Entries about spirit

A friend said to me yesterday that I change my mind a lot. She said "last year you were going vegan and you said it was best not to eat meat and this year you claim that eating white meat and fish is best for your Ayurvedic body type, last year you like this now you don't, before you thought this was the best type of yoga and now you like this, before you wouldn't get a tattoo because your body is a temple and now you have one because you claim your unattached to your meet carcass.... So what's the fucking deal? "
I can see how this may look flaky to some; my ability to openly change my mind and opinions. But I promised my friend that in the moment I said any of those things I meant it 100% and it was the smartest advice I could give based on my knowledge at the time. What this showed me about myself was that my mind is always changing, and to me that is something to be proud of. It shows that I am open and constantly learning and as my consciousness expands my opinions and thoughts differ and grow as well.
I'm sorry if that sometimes it's hard to keep up but what I can promise you is that I am always standing behind what I believe authentically 100% in every moment right now.
The art of being an Eternal student.
So tonight in class we explored that in yoga class, I got to have the pleasure of having Amy in my class, who has been teaching for longer than I've been alive and fully embodies the art of the eternal student. We explored being open to what our body had to offer is that evening and respecting the impermanence of our body, and practice.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense."
mevlana jelaluddin rumi - 13th century's

Chicago is becoming one of my favorite cities to visit. I'm grateful for the community of yogis and I have met out there that keeps bringing me back.
I met my good friend Derrick At the first wanderlust festival I attended in Vermont. We share allot of the same interests such as yoga, food,and travel and have been rendezvousing all over the US since. He's connected me to moksha yoga studio some of the amazing people who work there and Stonehouse farm. When he called me with a last-minute opportunity to head to Chicago this week I went as soon as I was done my work week. Nothing like a last minute get away! On this short trip I continued to meet many new friends as well as reconnecting with old friends such as Little Fox!

My original flight for 6 AM Friday was canceled which just meant that I was able to gallivanting around Philadelphia with my good old friend Caitlin. We ran up the famous stairs from a Rocky at the art museum. We ate vegan cheesesteaks and I caught a nice yoga class before heading to the airport. I was happy that this cancellation forced me to spend some time in such an awesome city that is so close to me and I don't take advantage of enough.

Friday night I flew out to Illinois . Chicago is always full of fun things to do and different experience. Upon my late arrival we went to a spa that has about 12 different healing caves. The caves were made up of different crystals and outside it would explain their healing properties. There was a charcoal cave, a gold cave, and amethyst cave, one was very very hot similar to a sweat lodge, and one was an icebox to cool you down. The spa is open 24 hours, you were able to sleep there,there is a restaurant as well as steam showers, massage, waterfalls, and hot tubs. What a place! After leaving there feeling very relaxed we headed to a cool Chicago lounge.
The next day I took a wonderful grounding yoga class at Moksha, and went to a Chicago slack liners meet up in a park. I've never seen so many lines or such talent on a slack line. These guys were 12 feet up in the air on high linesand jumping around on a little wine like it was a trampoline I was blown away. We stayed there and played, I worked on my one hand handstand and turning around on the slack line and once we had experienced some firsts, and some breakthroughs we decided we deserve some very large margaritas.

The evening brought me to a studio called yoga now that has any event on Saturday nights to give a sober option called CHI KA GO.
CHI is the LifeForce, the Ki (Key), Mana, or dynamic vital energy which pervades all oflife. The KA is the Spirit-Soul, our gathering of that CHI force into the uniqueness of our own being. And GO, the Oriental Game of Strategies, expresses the choices we make to share that uniqueness with the community.
The CHI KA GO event was a mixture of a sober dance party and open mic with poetry and song. We danced we yogaed, I practiced my hooping and there were various healers in the back giving treatments.
My last day in Chicago we biked around Lincoln Park and went to the infamous Chicago vegan diner. 'Meat free since 83'. I connected with some old friends and then attended the coolest farm to table dinner.
It really focused on the connection of mind and body and the courses were sectioned off by senses. Each of the 7 courses stimulating a certain body part and sense including a special drink, stretch, and scented herb before the food. Overall a wonderful weekend in Chicago experience as always.

Beginning to feel like I leave a piece of my heart in this sensational city. Until next time CHI KA GO .
Xo

This full moon marks the Buddhist new year, the Hindu holiday of Hanuman Jayanti, the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter. ?

Wether you belong to any of these religions or not, holiday time with family often stirs the emotional pot.
Tomorrow also brings us a moon where Uranus will oppose the moon and both will square Pluto. Pluto can be known as the diva of destruction and Uranus the goddess of maheym. With these forces in the eclipse our holidays may feel anything but the harmonious road to happiness and salvation and family issue may arise, we all have it.

None the less we can keep in mind that birth, death, renewal, rebirth, redirection, nirvana and leaving narrow places in our lives, for open places of freedom are themes of the weekend for many.
We can keep in mind that we always have the opportunity to start over. Every day is a new day to choose peace and joy. No one can go back and rewrite what has happened but everyone can start today and create a new beginning. I'm wishing you all a happy holiday and I hope we all start spring and this new moon with the positive foot forward bringing forth lots of love! And chocolate of course ?????? #spring #openheart #lowlunge #renewal

Coming home has been quite the transitional experience .
From hot to cold, solitary to social, and so much more.

I've realized that if I tell my students in yoga to speak their heart and only accept what is the truth for them and what is best for them. I need to walk the walk. You need to be completely honest with yourself, about yourself and your life and what's happening, in order to implement progressive change into your life.

Change is a powerful thing, and usually leading up to a change I can feel it coming.
As I arrived home there was an extremely powerful shift happening astrologically. A super moon, a new moon and solar eclipse all at once, can be a special moment to ignite dreams and create. It is a symbol of new beginnings.

Beginnings and endings are vital and monumental for personal growth. When we feel one of these transitions coming and we fight it, we suffer.

I thought I was coming home, to allot of firmiliarity , allot of work, and the same old. But instead I implemented some of what I learned while away, to start a conversation with myself about facing some change I've felt coming for a long time, about really following my bliss and the first step to getting what I want, even if I don't know what it is, is getting rid of what I don't want. And this is in every aspect of our lives, friends, relationship, thoughts, jobs, foods, state of being.

So here I am, starting from scratch, new outlook, new tatoo ?, new work schedule, new plan, new self improvements, new habits. And the new will only allow the best. This is an ambitious statement of a paragraph to make but basically all Im saying is Im clearing out. Starting from blank I can create a canvas of anything I want. And I see that the more I close doors of insecurity, a million new ones open to thank me for taking that step. When you are moving from a place of love, the universe will support you with goodness and give you so many reasons to smile after one moment to frown.

This being said, I came home for one week, and began planning new things, one of the first things I have in the works that is announced is a 7 week workshop series at ItsWell Yoga in Wildwood.
This beautiful studio space is filled with such loving, happy, open students. And is created by my dear hardworking friend Kristel Fillmore. It is safe to say this studio is one of my absolute favorites I have ever worked with. ACROVINYASA goodness will be filling their walls every Thursday night soon!
And the day I reached out to Kristel to plan this, her husband found out he couldn't go on her ski and yoga retreat that weekend. So BOOM an available space opened up for this retreat leaving in two days, and the lift tickets, food, lodging was all set.
Here I am left with a blank work schedule, and an opportunity to ski again, connect with new yogis, and teach ACROVINYASA!!! Besides, it was still cold when I got home, surfings a while away for me, and I make do with it what I've got.
So DUH
Off I goto Vermont!

In other news, these few days home have been wonderful, seeing those of you who Id missed. I Got to see my city again and attend AC beer fest and Garden State Film Festival. Came home just in time to celebrate the love of one of my favorite couples kelly and Stephen, kuddos on following that bliss and making that change. And I am still feeling grateful to all of you who have supported this journey and this growth in anyway. I love you all!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Life treats me beautifully when I let go of my plans and adjust to the one already out there for me.
I am letting change flow freely and being open to what is ahead. I know the universe has my back.

w

I could say with confidence that Honza and Claudine's ACROVINYASA teacher training is probably one of the most fun and loving yoga trainings I will ever be a part of.

While one teacher is guiding us through an amazing Thai Massage workshop for some post Inversion Training relief, the other teacher is setting up Arak Coconuts and Organic Desserts in their own Villa to host us for a candle lit pow wow.
We've all shared eye grazing, trusting basing and flying each other and truly created an amazing community here in just a few short days. It's amazing what an open, non judgmental, nurturing space can be created when negativity, and walls, and ego are left at the door.

I've realized through this acro yoga practice that it shows you allot about yourself in the same way that yoga does. I've always been a comfortable
flyer, in fact being here and learning the safe way to teach all of this makes me realize how fearless I was practicing with John just going up on Shin to foot Camel with no spot. I've never been afraid to fall. In back bending in handstanding. I just go for it. But it is when others are at risk, that I feel uncomfortable. I've always been too afraid to base because I didn't trust myself, I was scared to hurt someone. Throughout my time here I've become such a confident base even with all of the big guys in our group. It makes sense for me to base as strong of a girl I am, and I now feel confident that I am able to base and teach this sequence. It feels so empowering and is a physical skill but also feels like such emotional growth. I've gone from only ever basing girls like Linny and Lindsey and maybe some guys in just bird and back bird to being able to base men in allot of this sequence who weigh anywhere from 150-200 lbs.

Things have been getting more intense as we continue on in the training. We practice from 7-830 vinyasa. Have an hour break for breakfast, then morning session from 930 till about 1 , break for lunch, then 3-6 afternoon session, dinner, then 730-930 evening session.
What's funny is that even during our lunch break we end up still doing Acro in the pool. Honza said one day "There is so much to be learned from navigating a group of adults into playing like children." And that's truly what it is, we're all excited like children playing around and just can't stop and it's so awesome to see this young, playful, creative spark, in full grown adults.
We are constantly encouraged to take care of our bodies with massage and I did get one Lomi Lomi intense massage on a day my body was feeling particularly sore . I mean how can you not when massages here are 1/4 the price it is back home and you're basing all day lifting people on your legs? I deserve it right? Right.

Our nights are usually debriefing and one night we did have a conversation about social media, which makes sense as it is the reason half of us are here. Honza and Claudine shared any tricks of the trade they had for us. They explained their stance on social media yoga and how they use it . They encourage us to use these screens to bring us all closer together rather than further apart. And look at the what they have created through it, 32 of us from all over the world have gathered here together to share this experience and many of us wouldn't be here if it wasn't for instagram.

Of course they have been generously sharing with us all of their knowledge of acro yoga. They aslso so openly let us see into the beautiful life they share together. Through a physically morning yin class they put us through an emotionally stimulating roller coaster by sharing with us their absolutely epic love story that turned into this fun life they now share traveling and inspiring others to follow their bliss.They compliment one another just perfectly. Claudine is such a role model to me. So free, so young, so happy,easy going, creative, healthy and strong.
Honza is so respectable grounded, nurturing, deep, and giving. Truly the perfect base . If one day I could even have a love that is 1/4 of what theirs is I would be ecstatic. They make me believe that love is really possible.

Trying to just soaking up every ounce of their vast knowledge and pure loving energy. And can't believe how fast it is going already!!

How Acro yogis fix rain leaks.