My Month of Eat Pray Love

For those of you that haven't read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, it is about her taking a year to rediscover herself. She spends 4 months in Italy, India, and Indonesia. During that time she revives her passion for living, her awareness of self, and her ability to love others. I am hoping this next month will prove to be a mini-version of that experience for me.

I start my journey with family. Experiencing the chaotic world of children and Disney. As my mother-in-law put it, and very well I might add, this is an opportunity to bring a bunch of different personalities together and draw from their strengths to create a wonderful and memorable vacation that meets the needs of all. I am excited to spend a week with a group of people I look to often for inspiration and perspective. Having children around reignites the magic, and getting to see the parks through their eyes will be like belieiving in the Easter Bunny again. Perhaps I will find a way to bring that magic into everyday living a little bit more.

As the family returns home, Rich and I head to the cruise ship for a week of total relaxation. The practice of doing absolutely nothing and enjoying it. I plan to mostly sleep, eat, read, and lay around. Not only rejuvenating after a week of themeparks, but great preparation for intense physical and mental practice. Often times, in those moments of quiet, that is where the greatest journey, the journey of the spirit- can be known.

Finally, Rich returns home, and I continue on- flying first into Dubai, and then into India. To the state of Kerala on the southwest side. There I will spend 10 days at an Ayurvedic retreat. In sanskrit Ayurveda means "The Complete Knowledge for Long Life." It is a wholistic approach to health. I will be meeting with an Indian doctor to discuss my constitution and dinacharya(daily habits/schedule). The doctor will recommend herbs to take, food to eat, exercises to do, habits to change, based off of the constitution he diagnoses. The week will consist of massages, treatments, yoga, and meditation. I will have private sessions with both the doctor and the host of the retreat, a yoga master. I know this part of my journey will be the greatest challenge. I will be away from Rich for two weeks, and I will be spending the time working on me, which in my opinion can be the most challenging thing one can do. Yet, I am excited to be a student again. I have been out of balance in my role as teacher, and only through being a student also, can one progress as a teacher.

Through all of this I hope to deepen the harmony within myself and throughout my life, I hope to take what I have learned and bring it back to share with all of you. I'd like to thank everyone who has been a part of my life, shared their wisdom, and helped me grow. I am truly lucky. Namaste.

Enjoying the Journey Makes All the Difference

From the moment I could drive, I have always used a car that could simply get me where I needed to go. There was never much luxury to my traveling experience. Over the years, the dislike for driving a car, especially in inclement weather, grew and grew. It got to the point where I would not participate in activities because I did not want to drive there. I find this interesting since anyone that knows me knows I love to travel. Thousand mile road trips and flying to other continents, I’ll do at the drop of a hat- but getting into the car to drive downtown on a dark or snowy day, dreaded it and did anything to get out of it. My psyche still baffles me, but I’m okay with bafflement. Baffle is a fun word…

So anyway, a couple weeks ago I finally hung up the hat, threw in the towel, or any other euphemism you’d like to add in, and cosigned on a newer car with my Other. And, ohhhhhhhhh boy did my whole perspective on driving change! To have a car that heats up quickly enough to actually warm you as you drive, oh oh oh- and, heated seats are pure heaven to me. To have a car that can actually move through snow without getting stuck or sliding, a car that can play music without faulty wiring continually changing the station or volume level. A car whose engine purrs instead of creaking, clanking, sputtering at me in a constant threat to stop where it is in protest and not start again until I pay $1000 dollars.

All of the sudden, it was an enjoyable experience to drive. No longer was it all about the goal of a destination. I could actually enjoy the getting there part. I could enjoy the journey. And of course the moment I realized that, the yogi in me kicked in, and the metaphor spread to all the other aspects of my life. My car may be the tool that makes the journey to work enjoyable, but yoga is the tool that makes my journey through life more enjoyable. If you think about your body like a car, a vehicle that takes you through life, then it makes complete sense. If we don’t take care of our car- give it regular oil changes, fluid refills, tune-ups, tire rotations, etc- it breaks down, overheats, stops working efficiently and sometimes stops working all together. Fine-tuning my body with yoga over the years has made it possible for me to enjoy the ride through life with better health- physically, mentally, and immunologically. I have upgraded not only my car, but also myself, from an old broken down jalopy, to a nice new fully tricked out whip. Awwwwwwwww yeah(picture me in sunglasses on windy road, driving into the sunset, a rad beat in the background). Namaste.