everyday be.

"Your duty is to act, not to seek a reward for what you do." --Bhagavad Gita

I am going to make this short because it deserves no explanation. Wherever we place our attention, we naturally overlook other things. Set you sights on what you want. Set your attention to the goal. No complacent energy. Withdraw from ordinary distractions and focus on the goal(s).

Everyday Yoga.

Everyday right living.

Everyday smile.

Everyday forgive.

Everyday eat clean food.

Everyday live fully.

Everyday sweat.

Everyday love.

Everyday be you.

Feet.

Keep the earth below my feet.

For all my sweat, my blood runs weak.

Let me learn from where I have been.

Keep my eyes to serve, and my hands to learn.

Our little piggies that go to the market. They go to work. They go shopping and eat roast beef. They cry wee wee wee all  the way home. We never give much attention to all the work our feet do, until they hurt. 

I challenge you to take an honest look at your feet. I look at them all day long. I see clean and dirty feet. Beautiful and ugly. Painted and yellowing at the edges....YUCK!  But for real, look at them! Check out why your feet look the way they do. Check out your shoes. Why are they worn down in the back, the front, the sides? I challenge you to question your feet, how you stand and hold the weight of your body. What do you do with your feet? 

I want to speak not only from the viewpoint of a teacher but from someone who has done tremendous damage to my ankles, toes and arches over the years. I had to stand on my feet, on one foot at a time until they were sore. I would crunch my toes in a towel, the sand and grass until they could not move any more then I would rub and ice them at night. Our bodies remember trauma, stress, and disease. They start to change, form new shapes. We walk differently, stand up less and hunch more. We get down on life and our feet take the pressure of the slouching in our walk. When you stood up straight there was less pressure on the joint causing us to walk with a little pep in our step.  Foot problems are huge and the only way to help prevent further damage is to be aware of how you walk, how you stand and how you place weight in your body. Yoga is the only form of exercise that helps to correct this over time.

Our feet not only want to be taken care of they want to breathe. They love being naked. They loved being touched just like you do. They want to stretch wide and long. They want to point and flex and move in all directions. Next time you get on the mat, look down at your feet. Pay attention to your feet in every pose, with every breath. Just become aware of your feet. Make them sore the next day! Then do it again,
and again,
and again.

Trust

Trust.

There are many forms of trust, some call it faith.
In life, who can you trust? Will you ever trust again once it has been broken?

As a yogi it is easy for me to stand on my hands, my head and contort my body in all ways. I know that I can trust my body. I rely on that trust to get me through each day. I have trained myself to trust no one, to not rely on anyone, to let go of people and any expectations that I will have of them. 

What is your story with trust? Maybe you trust friends and others more than you trust yourself. Is it time for you to challenge that. I know it is time for me to learn to trust again. It is time to let go of my independence a little and start to let people in again.

I would love to say that life is better on your hands but it's not. You can be a firmly planted tree with roots so deep you will never move, or you can be a leaf blowing in the wind, no roots and no plan of where you are going. No matter where you are in life trust that you are in the right place, you are growing as a human being and when it is time to move on, trust that you will go in the right direction.

Movement

Movement comes from intention. Each action that you take, each opportunity is all part of a grand plan but it lies within that intention. I always tell students to set an intention before they begin practice. Why do we intend to practice yoga? There was a time in each of our lives where yoga was nonexistant. Why did we start yoga? Why did we come back? There was some action behind each visit to the studio. That action starts to change as time passes. Sometimes you stop practicing yoga. Maybe you have never stopped. Either way, you have changed. Your intention, needs to change with you. It needs to guide your practice, your life and each moment.

What prevents us from accomplishing our goals? Do we intend to succeed or fail? I see people come take class to lose weight, but it goes beyond one hour of work. As you leave the studio your mind goes back to old habits of eating, old habits of sitting around and staying inactive. You drink too much, snack until the box is empty and maintain habits that are covering up the truth that your unhappy with more than just your weight. Intention is not about what you say, it is about what you think. When no one else is looking, when your in the deepest, darkest place where your mind goes. 

Setting an intention relies on us settling in to who we are, where we want to go and how we get there. Our intention supports that and keeps us on track for our goals, dreams and ambitions. I strive to be on the top of my game at all times, I know there are times I need to retreat and back off, giving myself time alone to recharge. That drive is what fuels me to be who I am today. I want to be an example of what a true yogi is. I want to teach a class that would develop even the most advanced yogi. I want to be part of an elite group of teachers that can teach anyone, anywhere and with any. I strive to not be the best teacher at a studio, to have the most people in class, I strive to be better than that. It is not about who follows you, how many people think your awesome. It is about the imprint that I leave on your life when you walk out of my class. It is the imprint that I share with you through my life experiences. I want to constantly move toward those goals. I want students that support that goal, friends that inspire me and challenge that greater good in me.

I have set this blog up so that I can support that goal. As it is here for you, it is about me sitting down each week and putting something down. I have to support my practice, my learning and this is my way of staying on track. I challenge you to do the same. Find your intention, find your goals and then stay on track. Each day needs to support that goal, that dream and form who you are. 

Shine On

Why do we run from our problems?
What are we afraid of?
Do our past experiences put us in the constant state of 'fight or flight'?
And how can I start to change my response and reactions?

Before life shaped me, hurt me and damaged me, I saw the world as a playground with so much to explore, to discover. Then I started to gain experience, ego started to form in me. Someone told me, maybe I just saw it, even on the playground at school, what my status was. How important I was in the lives of my classmates, my friends and my family. I formed who I was based off where I lived, what my parents did, what car they drove. I had this perception about life, about who I was and on a scale I would rate that importance. I grew up with that mentality and cared deeply what others thought.

I am glad that I can share my life in such a way that inspires others, what they do with that is at their disposal but I am in love with the life that I was given. I would not change one moment. I have stopped running from my problems, from who I should be, who I want to be. I stand here, sun on my face, sand in my toes, wind at my back and a smile on my face. 

When I was out in the desert, an hour and a half from Cabo, I had no cell phone service (not that I cared) but I realized that life is how busy I want to make it. I work for myself and so I want to make money, I pick up the phone and it is done. I want to sit on a beach and drink Margaritas all day that can happen to. Life is not busy unless you make it busy. You have all these bills to pay for, this life that YOU want, these problems that YOU want. Simplify your life to what YOU want. And try to not talk about your problems to anyone, don’t run from them, confront them. Answer them now and see how much extra time you have to do absolutely nothing. To live in complete bliss, free from worry, stress and yes, problems!

Let this life be a testament of trust, that each opportunity granted, each interaction is for a reason. At the end of my life, I can put it all together and understand but right now I just want to enjoy. When you stop worrying about what everyone else is doing, what you should be doing and just enjoy each moment, each experience as it comes to you, it becomes so real, you feel truly connected to your life and you shine so bright that others stop running just to stare at you!

Beauty & Vulnerability: Part 2

Attachment, one of my greatest obstacles. As I sit here in Cabo I cannot help but feel so alone, so disconnected. Although most people would call me independent, I am interdependent on my surroundings of familiar faces, a language that I call my own and time that is not reliant on others.

I wanted to delve deeper into this idea of vulnerability, savasana and seeing the beauty in it all. Being in Cabo right now is so amazing and I am so blessed and fortunate to be here. It does make me feel very alone, very independent and super involved in work these days. I love all of the things I have mentioned and have worked very hard to be where I am sitting now. Savasana brings up so much in me, it takes death, puts it in your face and says "Are you living the life that you were destined for? And why not? What is stopping you?"

Our lives are spent putting up walls, to tear them down and build up more. In death you have no resistance, no walls to build up and nowhere to go. When we lay on the ground, with eyes closed and in a place of meditation, we reconnect with our greater plan, find renewed strength and inspiration. Savasana for me is a time to check in, to ask myself if this life is my selfish desire to be someone or am I destined to go out there and be a leader, I ask myself, what must die for the greater purpose in me to be fulfilled?

When ego and greed are surrendered, the struggle for fulfillment lessens. Life takes on a whole new meaning. But daily I find this a test. Daily I must die to my selfish desires. Do I let the world and all it has for me consume my thoughts, how I spend my time or do I die and allow myself to give way to a higher purpose? I want to surround myself with people who help me stay on that path, that remind me who I am, where I want to go and what I desire to fill my life with. I crave healthy food, healthy friends and when that is not happening I am not operating at my highest potential. Don't be one or the other, eat clean food, exercise and sweat, then go out into the world shining so brightly that the things of this world no longer matter.

Beauty & Vulnerability

Being able to trust is reliant upon the fact that we are vulnerable. Otherwise, we would never need the help of another, we would need nothing to satisfy our desires. If you're vulnerable, you're able to love, to share and to trust that what happened to you only makes you more beautiful.

All that we do, from the moment we open our eyes every morning is reliant upon the fact that we trust circumstances to take place, we trust that our bodies will be healthy, our jobs will provide us the support to pay our way through life, that our cars will get us to work each day, that we will eat food that is whole and full of nutrients for our bodies.

If I could sum up the last couple of months of my life it would come down to the reality that I was not able to trust. People would fail me and then come out of nowhere and surprise me with some grand act. I would be so busy with work making all sorts of money and the next week....crickets. I learned that I cannot trust to rely on anything. I thought someone was my friend, guess what, they failed me too. I had my car hit, my car broken in to, I had jobs disappear and then new jobs appear out of nowhere. I quickly realized that everything in my life is a gift. It can be taken away at any moment. This day is a gift, that you can spend how you choose.

How my thoughts, they spin me around.

How my thoughts, they let me down.

How my dreams, they spin me around.

How my dreams, they let me down.

….and then there’s you!

Savasana, Corpse Pose. Laying there on the mat, in utter silence, proves that we are weak. It shows the world that I cannot do everything. That I need rest, I need to rejuvenate my body in order to be what I was destined to be. Laying there makes you contemplate life, are you doing what you set out to accomplish, what is your true purpose in life and are you fully surrendering yourself to the ultimate purpose you were destined for? Are you ready to die? I find that the more I accept my life, I enjoy my life and appreciate each moment, each encounter with another human I realize that there is a plan for my life. I fully appreciate that I cannot do everything. I was meant to have friends, and someone in my life that comes on board, to assist me in areas that I am weak in. Being vulnerable is all about sharing that weakness, your mistakes, your human nature. But in that moment, true greatness is realized. Despite what flaws may be present, your still loved, you can still love in return. And that is beautiful!

I read this great explanation of Hatha Yoga this morning as I was preparing to write this. Hatha, Ha means sun or heat and tha means moon or cool. The sun, never fades as the moon is just a reflection of the light from the sun. Knowing and realizing that is yoga. I read that and it resonated with the thought that in order to truly shine we have to be vulnerable. That which reflects when we are truly uncomfortable is who we are. Are we happy when things don’t go our way? When we have to lay on the floor, sweating, tired and ready to just leave, can we find a place in ourselves that can surrender? Are we ready to let it go? Shine bright when the sun is out, when it fades. At all times, just shine on!

I leave you with that thought on this rainy easter sunday. Enjoy and be blessed! XO

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We all have the ability to love as deep or as shallow as we want. We try to push people out of our lives, we make them prove themselves, go through tests, a filtering system in order to see if they are genuine. We distrust people because it reminds us of a time "when" and trust people because they showed us some glimmer of a decent human being. I have been shocked, slapped and shaked over my life by people that have hurt me. I have also been shocked by random acts of love from perfect strangers.

I can keep the bandages on my heart, traveling through life closed off. I can go through life blaming others and keep repeating the same mistakes. Or I can remove the bandages and be a little more sensitive to love. To those who care. To those that have proven through actions, not words, how much they care. 

We can view the world as hostile, as angry and a fight for survival. That we are not worthy of love or to be surrounded by people who care.

We can view the world as nurturing and gentle, full of enough for everyone to have. We can all love and be loved. We can show love in little acts to people we don't know, we can show larger acts to those that have always stood by our side. Love is as deep and as beautiful as you allow it to flow from you.

I am putting it out there that I have enough love, enough support, enough money and enough strength. I wish that for everyone who reads this. I wish that for people that have hurt me, my friends, my family.

When someone shows us love, our heart opens and we receive. The same thing happens when we give love back. If love was a currency we would want all that we could get. We would wake up early, get in our car and drive to go get it. But love is all around us, it is in the grocery store, at a park, it is in your home, your office and everywhere you allow it to be. Light up the lives of others by loving them unconditionally. Giving what you can, where you are! You have $5 and you can spare $2. Give it up! You never know what that means to them. You never know until you do it!

Life is my yoga mat. I don't need to show up in a class and prove myself to anyone. I show up every morning and walk out my door being a light, showing love and understanding that we all are in different poses. I might be balancing on my head, completely submerged in a pose or laying in my back in complete bliss. All I ask is that you love me where I am today, where I was yesterday and where I am going tomorrow! Let's love deeper, be better than we were yesterday and enjoy each breath, each passing moment!

Love: Life

This life was given to you.

It is not your own.

And at any moment it can be taken from you.

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. --Thomas Carlyle

I sat down at a coffee shop in Las Vegas, over 3 years ago and started writing. I had lost a lot (money, my job, friends). But I had family, I had a man who stood by my side through it all and I had my life. It takes losing to really feel truly appreciative for what you have. How can you be happy when you have never experienced pain?

Joy is being able to appreciate when it hurts, life when things go wrong and giving everything you have to help someone in need.

This month I was asked to co-host an event called World JOY Day. An entire day dedicated to doing what brings you joy and bringing joy to someone else. If you could do anything that brought you and others joy what would it be?

Love. That was my answer. If you can do all actions out of love, you are not only happy but full of joy. That is my mission statement in life. I live by it and follow my heart. If we are chasing something that is in the distance we will never find joy. When we look down at what is in front of us, the tools we have right now the answer becomes clear. We have money. We have time. We have social media. How can we bring all of those together to celebrate life, to give back to those who need it and feel joyful about it.

Joy comes down to ego. When you think you are better than someone else because of the car parked in your driveway or the clothes that are on your body then you will never know joy. Joy comes from looking outside of yourself, to this world we live in, the people that are all around us. You are exactly where you should be in your life at this current moment. You were drawn to read this blog. You are in essence a magnet and what you do in this life, no matter what you think of it, is a ripple in this world. Your joy can spread as far as you let it.

As you start to get older you realize the impermanence of "things" and you start to value quality in people that have stood by your side. You value truth and love above all else. Spread the knowledge of truth, the actions that are done from unconditional kindness is a memory, an experience that you create.
Live the life that you want.
Wake up everyday happy.
Love what you do, who you choose to be friends with and where you live.
Spread JOY!

Come celebrate JOY with me and Elise Joan on Wednesday March 20 at 6 pm. You can sign up here and select a team, you can donate money for World JOY or imagine1day or just come out and enjoy yoga taught by two of Santa Monica's amazing yoga instructors! Either way please take time out this week, especially Wednesday to being joyful, finding what gives you joy and spreading the joy in your life. I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible and sharing this wonderful gift of teaching that I have been so blessed with! XO

Listen.

I hear excuses all day long.
I can't
I am
I am not...
All followed by some reason.

We have concieved these notions about who we are, where we belong, what our limitations are.

Think of your mind as a giant cup, this cup is full of ideas, ego and knowledge. In order to grow and learn you have to release old habits, thought patterns and listen and apply what others are saying to you. A student understands that they know nothing. 

"You have to empty your mind of all it thought was so in order to take in what I have to teach you."

I have been going over and over that for awhile this past week and it started to take on new life. I looked at students while they practiced and noticed that they all fit into one of the following categories:

Empty Cup (Always Listen)

Half-Filled Cup (Half Listen)

Over-Flowing Cup (Never Listen)

I also looked at my relationships, past and present and saw that people who had an over-flowing cup never stayed in my life. I am someone that wants to be heard as are most people. There is this balance in life of letting go and taking in. When someone thinks they know better than you or there is not a give and take on both sides, growth stops and the relationship dies.

You come to yoga to correct your misalignment, your bad habits and to find that clarity. If your cup is already full, where will my instruction go? Why are you here? 

Yoga is as simple as you let it be. It is about being mindful in your actions, from day to day and moment to moment. Yoga is to happen everyday. It is a habit. It is a choice you make every moment. Yoga begins today. Tomorrow. And everyday after that. There is no accelerated course or a level you must arrive at.

I think if yoga has taught me anything it is that I am not in control of anything. Especially my students. It simply is. When you realize that the practice is simple. It does not change. You change. Then you will see the real power behind the practice. Stop trying to change sequences. Stop trying to add music to drown out the silence. Allow yoga to change you, to shape you and to be a mirror to all the bad habits in your life.