An approach to life that understands beyond truth seeking, inner contentment and self-awareness, nothing really matters.

3. An awareness that negative thoughts are meaningless and insignificant. 

For example: What color shirt should I wear today? It doesn't matter. What did that person whisper as I was walking away? It doesn't matter. I forgot to finish grading that assignment last night. It doesn't matter [you'll get it done eventually]. Focus on what matters. Focus on here. Focus on now.

Throughout our training many of us asked small, specific questions of our teachers. I learned during this time, however, that most of my questions didn't really need to be asked. If I didn't know the answer on my own, I would soon. We can spend our lives obsessing about anything and everything. We can strive to make everything "perfect" and drive ourselves completely mad. But the truly crazy thing is, it's all already perfect. Just by being in existence, it is in perfection. We simply need to see it as such. Should my palm face forward or to the side? What should I do if I skipped a pose on one side? I can't decide where to go for dinner. I said the wrong thing in front of my boss. I spilled on the carpet.
            
           It.  
             Doesn't. 
                     Matter. 

Lesson 4: Notice, observe. Move on, let go.

Notice, observe. Move on, let go: verb.
1: The act of recognizing what's happening and then letting it go.
2: Being aware of how you feel, but not getting stuck in the emotion.
3: Acknowledging your emotions and then releasing them.

For example: My friend started to complain, I recognized I was annoyed and let it go.
My student started to yell. I recognized I was frustrated, took a breath, and released it.

As people, we are constantly riddled with emotion. While it seems the emotions are caused by external forces, they are really coming from within. Experiencing these emotions is not a bad thing, but to disguise, deny or exaggerate the emotions is to do a disservice to our true nature and our inner peace. Observe your thoughts, feelings, behaviors. Notice without judgment. With this heightened awareness we can then move on. Rather than suppressing our emotions as a coping mechanism, we see them head on. We notice and observe. Then we can let them go and move on to the next present moment.

Lesson 3: Just be.

Just be: noun. state of existence.
1. The state of existing without analysis, judgment, desire or concern.
2. Allowing yourself to exist in your purest, truest form.
3. Staying true to your heart.
4. Finding truth through stillness and silence to maintain a peaceful state of ever present awareness.
5. Being with the Self is being with the Universe because everything is one.

For example: "You don't need to do anything, just allow yourself to be as you are."

Let go of to-do lists, worries, expectations and allow yourself to simply be. Everything we need, we are. The "secret" to happiness lies within. A lot of what we talked about in our philosophy class was paradoxical and super esoteric. In our first session I experienced a lot of confusion and doubt. As time went on, however, it began to make much more sense. The idea that not only are we all interconnected, but we are all one started to really resonate with me, as well as the idea that we're all perfect. Yes, people make harmful choices, but within each person is the capacity to do nothing but Good. People who cause more harm to others have simply not looked within themselves deeply enough to see their true nature. The less we allow outside forces to influence our inner beings, the more we find inner peace, love and joy. Existing in truth within ourselves is the best thing we can do for ourselves and those around us.

Lesson 2: Meditate.

meditate: verb.
1. Keeping the spine long, releasing the body and mind while keeping both still to allow energy and wisdom to flow through the inner Self.
2. Sitting in silence and stillness releasing thoughts, worries, plans and fantasies.
3. Deeply contemplating one single topic.
4. Drawing awareness to the breath, finding an inner stillness of the body and mind.

For example: I meditate every morning to help me stay calm and content all day long.

I will start everyday of my life with silent meditation. Some days it may only be a few minutes, other days it will push to an hour. There is something incredibly grounding and comforting to beginning the day with silence and stillness. This recharge of the body and mind allows me to feel ready for whatever the day may bring and to embrace it with a smile and a positive attitude. If I could give one piece of advice to others it would be to meditate. There are hundreds of definitions and approaches to meditation. Find what works for you. In my experience, if you're silent and still, nothing else really matters.

If you're thinking, "Meditation is hard," I agree! Thoughts will come up again and again, for that I say see lesson 4. Notice your thought (without judgment) and then let it go. It may be helpful to visualize the thoughts floating away on a cloud or a balloon. We spent a great majority of our time this summer meditating, and for that (and so much more) I am eternally grateful. Some days were easier than others. It took a good three weeks of consistent, challenging practice before I started to enjoy it. Now I love it. The best time of day for me to meditate is early morning. It sets me up for success for the rest of the day.

Lesson 1: Pure, Unconditional Love

Pure, unconditional love: noun.

1. A state in which the entire body is consumed with a feeling of appreciation, lightness and care for everything that exists. This feeling leads the edges of the mouth to curl upwards repeatedly and the space behind the upper ribs to feel lifted, open and light as though it too were smiling.

2. The belief that everything and everyone is Good and deserving of your compassion, kindness and care.

3. Continual kindness, compassion and patience for all regardless of what has come before or what is happening now.

Lily & I hugging after our closing fire ceremony

Lily (my teacher) is the total embodiment of pure, unconditional love. I cannot think of her without a smile crossing my face and lifting my heart. I've never known a human being to be so completely full of love. Every moment with her was an inspiration and a reminder to fill my own being with love, kindness and compassion for all, no matter what. There is no way to express the true authenticity of her pure love for everyone and everything. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced.

I find it all too easy to lose love in the midst of all the pain and suffering our world faces. It's easy to find hate for all the misguided and harmful forces in our world, but it is only through love that we can truly have any positive impact. By embodying pure, unconditional love, Lily inspired me to be more kind, compassionate and patient, spreading that love one Soul at a time.

You may find it odd that Unconditional Love is my number one lesson. You may think I was already very full of love (you're right!) or that it seems too obvious. But the concept took on an entirely new dimension during my course. The positive power of pure, unconditional love became so much more clear. The necessity to love everything and everyone filled me with a new found sense of urgency. It's not easy. I'm certainly not there, but I'm working on it, and I know the capacity to feel pure love for all is within my Soul. When I practice yoga nidra my sankalpa is always: "I am judgment free and full of love." This is what I'm working towards everyday.  The quotes above have been two of my favorites for a while, but have an even deeper meaning to me now. I think the Beatles were right, Love is all we need.

The return.

Back in the states! But I have a little catching up to do before we get to that. Seeing my blog on a computer screen sure does look funny...and huge! One of the many advantages to using a computer is seeing the photos full size, and being able to embed them in the actual post (although formatting continues to present all sorts of challenges for me...). Hooray for technology (and always room to grow)!

I flew from Bangkok to Istanbul on Thursday. I was still having some problems with my stomach, but I was able to see a few of the many beautiful sites. Istanbul is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't get any good shots, and a quick Google search tells me no one can, but believe me it's amazing! I went to Kafe Ara for dinner, per my wonderful friend, Shannon's, suggestion.

While I was only able to enjoy a few bites of my meal (quinoa salad with avocado, chick peas, goat cheese, mint, parsley, tomatoes, greek olives, cucumber and lemon vinaigrette), it was absolutely incredible. 

The next morning I got up and headed to view the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia before I had to return to the airport for my final step to Chicago. 

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet)

Mosaics inside the Hagia Sophia 

Next stop: The airport! After at least a dozen lines I made it to Chicago, retrieved my bag and found Kelsey at the curb (arms wide, smile big :). It felt good to be home.

The end of a new beginning

My oh my so much as happened since the last time I wrote! I've come down with a bit of a stomach bug that laid me up all weekend and seems to be lingering within...but I'm so grateful it didn't hit till the program was over :)

Going back to Sunday the 20, I lead my first full class with my beautiful friend Sarah. We sequenced it together, I delivered the first half and she did the second half. We got tons of positive feedback and had a lot of fun :)

Kris and I took sometime on one of our breaks to play together on the rocks and practice some of our sequences.

From there, things really started to fly. Before we knew it we were in our final practicum having our 1-1 evaluations with Lily Wednesday night. It was then that she told me, "you've got skills!" and presented me my certificate. It was such a joyous moment. Thursday morning we had our last class together and as we chanted our closing oms, I began to cry. The impact Lily and Ramandna have had on me collided with the fact that I had no idea when I'd get to share in their energy again.

Thursday evening was our graduation, aka the closing Fire Ceremony. We each came up with something for the fire to devour, as well as something to be born from it. We wrote them on pieces of paper and one at a time tossed them to the flames. We did a long series of  mantras to help seal the intense spiritual practice we had shared, as well as the intentions we released into the fire. The flames were absolutely mesmerising.

Wednesday and Thursday morning some of us got up to watch the sunrise and take some yoga silhouettes together. 

Friday was the most perfect first day off. I had a massage, did some journaling, had an absolutely lovely swim, chatted with some wonderful people and then went to a Kirtan!  It was so beautiful. It's funny because I've never really considered myself a "music person," but in the past few months a few of my happiest lifetime moments were created through music. It's amazing.

Late Friday night my stomach troubles began. They're better, but definitely not resolved. Helping to get my food budget back on track as my trip comes to an end though! I spent a lot of time on my hammock, and far less time eating!

Tuesday morning my lovely friend Claire and I left Had Juan Bay to begin our long journeys home. Here's where we're at: water taxi -> van taxi -> feri -> bus -> overnight train -> tuk tuk -> Hyatt.  The photos can hardly capture the stark contrast between our train beds (which we couldn't even sit up straight on) to the luxurious Hyatt. Check out the video Claire posted on my Facebook to see our reaction!  Thanks to my wonderful friend Megan we were able to spend our last day and night in Thailand in pure pampered bliss.

Next up: fly from Bangkok to Istanbul, spend one night in Istanbul, then fly to Chicago!!

A note about photos: they're beautiful; I know. But I feel it necessary to honor the moments they're attempting to capture and share, by saying they really can't be captured and shared. That's one of the many beauties of the present moment, right? It's perfect, it's fleeting, it is.

As I type this, the rain has begun to play a soft melody on our window, on the pavement, on the cars in the parking garage.  How blessed I feel to know I'll stay dry tonight as I listen to this beautiful song, holding me tightly right here, right now.

Practice teaching!

This week we continued on with everything that we've been doing-breaking down poses, practicing adjustments, meditations, pranayama, and asana pratice, but we also started teaching! I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone who may choose to read this, I LOVE teaching. I mean we already knew that, but I love teaching YOGA. To share knowledge and experience with others is such a beautiful privilege, but I see now the real reason I love to teach is to share love. It's such an honor to help guide people to feel at peace, more calm, balanced and relaxed, and eventually utterly content. These things can of course only truly be achieved within the self, by the Self, but to play a very small role in that discovery is absolutely incredible. I've always seen the opportunity to teach as a gift, but now I feel like I finally Get It.

I'll be teaching to our entire training program tomorrow evening with one of my new, wonderful friends, Sarah. I'm nervous, but oh so very excited. Sarah is also a teacher and likes to go to bed early, so we get along great :)

Kris and I have been having some great conversations about our experience here, and I'm so glad we'll be able to relax together for a few days after the program finishes, which is already happening Thursday. Woah.

This week we also got to "hoop jam" during our Wednesday afternoon break. It was so fun and completely ridiculous to simply play. I can't wait to get some Friendship City hooping lessons when I get home (thanks, Alex :).

The only other update coming to mind is that I think I may move! My beautiful bungalow has quite a leaky roof and it's rather uncomfortable to sleep in a wet bed, waking up to wet clothes. It also attracts more buggies (I've made friends with Spencer the spider in an attempt to stop killing living things because of my irrational fear...it works as long as he stays hidden!) The new place isn't quite as nice, and the ocean view is more obstructed by trees, but I think I can manage the 50 foot walk to the beach to watch the sunrise :)

The perfect day off

I got up this morning and started crafting my previous blog post. I did some reading, spent some time meditating in my hammock as the sun rose and then headed to my favorite restaurant for breakfast.  After a delightful coffee shake and fresh fruit and yogurt I headed to the internet cafe to step back into my "real life" and connect with my family.  Despite the frustratingly poor connection, it was wonderful to hear the voices of those so far away (especially little Ashlyn's cry giggle squeak! ).

I headed to a fantastic thai massage to give my body some much needed, more passive attention.  The $10 was well worth the hour! !!  Then I sat on the beach chatting with friends and absorbing some sun (over my sun screened skin of course! ). We took an ocean dip, snapped a group photo (to come...) and then were suddenly overtaken by a beautifully powerful rainstorm.  Looking behind you could see the rain coming down the jungle mountain, moving quickly toward the ocean. I walked back to"my" end of the beach to get a hot water, lemon and honey to take to my hammock. With kitty sheltering in my bungalow,  I read some more, did some contemplating and some people watching till my friends Aly and Kris came to join.

After the storm had passed we headed to our studio (on our day off...are you surprised? ), to practice a bit before practice teaching officially begins tomorrow. My sweet friend Fran, a primary school teacher in Australia, suggested talking things out in a smaller group and it was great to do. One challenge I'm anticipating is finding my yoga teacher voice, separate from my I'm-talking-to-9-years-olds-in-a-classroom voice. Then we headed back to bamboo for a delightful dinner with more friends, including Sarah, the other school teacher in the training! After lively, extended conversations spanning all sorts of topics (religion, politics, Jon Stewart, education, teaching, boys, kittens, mangoes...it goes on), I headed back to my bungalow just before the Saturday night party got underway.

The perfect day. Balanced by sun and rain, activity and passivity, solitude and company, silence and sound.

Songs, dance and bugs!

My teachers continue to amaze me. I'm in awe of what I've learned and how much it's making sense.  Some highlights from the last week:

Singing! One of our teachers is into kirtans and guitar playing and singing and she has led us in so many beautiful musical moments. I've always considered myself someone who isn't really into music, but as we were all sitting in our circle, smiling, singing, dancing, it was so beautiful. My eyes filled with tears and the joy in my heart consumed me.

Dancing! So our little side of the island is crazy. There are a couple yoga teacher training and even a detox resort, but there are also these insane all night parties. They start at about 11pm and go until 3pm twice a week. You can hear the music from my bungalow, but even louder are the boats shuttling people who came for the party back to where they're staying.  Aly, Kris and I (the three shown below, we're all staying at the same place) decided to get up before training on Sunday and get our dance on. (I of course am in bed well before the parties ever start). So at 5:30am we arrived at the party. It was quite a scene, but all the people were friendly and non intrusive.  We danced without anyone bothering us for about an hour and a half and then went to meditate!

Meditation!  This is still a struggle for me, but I'm noticing improvements, usually the evening meditation goes better for me than the morning.  There is something incredible about sitting in silence with the energy of so many wonderful people in such a beautiful, jungle paradise.

Asana! We did shoulder stand and headstand this week, along we lots of other stuff. Maybe I'll try to get a photo of one for next week :)

Philosophy!  We talked a lot about non attachment to material objects as well as tothoughts and feelings. Living in the moment makes so much more sense and is so much more important than I used to understand. As long as we are seeking things outside of ourself, we will never end suffering and fully be happy.  Once we see that everything we need is simply within our own souls, true peace occurs. We've also been talking a lot about the idea of oneness, and it's beginning to really resonate with me.

Bugs! Aly, kris and I stay at a place called Barcelona.  It's right on the water (my sunrise photos are from my balcony) and they're raised up, so. They're actually one of the better bug options. The roof isn't fully enclosed though and bugs are most certainly an expectation. Each night we come home and do a sweep of everyone's bungalow. If there are spiders we all squeal a bit, but eventually I take care of them. The geckos we love because they eat the other bugs. They also make hysterical sounds, i was convinced  someone was playing with a squeaky dog toy right outside my door the first two times I heard them. We name anything we can, and I have Spencer the spider who is really testing my patience and courage ;) The other night Aly's sink had an injured lizard stuck in it. After about 30 minutes of all sorts of ramp making, water dripping,  and directing, we got him safely outside!  Jungle joys!  I can't remember if I already shared this, but we also had a COBRA at the studio.  It coiled and drew its hood. Our always calm and worry free teacher was even a little phased by it. No one was hurt though :)

Those are this week's highlights!  Student teaching starts Sunday-eek!

Photos: sunrise attempts, my bungalow inside and out (love my hammock soooo much!), some of my wonderful friends, the studio and a yoga pose!

No words

I truly can't put my experience into words. I have a feeling I may never be able to articulate the emotions and knowledge I have been experiencing here. My body wakes me up at 5:41 everyday, without fail. I roll over and see the sun beginning to rise. Although my alarm isn't set till 6:15, I hop out of bed, ready to embrace the light. I always announce my movements when it's not yet light in my bungalow-in hopes that any little critters that decided to join me will scamper off with the night's darkness. I have given up trying to capture the beauty of the sunrise through photographs.  You can see a couple of my many attempts below. The picture is stunning, but it comes no where near the true beauty I see. I also can't capture the daily differences in unique and varied light. I have accepted that this inability to share the beauty beyond my own eyes, beyond my own soul, is really symbolic of my entire experience here. I cannot share it with you; not really.  I can try to describe in detail our lessons and exercises, but I cannot convey the lift in my spirit, the fire of curiosity, wonder and openness that has been ignited within. You must feel it. Words are beautiful and they bring us together, but in this instance, they just don't work.

So, the first week was incredible. My teachers keep me hanging on their every word continuously. The training is more spiritually based than many of us anticipated.  We start the day with an hour sit in silent mediation and doing some breath work. My body has been more than prepared for the physical asana practice and hike up to the studio, but the sitting has been challenging. We spend about an hour in the actual physical asana practice. Lily shares herbal knowledge and information about energies-things that I would have been highly skeptical about a couple of months ago, but are starting to make a lot of sense; starting to feel logical.

We're always encouraged to question internally, honor our skepticism, but remain open. Our meditation and philosophy guru, Ramananda, is truly the most incredible human being I have ever encountered. After we have asana lab, where we break down specific poses into great detail, we have our session with Ramananda. We all look forward to it. He has the most soothing voice and his wisdom is beyond anything I've ever encountered. He knows so much about science and history and uses that context to help us understand the history and philosophy of yoga (and I'm not talking about the poses, which are only a small part of the Yogic philosophy).  I wish that every person in the world could have the opportunity to listen to him speak, to feel his presence. 

There are many big ideas that have me asking questions and feeling doubt, but I'm gaining trust in the Universe and in myself. Lily's most observable lesson for me so far has been to love. Love yourself. Love others. People constantly feel that they aren't enough; but they are. We are all enough, we just don't always see it within ourselves. We must only look within to find love and happiness. All our answers lie within (I'm still working on that concept... :)

So, moving forward I will probably post an update weekly on our day off (Saturday), but I'm finding email and communication attempts distracting and won't be doing anything more often than that. Ultimately this is a deeply personal experience that can only be shared in a very limited way. But don't worry, I will come home more than ready to teach any and all interested people wonderful asana classes!

I'll end by saying that the group of people I've met here are absolutely wonderful. I'm beyond grateful for this beautiful chapter in my life.

Also, there are animals all over the island! This kitten is with my friend Aly (on her birthday! ). The two dogs are a momma and pup. The puppy and I have a special connection and he walks with me almost every morning along the beach up to the studio.