trials and tribulations of traveling...NOT!

I had the absolute pleasure this spring of spending a month in Costa Rica. I went by myself, but ended up hanging out not only with some "ticos" (locals), but also some amazing fellow Coloradans. I spent the majority of my month in Nosara, Costa Rica. As it was the beginning of the rainy season, it was a wonderfully sleepy surf town experience. Every day was spent running and doing yoga on the beach, surfing, eating local/fresh/organic fruits and veggies and fresh-caught fish, and spending time with great people. The one time I left "my" town, two of my friends from Colorado and I drove down to Dominical on a surfboard retrieval mission. Being Coloradans filled with wanderlust and traveling abroad in the same place at the same time, we had fantastic discussions on the 6-hour road trip (on Costa Rican roads, I'd like to add), especially with regards to travel...

Some people don't have the travel bug. Whether it's Texans on their horse ranch or Costa Ricans in their jungle/beach, I've met all kinds of people that have the opinion "why would I ever leave here, I have everything I want." Absolutely valid point. Some are so content with where they live that they have zero desire to leave. For me, I've always loved where I'm from, but I always felt the need to explore and travel in order to be sure that's the place for me. Leaving my hometown for college wasn't enough, and neither was studying abroad. I needed to move across the county, and spend significant amounts of time away. While returning home to alleviate homesickness pretty often, of course. And apparently moving to Colorado for a year wasn't enough either, since I've now been here for three years and am still loving being a ski bum that goes to Costa Rica for a month. I am, we all are, only small blips in this world. Leaving our comfort zone reinforces we are all a part of this great big world, and that there is oh so much of it beyond our little piece. 

The major part of our discussion during our road trip was all of the benefits of traveling. You can learn SO much about yourself when you get outside your comfort zone, not to mention accumulating incredible new experiences. I've eaten all manner of foods, made friends all over the world, and seen some of the most amazing sites (famous and secret alike). I've learned to compromise when traveling in groups as well as to be self-sufficient when traveling alone. I've learned the benefit of planning ahead as well as the benefit of P.I.B.E.-ing (play-it-by-ear-ing) things (before he calls me out, credit to Kyle for that phrase). Knowing I can handle a situation, a confidence that has in and of itself come from traveling and going outside of my comfort zone, has enabled me to let go of the reigns I was attempting to keep a tight hold of and to become a little less rigid. Reigns to what, I'm not quite sure. Life I suppose. 

We also discussed the many purposes of travel. There's a time and a place to sit on a beach with a book and drinks with toy umbrellas in them, just as there's a time and a place to backpack with one extra pair of underwear through the wilderness or a third-world country, or to be at a cheesy resort for a friend's destination wedding, or... There's no single or right way to travel and experience the world. This trip for me was about staying in a single place to get to know the area and the people, to surf, to have a little R&R after a long season. Hence I didn't get to see too much of the country, but the trip served the purpose I needed it for. I met amazing people, establishing actual relationships in town, got myself rested and healthy, and gave myself "me" time. And I even got back on a surf board!

My intention was to get on a surf board every day while I was in Costa Rica. However, on day 2 I injured my foot and was out of commission for anything beyond walking to the beach and doing core work for nearly the rest of the first week. When it came time for me to start my lessons, I had nearly talked myself out of them. I thought I could gladly spend my time running and doing yoga and reading and swimming. Why would I need to surf? However, the root of all that was that I was nervous about truly starting something new. I hadn't tried a new activity in quite a while. I didn't want to suck. Thank goodness I sucked it up and got out in the water with Adrian, my instructor-turned-friend (oh, and also rode on the back of his motorcycle for the first time!). Surfing in Costa and hanging out with the surf school guys absolutely made my trip. I now have a wonderful new activity that I'm in love with (literally am planning my next trip to get in the water ASAP), and have made some connections that I can't wait to go back down to keep up. 

All in all, my life would not be the same if I didn't travel, if I hadn't been the places and met the people and done the activities I have. They've given me the confidence I have, and the desire to, yes, set down roots and have a family and decorate a house, but also to continue seeing all the world has to offer! 

adventures of a wannabe nomad

Before some of the most amazing things I've done in my life I was an anxious, sweaty, nauseous mess. It's one of those things where all that disappears once I get to my destination. But those few days before traveling somewhere new and exciting are usually pretty miserable, and filled with anxiety and sleepless nights and many  many lists. As I was preparing to leave for the airport last night, and was starting to freak out a bit at the thought of leaving for a month, my friends expressed surprise that I wasn't a calm traveler. I'm generally pretty calm once I arrive, but the anxiety before leaving for college, studying abroad in Spain, going on my NOLS course, traveling to Alaska to fly for a week with a bush pilot, and  moving to Colorado was considerable.

It would be a lot easier to stay last home and watch the Discovery channel to see these places. It would be a lot more 'comfortable.' However, pushing myself out of that comfort zone has led me to the most amazing places and experiences. As much as I loved Anthony Bourdain's Andalucia episode, nothing compares to seeing the gypsies dance flamenco in the caves of Granada and eating tapas and asking for directions in Spanish when I was lost myself. Even though the proliferation of amazing backcountry footage is abundant and watching go-pro footage makes you feel like you're with the skier flying through the powder, none of that could replace hiking to the top of a huge snowy and rocky mountain in the back woods of Idaho with a 50 pound pack on without seeing anybody but our group for a month. Or getting 85 days of skiing in this year, from amazing powder days on the resort to skinning back country with only a few peoples' tracks for company and feeling in the best shape of my life. Gaining those summits and views by the strength of my own legs and a LOT of sweating feels so damn good! None of those feelings and experiences would have been possible had I not persevered against the anxiety that bubbled up with the thought of leaving what I felt comfortable with.

So as I wait in JFK for my flight to Costa Rica, I'm actually not as nervous as I thought I'd be. When I think about the logistics of being gone a month to a foreign country by myself...yeah, the butterflies start fluttering. However, when I think about waking up every day and being able to speak Spanish, run and do yoga on the beach, practice my horrible surfing, meet amazing new friends, get some sun on my incredibly white legs and booty, and get some much needed solitude and mediation....I'm only filled with excitement! I relax at the beach in a way that I simply can't anywhere else. Plus, the amazing freedom of fearlessly playing with handstand on a wide open beach is utterly irresistible!

Pura Vida!! 

PS, get ready for a ton of yoga (and selfie) pics! :) 

To "gram" or not to "gram"...

A lot of people now associate me with my love of taking yoga pictures. For example, I asked a friend in the coffee shop in town the other day to take a picture of my girlfriends and me. As I handed him my phone, he automatically said, “Time for a yoga picture?” As hilarious as that is, it’s actually pretty true. To me, yoga pictures are a great way to “spice” up what could be a plain ole scenic picture as well as an artful expression. I have tons of pictures from travels and day-to-day life that are either solely scenic or where I’m standing awkwardly smiling in front of some mountain or shop. Popping a yoga pose in there instead of a posed smile makes it more fun and interesting! As a student of art history, I love envisioning a composition; I enjoy playing with the pairing of colors and patterns to my surroundings and picking an appropriate posture for the image I’m seeking to create. It doesn’t always come out the way I see it in my mind, of course. But I, along with as many people as I can recruit to join me as possible, have fun trying. And that’s the most important part.

The Instagram yoga community is expanding exponentially. There are so many ways to share inspiration, between the hashtagging system and all of the pose-of-the-day challenges. These challenges are a great reminder to try to practice every day and to try to capture a shot or two of that practice, whether it’s of a quick pose at work or while on a beautiful exotic vacation. I’ve found yogis and yoginis through these social media pathways that are all over the world, and I’m lucky enough to be sharing tips, “likes,” and inspiration with them. The creative representation of such great physicality in various locales (again, whether in the grocery store or on an exotic beach at sunset) never gets old to me. I find it simply beautiful and I love starting my day with a scroll through my Instagram newsfeed. I love being reminded that there are always new places to take my yoga practice: not only literal geographic locations, but also new variations of poses that I’ve been practicing for years. Taking yoga pictures and interacting through them on various social media sites is an exercise for keeping my creative juices flowing and for keeping my yoga practice fresh. Not to mention I really enjoy playing around with filters!

Pictures are also a great way to see what you're feeling. I know in my pinchamayurasana scorpion my toes feel like they're an inch away from my head. However, in pictures I see that I'm about 2 feet away! They're a great way to track progress in a posture as well as a way to coach yourself in a pose. You can see the tweaks you need to make for the posture. 

the pressure to perform in yoga class

Something interesting happened in class to me a couple of weeks ago. I was at a Sunday morning class, and feeling very laid back. I was enjoying flowing sleepily and taking it easy in my practice for a change. We were in a standing figure-4 hip-opener. The teacher, who, along with anyone else who knows me even a little bit, knows that I love arm balances, offered me specifically an opportunity to transition into flying pigeon. I had had every intention to stay in the standing balance, but suddenly I felt pressured to go into the arm balance. So I did.

Coming from a background of power vinyasa yoga, I've always enjoyed (even in a love-hate kind of way) a physically challenging practice. I also grew up playing a lot of sports, so I have been wired to always be pursuing better, faster, stronger, etc. Which is why I think I was so drawn to the physically challenging aspect of yoga.

However, in the past year or two, I've been able to become a little more in tune with my body and it's desires and limitations. Maybe it's being out of the athlete mindset, and/or having to deal with various injuries. Maybe it's due to the fact that between a demanding work schedule, including teaching as much as I can, and a desire to enjoy all of the outdoor activities living in beautiful Colorado has to offer, my personal practice is not as ritual as it was in college. I do try to practice every day, but sometimes that means a 20-minute flow at the gym with an emphasis on post-workout hip and hamstring stretches, as opposed to a 90-minute hot flow class. I've noticed a deepening in many postures of my practice, including some of the taxing arm balances and inversions, as well as some of the more flexibility-oriented postures like pigeon. I think a lot of this deepening has come from being able to follow the wishes of my body. I'm much more able to "blow off a vinyasa" if my shoulders are tired or achy, as opposed to a time in college when I continued to attend rigorous vinyasa classes and attempting all the poses with a strained tendon in my shoulder. Even off the mat, living in a very active community with a knee problem has been difficult. But if I only run on the days where I'm really feeling like running, then my knee is usually ok and the run is pretty successful. As opposed to coming home on fall break my junior year of college and making myself run when the next day a medical test came back positive for the flu.

Just as I've realized the benefits of being in tune to the limitations of your body, I also realize it's important to not become complacent. To continue to challenge yourself. It is absolutely a fine line that we are constantly struggling with. In my classes, I encourage my students (and myself in my own practice) to take everything I say as an offering. To respect your body and it's injuries and limitations, but also to give things a shot. I encourage them, and try to remind myself, to allow the practices of our neighbors in the kula of our class to serve as inspiration. Everyone has different "strengths" in their practice. I've always been stronger, so it is easy for me to see a yogini in full king puff pigeon or full splits and feel a spurt of envy. To try and feel "wow that's awesome, maybe someday" is definitely more difficult and definitely something to strive for.

additional adventurous wandering

As we've started moving into the fall up here at 9,600', the hikes and trees and mountains have only gotten more picturesque. Also, the rain has lent some pretty, misty clouds to the views. They remind me of home!

Hiking in Gunnison and Crested Butte on my trip south to visit Trish!

Hiking a very wet Montgomery since our 14-er race got flooded out. Love the old mine!

Mt Democrat at 14,154' with Ella.

Backpacking in to the Conundrum Hot Springs in Aspen.

This summer and fall has been so amazing! I'm so excited to see what the winter has to bring...there's already snow accumulating on the peaks! 

adventurous wandering

This summer, I've had the pleasure (and have made a considerable effort) to go on a ton of beautiful hikes that I've never done before. This summer has been absolutely gorgeous; it's been super rainy, which means everything has stayed green and blooming. #lovingcolorado

Gold Hill with Emily

Mt Quandary with Ella: 14,265' !

Louisville, CO with Lindsey and Alexa

Breckenridge wandering with Em and Nico

Crystal Lakes with Blair

Blue Lakes with Ella

McCullough Gulch with Jules

South Willow Creek Falls with Jules and Ella

I just had a wonderful conversation with my second family yesterday about the benefits of spending time in the wilderness. Not just a few hours at a time, but days, even weeks, on end (many of us had done NOLS courses). Spending time away from civilization and technology is so incredibly liberating! I do realize the irony of saying that on a blog, but there's a beautiful balance to be found between being a hermit that lives in the woods forever or being superficial. Spending that month in the woods in Idaho during my NOLS course helped me appreciate everything I have. I missed my face cream, my phone, my diamond ring my mom gave me on my 21st birthday, showers... But I didn't NEED that to be happy. It was one of the best things I've ever done in my life, being dirty, hairy, sweaty for weeks, and every day putting my 42-pound pack on to hike another mountain. Seeing things that it seemed like no one else in the world had ever seen. We were remembering our NOLS courses as AUTHENTIC and INTIMATE. There's no need, or chance, to be anything but open and yourself when you're out in the woods. 

Getting little glimpses of that liberation and authenticity with my hikes here in Colorado, getting to hike back to scenes you'd never see from the highway or get the same impression from a picture that you do in person, has made this one of the best summers! Spending that time on the trail with likeminded friends is awesome. Even better, is spending that time on the trail with girlfriends that we then go get pedicures, shop at Nordstrom (or anywhere really), and drink wine! #lovemygirlfriends

Summertime!

So here's a brief recap of my spring/early summer adventures! I was lucky enough to be able to be a guest teacher at one of my closest friend's studios in Arkansas, go to Cabo with two of my closest girlfriends, and spend two glorious weeks in my homestate of North Carolina. ...

This is a picture of my soul sister Sarah and me in her studio, Maitri. This trip was a fantastic break for me. Not only was it "family" time in the South with Sarah's family in Arkansas, but it was also my first time teaching outside of my studio in Colorado. I was welcomed whole-heartedly by the Maitri community, and was so grateful to be able to successfully share my unique jam-sweat-flow sessions. It was also a memorable trip in that I got to be a student again, and to spend some quality time with my adoptive family.  

Next up was my trip to Cabo, Mexico, with two of my closest friends in Colorado. I like to describe this trip in that it wasn't Cabo "woo-hoo" (imagine this paired with a raise-the-roof hand motion), but rather a restorative beach trips with the girls. It was a lot of yoga, running, lying on the beach, girltalk, and sleeping. Oh, and fabulous fish tacos, sunsets, car music, spa dates, and piña coladas. Since it was May, the resort we stayed at was essentially a retirement town, which was more than fine with us. We ventured into downtown Cabo a couple of times to eat, drink, and shop. We also made a day trip up to Todos Santos. We found it an adorable town, although missed being right on the beach. A boss/client of ours in Breckenridge treated us to a fabulous meal there, one of the best any of us has ever had! I planned my vacation reading perfectly, choosing to take with me Elizabeth Gilbert's "Committed," Elisabeth Eaves's "Wanderlust," and "Tales of a Female Nomad." All books about the travels and adventures and revelations of women. They led to fabulous insights and conversations to be had on the beach which watching the turbulent ocean. Overall, we came back to the mountains (which were still snow-covered!) suntanned and refreshed. 

Last up for now was my trip back home. One week in the mountains, and one week at the beach: perfection. My time at home was filled with spending time with family, friends (a surprising number of friends in town from high school and college!- great catch-up sessions!), eating at my favorite restaurants, snuggling my puppies, and yoga yoga yoga at my studio. This being the studio I did my training at, it's practically my home away from home. I always attend at least one class a day while visiting, trying to soak up as much diverse yoga as possible. Some of my all time favorite and inspiring teachers are here. I always leave home feeling inspired as a yoga student and teacher, as well as feeling enriched from being in the place with so many people I love body and soul. It's getting harder and harder to leave every time. Not to mention how hard it was to leave after being at the beach. We've been going to the same beach as a family for the past 17 years. We've stayed on the same street, eaten at the same restaurants, set up our beach chairs and umbrella in the same place for as long as I can remember. We have our own community there, filled with awesome family friends and a routine. Days are filled with running on the beach or "the loop," eating custard from the local ice cream shop, reading Nora Roberts for hours on the beach, body surfing with my dad, walking and talking on the beach with my mom, sea kayaking or SUP-ing with the dolphins in the lagoon, and, naturally, taking fun beach yoga pics. This vacation was by far getting the best of both worlds!