The Year in Pictures: 2016

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As I've reflected more, it seems 2016 was pretty jam-packed! Here are some of the highlights...

  • The year was off to a great start with dinner atop the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington (not pictured)
  • I completed the Culinary Nutrition course through Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy
  • We attended a Yin/Vinyasa yoga retreat in Sayulita, Mexico
  • I trained to instruct Yin Yoga
  • Yoga Wire was re-branded with a new logo, website, newsletter and apparel
  • I helped my dear friend Mandy release her second book, Yogalosophy for Inner Strength, to which I contributed a personal story and two vegan recipes
  • Wonderful seeds were planted for something very exciting in 2017 (announcement coming soon!)
  • I placed 7th at the National Yoga Asana Championship in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, having one of the most profound experiences of presence on Day 2 of the competition
  • We explored Portland, Oregon, its nature gardens and flourishing foodie scene
  • I danced to the music of Steel Pulse on my birthday
  • We packed all of our things into storage and roomied up with our good buddy Brett for two months
  • I enjoyed time with family and friends
  • I had several Indriya Jewelry pop-up shops showcasing the adornments I create
  • I helped to facilitate an amazing transformational experience during the Raja Yoga Teacher Training
  • Sal became a teacher!
  • ..and finally we settled into a new home

Do The Work / Make The Effort

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As I wrote in a recent post, I feel like I floated somehow through 2016, mostly in a state of surrender to big changes. Almost like drifting on the surface, above the depth of all that's happened. And most of it was really good! But even in the stressful times, I felt a degree of separation from it all, like almost nothing struck that deep. I've traveled and gone on retreat and packed up everything and moved and been a part of a transformative experience and settled into a new home. (Check out The Year in Pictures: 2016 for full highlights!) What I've reflected on as the New Year rounded the corner is that through all of those events, with so much happening, I relied on a sense of ease and somewhat lax satisfaction with my natural abilities and where I've come, internally and also as it relates to my body. Non-stagnant, non-complacent, yet non-motivated.

warrior santa cruz

The year before, 2015, I was still reverberating from a complete shutdown following many years of constant work hustle. I gave myself some time to go easy instead of maxing out my energy expenditure. And that time was necessary. Then last year, I came to life again, still gentle and perhaps a little nurturingly indulgent. My attention was diverted from my own wellness homeostasis and fractalated out to the multitude of things going on, or whatever required my soft focus at the time, which occasionally involved wine and cheese.

Well, New Year's morning, I woke up at 5:00am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take and teach some yoga! And there it was, my intention for 2017: DO THE WORK.

My motivation to tend to my nutritional needs, to practice yoga with heightened purpose, to apply myself more attentively to spiritual practices has returned. I feel drawn back to self-discipline, and also to more expressive freedom. I feel like I have a renewed capacity to MAKE THE EFFORT towards the state of inner and outer health that I want to see and feel.

My intentions may seem body-focused, which can come across as a little cliché around the New Year, but I'm fine with that. What goes on inside my body flows back out as information. My inner experiences allow me to understand and connect with you, to transmit the information I glean to you and others from the vantage point of my own understanding.

In order for me to make the effort, it's helpful for me to know what obstacles I'm up against. What's hindering me? Sometimes the best thing to do is to take the smallest step. If you want to practice yoga more consistently, maybe the first thing to do is to simply put your yoga mat on the floor. That's not too hard. Then maybe put on an outfit you would practice in. You're halfway there already!

  • Write down your intention and keep it in a place where it will act as a daily reminder.
  • Tell people what your intention is. Ask for their support.
  • Make a list or a roadmap of simple steps you can take towards your intention. Keep it bite-sized. The simpler, the better.
  • Then make a list of obstacles that might deter you. Begin to brainstorm, strategize, or meditate on how you can overcome them.
  • Take those simple steps, one-by-one, until your efforts become habitual, and before you know it, you'll be on the path you intended.

My mantra for 2017: Do the work. Make the effort.

What's yours? -- Email me!

Scratch That, New Reality

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Personally, I really like the delineation of a New Year. I like the ritual of reflection and intention-setting and the general contemplation of life's path. I pay more attention to the little epiphanies.
For example, I'm not much of a morning person.. It takes me a few hours to acclimate, especially when it comes to my body... Or so I thought.

This morning I took the 8:00am class. I noticed that my body was feeling fantastic, and I thought "Wow, this is great. I'm normally so tight in the morning." And then I thought, "Actually, I was practicing a lot in the morning this past Fall and I felt perfectly fine." Hmmm. That tells me that: "My muscles are always tight in the morning" is no longer a true statement. My experiences NOW disprove my outdated experiences. It was true at one point, but up until now, my habitual thought patterns hadn't budged to accommodate. It took a conscious realization for me to understand something that seems so obvious. I could simply scratch that belief from my reality. What a refreshing epiphany.

What opportunities does this new reality open up to me?

What other limiting thoughts can be scrapped?