Keep it Real

Oh hey! I had a baby!

Ahimsa: non-violence. Towards others and yourself.

Do not feel lonely. The entire universe is inside you.
-Rumi

"What if the temple was the Earth
If forests were our church
If holy water - the rivers, lakes, and ocean
What if meditation was our relationships
If the teacher was life
If wisdom was self-knowledge
If love was the center of our being."
-Ganga White

One of my students has a background in Ashtanga yoga and is naturally a very driven and goal oriented person. Like many of us, she also puts a gazillion things on her plate. For her first few weeks of coming regularly to my class she continued in her full force ahead mindset, going into every advanced version of the pose the rest of the class was doing. One day she mentioned to me that she thought she needed and would actually enjoy a mellow class. My heart literally sang! I felt like I had accomplished my job.

As a yoga teacher and body worker my biggest focus is on inspiring self introspection and care. I can teach alignment and tell you to breathe, read pretty quotes and introduce shapes to make with your body. But what you get out of it - what goes on inside is all you. It's your gift to yourself and everyone around you.

With that I'm announcing that this week is my final week teaching at the natatorium. (I am still offering private sessions). Sarah will take over for the month of June and there is another potential teacher in the works as well. I would like to start again after having my baby but we will see.

I've enjoyed this time immensely and have learned so much. Thank you all! Keep on Keepin' it Real!!

I had a parakeet named Blueberry when I was 5 and 6. He used to ruffle up all his feathers and you could see down through to the bony underneath if you were observent and he trusted you enough to be close. He seemed so vulnerable to me while maybe intending to appear bigger and bolder. I enjoyed this display and thought his bed head look was endearing.

I have a couple of good friends moving away from Yokota very, very soon. It's left me feeling a bit unsettled like my feathers are all ruffled up. And I'm not even the one moving. I think of my friends as big and bold, brave yet feeling all the emotions as they sweep like a shiver up and through. Their "bedhead" is charming and reminds me why they're my friends and how we're all in it- this life- together.

Today, as always in class, we moved with the breath and let the breath move us. Each breath is a new moment and change is inevitable. We can trust that no one minds how ruffled our feathers might currently look or feel because they've got feathers too. If you let people in close enough they might see your vulnerabilities and likely love you more for this chance. So lets shake our tail feathers and dance!... (Sigh, rhyming, a side effect of having a toddler). This quote is my favorite reminder to trust in the inevitable.

"I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you." - C. Joy Bell C.

I will miss you guys! ❤️❤️❤️

Missing my mom on Mother's Day...
It's been an honor being her daughter. She's given me so many gifts. Like, ahem, life, for example. ☺️.
And she's given me tools for how to live this life richly and presently. So even though I miss her, I know we are really all one and I can bask in this presence. I have yoga to keep my spirit in check. I'm grateful for all of it.

✨🤘✨