Live, Love, Laugh and Wonder!

Recently I took a little trip over the big blue sea to Thailand, Cambodia, and the Great Wall of China. An amazing experience filled with new and unexpected friendships and more pins on my world map. All things I love about travel. 

While in Cambodia, I had the opportunity to visit Angkor Wat, ancient ruins from the 1200's, a beautiful site set for a king. While in Thailand, I had the opportunity to explore ancient Wats in Bangkok (and leave my phone in a hot pink cab with a Buddha on the dash-while frustrating, humbling). While at The Great Wall I had the opportunity to stand on this wonder of the world and gaze across vast valleys and mountains. At all of these sites I had the opportunity to truly wonder... 

I wonder what it was like at Angkor Wat during its hayday, people roaming in and out of the twisting hallways, but with intention.

I wonder what it was like in Bangkok hundreds of years ago when there were no tourists visiting the reclining Buddha and visitors lit their incense and said a prayer with intention.

I wonder what it was like on the Great Wall of China, to be the emperor, just seeing the conclusion of the project you put so much intention into.

Then I start to think how I want to live everyday with intention. I don't want to just mosey through life, I want to live it, I want to love, I want to take chances, I want to wonder.

So my challenge for you, is to take a day, take a week, take a vacation and be bold, set intentions, live those intentions and watch the wonderment unfold!

Embrace life, hold the sun in the palm of your hand and make a promise to yourself... Live, love, laugh and wonder! 

Time to Elevé!

Hey Triad North Carolina, there is a new yoga studio in town and you MUST check it out! Situated in the heart of downtown Kernersville, NC is an old factory, that for years was run down and simply rubbish. It has now been refurbished and all of the character saved. Exposed beams, wooden floors, and just enough of an industrial look to give this place the unique and beautiful look it deserves, this is where you will find Studio Elevé.

As yoga grows in popularity so does the price for a class, Studio Elevé is keeping things chill and keeping prices affordable. I have been to a lot of studios that are not nearly as nice and they charge close to $20 per class. Studio Elevé offers classes with well trained teacher of both yoga and dance. They are authentic in their being and in their teaching. Can I mention the studio is beautiful! 

Mark McCullough cofounded Studio Elevé with Christine Spizzo who is very well recognized in the ballet community. Mark has taught with her in the arts and dance community for years, specifically with the NC School of the Arts. Their spirits are true and their hearts in the right place, simply bringing what they love, what has transformed their lives so much, to the local community at a price that speaks volumes. 

Kernersville, Winston Salem, Oak Ridge, ya best get your stretchy pants ready and head over to check it out. In addition to yoga they also offer dance, zumba, tai chi, pilates, and hoop dance. Check out their website, www.studioeleve.com, find them on Facebook-Studio Elevé-and make sure you stop in for a class. They are offering couples yoga over valentines day weekend for $25, 3 hours and includes yoga, wine, and chocolate all local from the factory shops!!

Finding Your True North

That moment when you realize you've become lazy and your life is off kilter from where you thought you would be. The reason for your laziness is fear. The fear that's been cooped up inside and you didn't know was even there. The fear that stems from loneliness and the inspiration to help you push past the fear is the one you're most lonely without.

Quite the catch 22.

Fear is my inspiration and inspiration is my fear. With it I'm not lonely, my life doesn't feel off track and I can feel like me. I want to strive for the things I love because that's when I feel love and when i can give love. I'm questioned, called out on my excuses, and as a result I am allowed to safely dive deep into my own soul, my own self, my own true north. To be vulnerable, and move past my own hiccups, to forgive myself, let things go, to start fresh. 

My fear is losing that...it's a soul connection which was unexpected. An unconditional love that was unexpected. A foundation of truth which has rocked me to my core-to see me. 

How do I keep it? How do I express my appreciation for it? How do I not push it away? 

Be Strong.

Cry when you need to.

Be Strong.

Let it fly, support it, love it, be by its side, explore with it, let go of the outcome with it, and always, always, be thankful you have it.

Get up, motivate, create

For that is beautiful.

And that fuels strength.

Make a difference,

Let love do its own job,

You do yours.

Trust.

The Alchemist

Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dream.

Why?

The four obstacles

We're told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul it seems invisible. But it's still there

If we have the courage to dream, we are soon faced by the second obstacle. Love. We know what we want to do but we are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We don't realize that those close to us who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.

Once we have accepted love as a stimulus, we run into the fear of our defeats. We who fight for our dreams suffer far more worse when it doesn't work out because we can no longer fall back on the old excuse of "oh well, I didn't really want it anyway" because we do really want it. We know that the path of personal calling is no easier than any other path except that our whole heart is in this journey. We know the universe is conspiring in our favor and now it is our job to practice patience, even though we may not fully understand how. 

Once we have recognized these three obstacles, then comes the fourth... The fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives. This is the. Most dangerous of the obstacles because it has a saintly aura about it. Renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of god, you help the soul of the world, and you understand why you are here.

Thank you "The Alchemist"

That Time I Almost Quit Yoga

I recall a night where I crawled in my dads lap at 30 years old, as if I was 7 year old, and cried my eyes out because I didn't understand why the universe would show me something so totally amazing and then just strip it away and expect me not to be a hot mess...

I'm more mindful than that. I'm more in tune with myself than that. And I almost quit yoga because of that.

It's a task being a yogi, I see those pictures on Facebook of "what my friends things I do" "what I think I do" yadi yadi and I can relate to it. Anyone who practices yoga regularly, takes yoga, or has even been touched by yoga in the slightest way can probably relate to what I'm talking about. Most think that we are bendy and smell like patchouli all the time. In real life our hearts are struck like metals being turned to brass, alchemy, always looking to turn our reality into the best it can be.

When life throws things at you, you have no choice but to look at it and to understand its root, what you can make of it and how it will benefit you and those around you. The Beatles sang about how living is easy with eyes closed and that's the truth. So many people carry on in the world with blinders up, not looking out at the world and seeing the beauty that comes from those rough situations.

Life doesn't throw negative things in your direction, it throws opportunity in your direction. Opportunity to grow, to love, to learn, to empower, and to teach. It's not easy, especially with a powerful full moon peeking in your window. A great yoga teacher and mentor asked me once if I was ready for the journey that yoga takes you on. I didn't understand at first what she was getting at. Now I understand. When life gets rocky, I now have eyes to see the lessons to be learned and no longer have the excuse of pushing it under the rug. Some days I want to quit yoga, so I don't have to look at the situations with open, analytical eyes, looking for the lesson and being all mindful. But once it's passed, I'm thankful that I did.

Keep your eyes open, lose your inhibitions and curl up in your dads lap, or your moms, or your dogs, whatever ya got to feel safe. Don't be afraid to open your eyes, for if you keep them closed the energy will build up inside of you and continue to repeat itself to get out. Take a deep breath, be vulnerable, let it go, truly live life. And don't quit yoga, we all know savasana is a gift!

Yoga in Victoria Park

Everyone has wondered why I chose the middle of southern Ontario to stay for the summer. Sometimes I have even wondered what in the world I'm doing here, of all places in the world. Today a lot of that was answered for me, maybe not everyone else in the world but for me, yes.

As I approached the clock tower, there were these kids behind me, what I would describe as punk ass kids! The one, looked like Justin Beiber but cursed every other word. He may have been 13 or 14 years old, max. Obviously trying to impress his friends, a guy and a girl, with all the swear words. I'll be honest, it was legitimately on my nerves and made me want to curse... Still annoys me to think about it.

So I get to the clock tower and there's a little patch of maybe 10 yoga mats! I settle in on my mat and quickly forget how annoyed I was just a few minutes earlier. My little space in the world, all to myself, perfect! Slowly but steadily the area fills up, before I know it I can count at least 45-50 yogis and they keep coming from all directions, it was beautiful. People of all different shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages, everything all joining together for 50 minutes of their day, sharing sacred space with one another.

When I travel, I often feel like I stand out and even here in Canada where standing out is the commonality it was nice for a moment to feel at home amongst my fellow yogis! To see the excitement on the faces of those who had never taken classes before, and to see the serenity and peacefulness on the faces of those who are veterans to a practice. 

I can't wait to go back. I'm thankful to be in a town that offers yoga for free to the public once a week, so that everyone has the opportunity to feel what it's like. Even the onlookers who were simply sitting in the park, homeless even, would take a moment to be one, even that kid who annoyed the day lights out of me... For a moment we were all one, and that... was beautiful! 

Thank you Queen St Yoga, Kitchener, Ontario

The Hermitage

What is the hermitage? Firstly it's a beautiful hike just outside of Hamilton, Ontario in a town called Ancaster. There are waterfalls and I even saw a lone deer bedded down in the leave, who eventually followed our hike for a solid 5 minutes. 

After an hour hike or so you come to the old ruins originally built in 1830 as a church by a Rev. Sheed.

This place intrigues me...tales around town talk of the place being haunted, you can see from the picture that there is some crazy energy there. So I took my feelings when I saw it, did some research and found out a little bit of information that explains why it's so intriguing to me. 

Magdalene. 

Yep. It started with her.

This time a Magdalene from Greece. A few conflicting stories, but either she was refused to marry the family coachman or her niece was refused his hand. Either way the coachman took his own life and since then, mid 1800s, the eerie tales have continue.

After the coachmans death, the structure was sold, and torn down. A new home was built and there were two fires, one of which did no harm, the second of which took most of the home down. The new owner, Alma Leith refused to leave and lived in a tent inside the rubble with her scraggly dog until her death.

Interesting how this site connects with you in one way or another... Check out the picture, you can see the gray that outlines the building. Haven't touched this picture with anything, I didnt even notice the outline until I pulled it up on the computer. Creepy.