Nieces

I'm grateful that I get to be an aunt.  My older brother has two nieces and they are the loves of my life.  I can only imagine how life will be when I have kids.  Ryane and Reese (4 and 6).  The sad part is they live 2,000 miles away and I do not get to see them as often as I'd like.  During the month of October I had to fly back East 2 times and was able to spend some fun weekends with them.  We painted pumpkins, carved pumpkins, had a slumber-party, made their mom a birthday cake, sang goofy songs, danced around grandma's house... it was beyond fun.  I love that I have two little women in my life.  They add so much value, like a sweetness only kids can create.  I'm so grateful for my nieces and hope to always have a close relationship with them both.  Love you Ryane and Reese! :)

Hollywood Bowl: Sound of Music Sing-A-Long

The Hollywood Bowl is one of my favorite venues.  It's the closest thing I can find to Europe in LA.  An outdoor amphitheater located in the Hollywood Hills.  People come, picnic, and sit under the stars while watching an outdoor concert.  Nothing better than eating, drinking, and being merry with 18,000 other people.  It's large, yet it still feels like a small community of people. 
I try to attend the annual Sound of Music Sing-a-Long.  It's beyond fun.  We get a group of friends together, choose a song from the famous movie, and then we dress up to the song.  It's hilarious.  People get creative and get their freak on.  This year the song was "How do you solve a problem like Maria."  I dressed up as the clown... If you are ever in LA and can attend this event I highly recommend it.  Connect with the kid in you and have some fun (with 18,000 other people).  It's great, so good it sells out every year.  Check out the Hollywood Bowl

Laugh at Yourself

The last 24 hours have been complete 'laugh at the idiot in me' status.  Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.
Last night in my vinyasa flow yoga class I had 43 people; was at max capacity.  I had just finished taking them through a challenging flow and took them into child's pose to relax and focus on their breathing.  I told them to take a deep breath in, exhale out, and FOCUS ON YOUR BREASTS!  Yeah!  I have no idea where that came from... I was not thinking about breasts, 43 people were in child's pose and I could see no breasts... what did I just say!  I meant to say, take a deep breath in, exhale out and focus on your breath.  I'm still laughing!

Today after my first private yoga client I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a specific item.  I'm sending a couple of care packages to friends afar and wanted to add in the most amazing thing on the planet... The Dark Chocolate Carmel Sea Salt bars.  I kid you not when I say they are amazing.  With 3 chocolate bars in hand I go to check out and of course choose the hottest cashier (total cool surfer with a tan, funky hair, and tattoos).  It was about the time that he looked at me that I got my Dior sunglasses stuck in my hair!  Bloody hell - how was this happening to me?!  Didn't I embarrass myself enough last night in yoga?!  I started laughing.  He started laughing.  Tries to tell me it happens to him all the time.  My hair is in a knot, I ended up having to pull some out in the detangle process...
Sighhh - looks like my expensive damn Dior's ruined my chance for love at Trader Joe's.
Sometime you just have to laugh at life and laugh at yourself...

A New TATTOO

नमस्ते:शांति
Today I am getting a new Tattoo.  I've been wanting another one for a while and today seems like the right time.  Since I teach yoga and get to do this for a living, I thought getting Namaste and Peace would be cool and it's meaningful to me.  I always end my yoga sessions in Namaste, which is a greeting used in India.  In Sanskrit it means a couple of different things:  "the light in me honors the light in you", "the spirit in me bows to the spirit in you", "I honor you", and it also know as a way to give respect.  I love it.  It's simple.  Namaste : Peace...
 Forever engraved on my wrist...
 Today I'm getting a new tattoo!

Plateaus...

"It's a natural part of life to have periods of activity & growth followed by periods of quiet.  Sometimes we need to rest in order to integrate a new vision of the world, or ourselves, taking time to assimilate realizations & let old patters & habits fall away.  While it may appear that nothing is happening, these can be necessary periods of rest & integration to stabilize our new growth.

At times, we may be afraid to invite more change.  Yet change is the nature of reality.  Just as a plateau is a good location to get our bearings, to see where we have come from & where we might go next, it is also a place we must not be afraid to leave if we are to move to the next level.

There is no time to not be our your path.  This is not to say that you cannot ever rest or stop.  It is not about overachieving or overworking yourself; it is just about challenging yourself to always be awake in your life, to keep showing up in the moment.  If you need to rest, do so for the present. 
But if you are stagnating -numbing out, escaping or being unconscious- it is up to you to acknowledge it.

Often stagnation settles in just before an important breakthrough.  It helps to explore the stagnation in order to move beyond it.  Have compassion for yourself as you work to remove the obstacles to your progress.  With persistence, you will be on your way to the next plateau."  -Bits taken from the Daily OM

I'm learning to love the plateaus as they are short & full of wisdom. 
Taking the time to reflect & rest AND enjoy the view...

AcroYoga

My first experience with AcroYoga was in Portugal.  I was living in the Spanish mountains for yoga teacher training and given the day off to explore my surroundings.  So, what does a yoga teacher in training do on her day off?  Go to Portugal of course! 
Jenny, who is my base in the photos, went with me to Portugal and in a little tiny village she taught me the basic of acroyoga.  The experience is quite exhilarating, requires trust, and is so fun. 
To my advantage, I was a college cheerleader and a college cheer coach where there was a lot of stunting.  It also helped that my base was a former college cheerleader as well, so our fear level was minimal and we went for it. 
AcroYoga is a relatively new term in the yoga field.  It was coined by Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein of AcroYoga.  It's the physical combination of yoga, acro-balance, and Thai massage.  The practice cultivates trust, communication, playfulness, and balance for both the flyer and the base.  Check out Jason and Jenny's website above to see some amazing photos and who knows, you might even get hooked yourself or at least attend a workshop... 
Just last week while at a yoga festival I took a basic acro-yoga class with Jason and Jenny.  It was fun, but I found myself wanting more challenging poses and postures.  Who knows, maybe I like living on the edge more than I realize.  :-)

Camping in Lake Tahoe

This weekend my friend Sam and I went camping in Lake Tahoe.  Both yoga teachers in Orange County, we were heading up to what I like to call a little yoga Woodstock known as Wanderlust.  This was to be a fun weekend as we decided to get our camp on... note - neither one of us camp or even know how to set up a tent. 
After driving 9 hours and arriving at the wrong camp site only to find a bear... No lie!  At 11:30pm we roll into the campground, find our spot, and somehow manage to set up a tent in the dark.  Thank you friends for allowing us to borrow those ridiculous looking head-flashlights.
The yoga festival was a great experience.  Sleeping under the beautiful starts was breath-taking.  I truly do love nature and the outdoors... just not showering for 3 nights and 4 days.  Yes, we became one of those hippie, funky smelling organic people.  Gypsy sink showers and swimming in pools to clean off... oh how grateful I am for the little things - Like my shower!!! :)  Yet, I'd do it all over again.  Loved the weekend and the fun experience with my yoga friend Samantha.  Next year we are attending the festival, but flying and getting a hotel...