11.26.13

yoga class day

11.25.13

evidence

11.24.13

supta padangusthasana

i'm thankful for life's unexpected turns and surprises; the courage to meet them when they are difficult and the exuberance to delight in them when they are beautiful.  

11.23.13

parsva bakasana

i went to a yoga class at intercultera, my spanish school, a few weeks ago.  i wasn't sure what to expect.  when i arrived i had to confirm that i was in the right place.  there didn't seem to be anywhere to practice.  it was an open air patio, fairly large, full of young (teenage) germans (mostly) lounging around in hammocks and on benches reading or on smart phones. when i asked though, 'yes' they told me, 'this is where the yoga class is'. 

i almost left.  i'd had the crappiest day.  that morning i taught my first really bad yoga class.  or at least in my mind it was really bad.  i'd been beating myself up all day about what a failure i was as a teacher and how certainly everyone had noticed that i hadn't really had a plan and winging it had sort of failed.  the last thing i wanted to do was cram into this incredibly public, humid patio with a bunch of aloof germans unabashedly watching and sweat it out for an hour.  but i'd promised my friend shinez that i would meet her there and bring her shorts to borrow, so i had to stay.

the teacher showed up, an american, sweet and sort of spacey and friendly in that yoga teachery way.  i liked her; i stayed.  a surprisingly large amount of the youth rolled out mats in an incredibly small space at the center of the patio.  it started pouring rain.  there we were; flanked on one side by picnic tables full of mostly dudes, on one side by hammocks with frowning teenage girls, and on one side by a sheet of water spraying off the roof into the end of my mat.  just me and shinez and several rows of german chicks wearing civilian clothing.

11.22.13

uttanasana

radical gratitude challenge: at the beginning of your practice take a moment and focus on something you are truly grateful for.  keep this in your heart during your practice and every time that you fold forward, be it a standing or seated fold, don't merely fold - bow in gratitude.  the physical act paired with the visualization will leave you with a happy heart indeed.  namaste bitches, xx

11.21.13

JFK -> LIR

i've had this concept of time in my mind for a while, hard to explain, even to myself.  but i'll give it a go....

instead of viewing life as a road, where cause and effect change your direction and lead to different branches of the path, i view it more like a giant tapestry; each life being one single thread and the whole thing being much too large to view at once.  
in the path analogy outside forces and your decisions dictate your journey through life.  you're laying it down as you go.  in the tapestry analogy it's already woven.  there might be a bit of stretch and give, some threads may fray or break, but the whole thing is already created, existing simultaneously.  i guess it could go along with the belief in predetermined destiny to some extent.  but in my mind i always thought of it more as preexisting destiny.  i haven't pondered this idea in a really long time - been too busy living and worrying more than i should.  then i came across this quote this morning.  and i was like, 'yeah einstein.  nailed it.'  i'll be looking into this theory more.

"time is not at all what it seems.  it does not flow only in only one direction, and the future exists simultaneously with the past."

-mr. einstein

11.20.13

A35

adventure calls.  time to go.

11.19.13

i hesitate to even call this a recipe because it's so simple.  in a skillet, over medium high heat:

-saute kale with a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder
-add a glass of water 
-stir till it's been cooked off and absorbed, leaving the kale nice and moist and soft
- stir in a hand-full of pre-cooked quinoa and push the mixture to the side. drop the heat to low.
- crack an egg in the pan.
- when the whites have just cooked and yoke is still runny mix everything together.
- eat!

this is really fun to cook.  enjoy.

11.18.13

lightening day

11.17.13

outtake

this is life.  sometimes the mistakes are the prettiest.

11.16.13

parivrtta ardha chandrasana

"when you plant seeds in the garden, you don't dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet.  you simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time.  similarly, just do your daily practice and cultivate a kind heart.  abandon impatience and instead be content creating the causes for goodness;  the results will come when they're ready."

~bhikshuni thubten chodron

11.15.13

bakasana

i've discovered an annoying/awesome side effect of being a yoga teacher;  i've started to think in affirmations.  seriously.  my journal is littered with one or two sentence phrases.  yesterday's i shared here and today's i'll share now:

i am strong.  i am getting stronger.

this is a simple little one that can be really effective.  i personally hate ab-work.  i think most people do.  it is one of those necessary tortures that we all grit our teeth through.  since i've decided that what i dislike the most is what i probably need to be doing more of i've started doing at least three core classes a week.  this is like torture to me.  it is so so so hard.  i find myself though, in my  most exhausted, painful moment, repeating this phrase unconsciously.

i am strong.  i am getting stronger.

and just like that - i feel renewed energy.  more crunches?  fine!  10 more minutes of plank to chaturanga to plank?  great!  i am getting stronger!  this might sound dubious but try it.  i've often encouraged my students to tell themselves 'i am so strong' during an especially challenging hold or pose or string of poses, but the 'i am getting stronger' part is key; encouraging and also true.  

you are getting stronger.  just by showing up and practicing you're getting stronger.  it may not feel like it, but if you keep it up one day a pose that you felt was impossible, a previously unattainable pose will sneak up on you and boom!  all of a sudden you'll be hanging out in it, you and the impossible pose, whatever it may be.

then you'll have that moment - that epiphany moment- when everything just clicks and you aren't even struggling to maintain the pose, you're just there.  everything lines up and all of a sudden you are aware, because you can feel with your whole body, what the asana is meant to feel like.  it is understood.  you can take that moment to repeat this nugget of mantra wisdom and it will feel great, it will feel triumphant.

i am strong.  i am getting stronger.

hell yeah you are!  namaste bitches, xx

(i strongly feel any lesson learned in yoga can be translated into life.  so if you don't practice yoga i guarantee this mantra will still be valuable to you in different circumstances. just identify an area where you need a little strength and say the magic words.)

11.14.13

urdhva hastasana

Lately my writing has been brief, this is the only entry in my journal for today....

I do not fear the abundance I've created.
I will not fear the abundance I'm creating.

many people ask me how i do it.  the most important answer - i never believe that it can't be done. 11.14.13

11.13.13

birthday day

given my feelings about the numbers 13 and 31 it shouldn't really be surprising that many of my dearest friends are born on these dates.  today is an especially good day, not only because it's shay's birthday but life has brought me a new hilarious, amazing, scorpio, besty also born on this day.
happy birthday shay!  my deepest root.
happy birthday lauren!  my new main squeeze.  
i love you both so much and i'm so happy about you being born. xxxx  i hope i get to see you guys soon.  in nyc and australia.  respectively : )

11.12.13

virabhadrasana I

"A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn't indulge in it.  The mood of the warrior who enters into the unknown is not one of sadness; on the contrary, he's joyful because he feels humbled by his great fortune, confident that his spirit is impeccable, and above all, fully aware of his efficiency. A warrior's joyfulness comes from having accepted his fate, and from having truthfully assessed what lies ahead of him.”   -Don Juan Matus 

"The warrior is always present."  - Jennilee Toner

 "a spiritual warrior is a person who battles with the "universal enemy," self-ignorance, the ultimate source of suffering..." wiki

11.11.13

halasana

11.10.13

emotional sunday

vrksasana, or tree pose, is a very good pose for a very bad day.  it's grounding, empowering, heart-opening, strengthening, and balancing.   if you have the blues, or a bit of despair,  i recommend busting it out, wherever you are!  who cares who sees you?  fuck it. 
spend a few moments breathing deeply, rooting through your standing foot on the exhale, growing energetically from your core, up and out in all directions on the inhale.  focus only on your breath and balance and let your thoughts melt away.

you'll feel better, i promise.  namaste bitches, xx.

(p.s. remember when i used to prescribe whiskey and a bar fight for a bad day?  how the times have changed!!!)

11.9.13

gone to seed

this is just a reminder:
the beauty of the bud begins with the breakdown of the bloom.

11.8.13

utkatasana

11.7.13

easy pose

"if infinity seems like a long way off, let us not forget that when, by an act of effortful intelligence, we remove our feet from the warm bed to the cold floor, we have taken our first step."

~bks iyengar

11.6.13

food porn

kale & sweet potato frittata

- cube a small sweet potato (about 1/2 inch chunks)
- coat in olive oil, salt, pepper
- roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until chunks are just softened yet still firm
- finely dice half an onion, mince one clove of garlic, de-stem and medium finely chop a small bunch of kale
- in a cast iron skillet saute onions till nearly carmelized, add garlic, salt, pepper, and desired spices (i used a dash of cumin and a bigger dash of pementon)
- add kale and saute until soft, add the roasted sweet potato, spread the sauted veggies evenly over the pan
- beat a dozen eggs with a dash of cream (or non-dairy milk) salt and pepper
- pour the eggs over the veggies slowly and evenly, cook on medium low until the sides have cooked and little frittata blowholes have appeared in the egg (you'll know what i mean!)
- pop in the oven at 250 degrees and cook until only the very top layer is still runny
- throw on the broiler for a minute or two until the top has goldened nicely
- remove from heat, sprinkle with feta
- eat hot or cold!

11.5.13

dhanurasana

 some of you may know that my brother is becoming an amazing acrobat.  here's the latest video he sent me, it's phenomenal.  with him as my inspiration i took my dhanurasana off the ground today.  you should try it, if only to know the humility of falling flat on your face a dozen times in a row at a playground.  it never got easy but it got easier. 

(oh yeah i forgot to say in yesterdays post:  let's be instagram friends!  i am @marinasana)

11.4.13

parsvottanasana

every one's a hypocrite.
meaning, eventually, given enough time or the correct circumstances everyone will willingly take part in something they have been vocally and adamantly against.  
i am a hypocrite too.
i've been judging.  i didn't mean to really, it sort of snuck into my personality, but i've been judging... probably you.  i've been judging the world.  i have been judging everyone... on a smart phone.
i have told myself and probably other people that i would never get one.  i hate how everyone looks, head stuck in the phone as they walk around, even drive around, the world.  i hate watching life unfold around someone who is buried in their phone.  i hate when a couple at a restaurant sit, not speaking to each other, smart-phoning away.  yuck!
i told myself things like: so what if i lack a reliable navigation system, i like getting lost!  no one can even get lost anymore, it's so sad.  why do i need a phone with the internet?   i just need a phone to call people.  and ... gps systems are creepy.  probably more things, i'm sure i told myself more things that i can't think of right now re-enforcing my identity as a non-smart-phone-forever person.  i held out for a very long time - longer than both of my parents even and other no-smart-phone friends...
but, finally, i caved.  for my birthday i got the new iphone.

the world is more amazing now. goddammit.  it's true. 

not getting lost is awesome.  finding a coffee shop near you is so wonderful.  taking photos of everything beautiful and instantly sharing them is the best.  playing games with friends across the country is so fun.  being able to easily text photos makes me feel good.  
i instantly dove into the yoga community on instagram and as a result i've been taking yoga photos everyday for a monthlong challenge.  i will probably post alot here.  i've decided to challenge myself by not only doing the pose and posting but trying to take really beautiful photos everyday as well.  so my smart phone has made me more creative! geez.
i'm sorry everyone.  sorry for judging you.  i see now, how irresistibly awesome these devices are.  and i realize, that couple texting away at the restaurant?  they are totally playing scrabble with each other.

11.3.13

cathedral rock vortex

it takes so much discipline to maintain a strong practice through life's various dramas, especially when you're a wanderer, with no solid community to depend on for support; no studio, no accountability in the form of a teacher or friends.  lately, especially after being injured, i've been going through the motions more often than not.  i've been hanging in there, but my hearts not really in it.   all the things that come with that; sluggishness, restlessness, weakness, distraction, have started to creep in.  i had a teacher who used to say, "come to yoga everyday, skip a day, skip two -fine but then come back.  after two days off your matt, the wheels start to fall off."  i don't think my wheels have fallen off yet.... but they're definitely losing air.

11.2.13

brins mesa

11.1.13

sedona

10.31.13

night kitty

another year.  2013 has been my luckiest year so far. last halloween was my golden birthday and 31 is my favorite number and all the omens that a superstitious person, such as myself, would expect to go along with these auspicious numbers rolled out on schedule.  

- journey to a far off paradise.  check.
- meet the love of my life on a beach under a meteor shower on the 13th. that happened.
- carry on a whirlwind romance, literally around the world.  of course.
- take the next step into a new life of health and radiance. (i.e. get certified, start teaching yoga) obviously.
- learn another language.  claro.
- return home and relocate in colorado for real.  yes, that too. (well sort of! once a gypsy always a gypsy)
- have the most epic adventures yet!  see: posts on thailand, guatemala, corcovado, moab, etc.

-and finally, celebrate the 3113 birthday in the sedona vortexes with said love. 

things are going quite well!  i'm a little sad to be leaving 31 behind;  i loved it, gloried in it.  i do feel pretty good about all that i wrung forth from it though.  now i am 32.  which means that all my younger friends are finally in the 30's with me!  (you know who you are ; )
my hope for the coming year is to step it up even more.  what i mean by that is; just reach a bit further (or maybe alot further!) in every endeavor.  i want to become stronger, fitter, wiser, braver, more compassionate, more thoughtful, kinder, etc, etc, etc.

the stage has been set for epicness, let's see what i can manifest this year.  i love you, xx.

10.30.13

 

                                                                                                   dia -> phx

i'm overdosing on autumn!   
oh autumn, you always remind me of exploring tennessee with debra, hiking the blue ridge mountains with devin and ben, riding in georgia with mikey - on our way to an avett brothers show (when they still played kick drums and were numbered only 3).
no other season is so vivid and nostalgic.  the bright crisp slant of your sunlight never fails to bring back memories of certain moments in cities and countrysides filled with costumes, friends, coziness, spice and harvest, pumpkins, richness, and madness.  all my favorite things are autumn things.

10.29.13

the crispness

10.28.13

i love fall!