wanderlust.yogini

 I finished. The book I was reading and the task was to find out what would be the ideal passion project. Take a look at the things that (1) I’m skilled, (2) people have a need for, and (3) I am passionate about. The intersection of all three of these areas will lead to my purpose. So I’m going to brainstorm: 1. I am skilled at organizing (data, information, thoughts) and making sense of it for others to understand. 2. People have infinite needs! 3. I am passionate about health and wellness, yoga and meditation, reading and learning. Teaching others and connecting. Adventuring and exploring new places, spending time with friends.  Now how can I tie all three of these areas together in a meaningful way to find a passion project that will help others?

 I came across a course entitled "A Year of Writing to Uncover Your Authentic Self." I decided to give it a try -- it's a program that sends a writing prompt every week for a year. I figured it was time to start writing digitally again. I've been on a journey to declutter recently, and I want to move away from the paper journals. Maybe digital isn't a better option -- I find that reading through all of my old journals tend to bring up weird feelings. I write a lot when I'm upset or stressed, so a lot of my writing isn't fun to re-read. But, I figure it will be cathartic in the meantime. It always helps me to get my feelings out on paper. I like to write, and I do know there is something to be said about handwriting things down, but I need to trim down my belongings. I'm tired of carrying so many things with me every time I move somewhere new. I want to become a true minimalist, but it's going to take some time and effort if I actually ever make it....

I have a renewed sense of energy around my yoga practice, and I am eager for learning. I find myself searching the internet for the right kind of content I need to consume. I am looking for books and inspiration, and I want to learn things from anatomy to philosophy to peoples' personal experiences. I find myself gravitating towards some familiar names, like Jason Crandell, who has a great blog and whose wife has an excellent podcast. But I find myself searching for more. I want to read and listen to something compelling, something I can attune to daily for inspiration to motivate me to get on the mat and learn something new. How can I get this information on the daily? I crave blogs, information, podcasts, and an easy way to find workshops in my area. I find it surprising that I haven't found any new moon / full moon / women's' gatherings in my area. I'm disappointed to find that I need to travel all the way to San Francisco to find the connection, gathering, and e...

I love  watching yoga videos on Instagram. I decided it was time to create one for myself! I follow the_southern_yogi on Instagram, and she recently explained how she shoots pictures and videos of herself and her flows when no one else is around to help. I decided to try it. It was so much fun just feeling out the flow, watching myself on video, and then adding music. I felt like I had created something artistic, like all the videos I so enjoyed watching on others' accounts. A couple things I learned from this experiment: 1. I need to make yoga (either at home or in the studio) an absolute priority in my life. This means making time for it daily, even if it is only ten minutes on the mat. This consistency is needed in order to improve my practice and feel better about myself and life in general. 2. Creating a video and the thought of sharing it with others is scary. Social media brings a lot of positivity, but also a lot of judgment, criticism, and self-doubt....

My dad flying his kite. He will never grow up...

This morning I stepped into my Friday morning yoga class, again feeling "unprepared" for what I had coming up in the next month. September would start the beginning of my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, and I was feeling nowhere near the level I needed to be at to start "teaching" any yoga. See, a couple months ago, I took a trip to New Orleans to visit my dear friend Lexi. While I was there, we took a free community yoga class, and about halfway through the class I thought to myself (for about the 100th time in the past four or so years), "I need to become a yoga instructor." I think there was something about traveling, being in a new place, and being around Lexi that really made me throw my practicality out the window and realize I should really take the leap and do it--- JUST because I really wanted to. I've always been the practical type- go to school, get a good job, work and save my money to eventually buy myself that freedom to do whatever I w...

As I've previously stated, my cousin is a Vegan, and since we live together her food values tend to rub off on me sometimes. So, in an effort to cook as a family, my Grandpa Paul has decided to help us cook any vegetarian or vegan meals we want, as long as we provide him with a recipe. So, on tonight's menu, we have a Mushroom risotto and vegetable skewers. Mmmm...    This is Paul, asking me, "How'd you miss that soup in the fridge? You never miss anything in the fridge!" And the process begins... I would've taken a picture of the finished project, but I was too hungry to even do that. It was delicious! =) As you can see, Paul had to add some meat in there somewhere (chicken sausages and fillets on the kabobs). I'm grateful for having the opportunity to live with my family again and have delicious Paul-cooked meals. Who knows how long life will be like this before things change again... I'm trying to be cognizant o...