picking pearls

One of the many simple yet profound teachings I'm learning from Babaji is the art of picking pearls.

Picking pearls is to recall, to remind yourself of all the good in your life, of the blessings in which to express gratitude.

Picking pebbles to to recall, to remind yourself of all that is bad in your life, of all the sh*t in which to wallow in.

So today friends, as you lay in bed before drifting off to sleep I invite you to pick a few pearls and hold them tightly to your heart.

Here are just a few of mine:

*A husband that gifts me with a card in the shape of a fave word (believe) and a "trash" mag. Reminding me that I am good, I do good, and the world is good.

*A sunny Sunday and a long walk with Andy and Remy.

*Lots of yoga newbies walking through the big magic door at the treehouse.

*New dreams and projects coming together with ease.

*Upcoming road trips.

*A cabin in the Smoky Mountains to celebrate a healthy, cancer free Mama Alice.

*Seeing red and pink and all things love in the stores. Yes I know that Valentines Day is a Hallmark holiday but I don't care. I love Love.

*Blue Moon & Mellow Mushroom.

*Honeybell oranges.

*Reveling in BFF's happiness.

*The sound of chopping veggies. The taste of homemade goodness.

*A new lush bomb that promises to turn my bath the same color blue as the ocean.

*A new found love of promises and commitments and the power of keeping both.

*Taking classes at the treehouse and feeling like such a lucky lady to have such awesomeness around me both in the form of teachers and fellow students.

*Collaborating with The Massage Center and hosting the one and only Wah!

*The therapy that comes in the form of a good book and putting pen to paper.

*Yogis trusting me with their stories.

*A warm bed and a morning routine that include a dog sleeping close by, hot tea, and inspiring words to listen to and take page after page of notes.

*My desire to know myself and make change as needed.

*Staying present when it would be much easier to run away.

*Mary Oliver and her way with words that continually inspire me.

*How good it feels to make good choices for my body.

*A trip to Mexico that's on the horizon and a yoga retreat that is filling up beautifully.

*Kind cards and letters I've recently gotten in the mail that make me feel like the people in my world are simply the best.

*A hOMe that I absolutely love. As the sun bounces onto my bedroom walls I say to Andy, "I love the color of our bedroom. It reminds of the color of a cottage by the sea."

How about you, what pearls are you picking these days?

the examined life

"Emerson, I am trying to live,
as you said we must, the examined life.

But there are days I wish
there was less in my head to examine,
not to speak of the busy heart."

Miss Mary Oliver

watching, feeling, being

When the hummingbird
sinks its face
into the trumpet vine
and the funnels

of the blossoms,
and the tongue
leaps out
and throbs,

I am scorched
to realize once again
how many small, available things
are in the world

that aren’t
pieces of gold
or power–
that nobody owns

or could buy even
for a hillside of money–
that just
float about the world,

or drift over the fields,
or into the gardens,
and into the tents of the vines
and how here I am

spending my time,
as the saying goes,
watching until the watching turns into feeling
so that I feel I am myself

~Mary Oliver

Last night as I read the poem in bed it was this last sentence that leapt out at me....

"watching until the watching turns into feeling so that I feel I am myself."

I'm reminded this is the power within the yoga practice.

Watching the breath move. Visualizing the breath as it moves in and out the nostrils. Visualizing the breath as it streams into the body and swirls around.

Watching the body move. Do I move and glide with or without restrictions? Watching the movements that come with ease, watching the movements that feel challenging.

Watching the mind move. Are the thoughts positive or negative, constructive or destructive? Are they present moment oriented or drifting to the past or future? Are my thoughts serving me in this moment?

Watching. Watching. Watching.

Watching turns into feeling. Did you hear the invitation? It's not an invitation that screams. It's a rather quiet invitation.

Feeling the breath move. The breath moves in. Feeling the pause at the top of the inhalation. Breaths moves out. Feeling the pause at the end of the exhalation. Feeling how the breath helps the body to grow strong or surrender as needed. Feeling how the breath helps quiet the chitter chatter of the mind.

Feeling the body move. Creating a shape with our body, be it a warrior, triangle, or tree. Feeling the parts of our body that are strong and open, weak and tight. Feeling the rising and falling, expanding and contracting of energy.

Feeling the tone of the mind. Have I made peace with all that is in the moment? Can I cultivate appreciation for my body and breath so that my mind can grow more content? Can I see the good in my pose, the good in myself?

Feeling. Feeling. Feeling.

Watching and feeling lead to being.

And that's a pretty good place to be.

roasted sweet potato and black bean tacos

Yesterday for dinner I made those tacos. They were sooo good. The recipe can be found in the new issue of Oprah. I adapted it just a touch. Make, enjoy, and let me know what you think! Plus they are so quick and easy.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion diced
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 medium sweet potato (diced small)
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
salt and pepper to taste


1. Preheat oven to 400. Heat a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Saute onion, bell pepper (or poblano)with 1 tbsp olive oil until lightly caramelized. Stir in garlic and salt.

2. In a bowl toss sweet potato with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt. Add to skillet and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.

3. Place is pan with veggies and roast for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from oven. Add black beans and black pepper. Black beans will warm from the heat of the pan.

Warm your tortillas (we used corn) and add any toppings you like! We used a delish salsa verde on top.

I love, love, love the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans.

Earlier last week we had another variation with tacos...zucchini, black beans, and black olive combination. They were tasty too!

when our worst fears come true

Anytime I'm dipping my toes into new terrain, pondering a change, and/or pursuing a new dream, I always ask this question:

"What's the worst case scenario?"

This simple question has led to great change in my life. It's given me the first bit of courage to create and live out new dreams. It's also told me at times, "No, this is not the right time." Yes, the worst case scenario felt pretty big and real in my mind! I wasn't ready or willing to risk it.

There's something I've wanted to write about for a while now. I received the inspiration I needed this morning while listening to Babaji online as he spoke of trust and challenges.

He said, "When the worst of our fears comes true and we manage it, we live through it, that trust gives us freedom. Saying, "No matter what happens, I'll make the best of it."

Last fall one of my worst case scenarios came true and it turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me in a long time.

I usually travel to Tulum, Mexico two times per year to teach yoga. Just so happens that both times are during hurricane season. Experiencing a hurricane has always been my "worst case scenario", especially when I'm there leading yoga teacher training.

If you've been reading this blog, if you practice at Barefoot Works, if you were Sarah, or a student then you know my worst case scenario was a very big reality last fall in Tulum. The photo above was taken as we were leaving Tulum for Valladolid, a town almost two hours inland.

Writing that now still makes my heart beat heavier. I can't tell you how thankful I am for the way this all worked out. It could have been such a disaster. I can recall walking down the beach with Sarah to Maya Tulum to learn how they were handling the hurricane (they were all evacuating and yogis were flying home, including the teacher training group that was there).

While there I ran into Fabian, my dear shaman friend. This was the only time I ever rushed a conversation with when he told me, "When things like this happen and mother nature is in charge we cannot argue with it. All we can do is respect it and get out of harm's way." I nodded my head agreeing but mentally I was making a plan.

Of course I agree that safety was (and is) the most important thing. In my heart I knew we couldn't quit, fly home, and continue on our way. I had a feeling it would all be alright. I knew we had to stay and complete the training. These became my priorities and my goals:

1. Keep the group safe by moving inland.
2. Make the transition quickly and with ease in order to resume.
3. Create conditions at our new place to witness 12 students become teachers.

It was a success. I'm still in awe by the way in which this worked, the trust the group had in me and the trust I had in them. And the trust we all had in the Universe.

A beautiful, unspeakable bond was created among this group. I can't say how much of that was due to a crazy hurricane, but it was certainly a force, a factor, a challenge that we all navigated with trust.

And that's only the beginning.

It was this training and a particularly amazing student that led me to Sonoma to a beautiful Ashram and more importantly the monk that lives there. A place I can't wait to get back to. The five days I spent there closed out my year in the sweetest of ways. This was also the time I was so scared about Mama Alice and the Ashram brought me so much peace and comfort.

Last weekend 10 of 12 students gathered together in three lil pods. Sarah and I joined with four yoginis in Lexington, four gathered at Sonoma Ashram, and two in Banff, Canada. None of that was planned. It was all one big delicious cosmic coincidence.

When I think of what happened when my worst case scenario came true I can't help but grin and feel such appreciation for the wild ways of the Universe.

Sometimes it's hard to see that during the midst of challenge and crisis, but time and time again I see that if we go with the flow, do the best we can, and keep trusting, not only will we be free from suffering but we'll live a life of deep peace and inner joy.

I'm reminded that we never really know how things will play out in life. What appears to be great one moment can result in a disaster. What appears to be a disaster can result in a blessing.

I'm reminded that few things are certain in life and that leaning into trust and love is the way to go. I'm reminded that having people and practices in place to support you during tough times is so important.

When I forget this because I'm stuck in the land of challenge and crisis, I hope you'll remind me. :)

Thanks for reading. Much love to all of you....

photos from shaker village retreat

Happy Thursday Friends!

I want to take just another moment to celebrate these women, this new year retreat, and the fine folks of Shaker Village. I'm still getting messages from yoginis about their aha's and their hopes for the new year. It was such a great weekend and will certainly stand out in my mind and heart as a most power-full weekend. There is such power in gathering in beautiful spaces with like-minded peeps and doing real soul work.

Thanks for Misty for coming and taking these super photos!

my unconditional committment to wholehearted living

As my previous post noted, wholehearted is my theme for 2012. A couple weeks ago I got the book "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown. I've read her blog for a couple of years and enjoy her writing. But this book, you MUST get it. It's good. Really good.

This is where I fell in love with the idea of living, loving, and teaching wholeheartedly.

I'm spending more time thinking about what that will look and feel like. This morning I also went through my most recent journal and notes to pick words and phrases that resonate with me. This is my list so far:

something new emerges
touching hearts
sincerely devoted
purification of body and mind
fullness overflowing
wholeness
inspiring change
creating space for imperfection
deeply determined
seeking the source
oasis of stillness
live passionately
simplify
feed the soul
believe in magic (sorry Disney)
sacred courage (this was my theme last year and it still resonates)
hosting healthy thoughts
revel in the richness of life
remember your divinity
letting go, touching down
soaking up sweet goodness
anchored with a practice
true hearted contemplation
creating order while open to change
say what i mean, mean what i say (thanks Michael Franti)
peaceful transitions
dancing with what is
a world of endless possibilities
take a leap
immersion into nourishment
laugh, play, and dance (as in the video above!)

Clearly these are broad, vague, and open but I know the meaning behind them.

Next step is creating actual goals and plans.

Love this stuff.
Total dreaming, scheming, pondering and planning geek.

PS - I added the bit about committments because every where I look and read I see committments and promises. It's also a big part of my life coaching immersion work. And so it is, unconditional committments. That's gonna be fun (and tough)!

on wholehearted living

Last Wednesday I was riding in the car with my brother, sis-in-law, and dear Mama. We were on our way to dinner. I ask one of my (sometimes too many) fave questions for this time of year:
"Mama, what's your intention this year?"

Without skipping a beat, she responds, "Too live."

And that pretty much sums it up friends. Earlier that day I was at the hospital with my Mom as she had a scan to see if cancer was rearing it's big nasty head again. As her surgeon (who we are eternally grateful for) had said to her eight weeks earlier after completing her treatment, which was two surgeries, two rounds of chemo, and 33 treatments of radiation....

"You've done all you can and we've (her team of doctors) done all we can. There's nothing more now we can do but have faith."

Later as I reflected on these words I thought of the two ways Patanjali (our yoga sage) says you can attain yoga:

Practice and nonattachment.

My mom exemplified both.

There was also the bit about "having faith". In yogi terms we refer to it as ishvara pranidhana. My Mama never gave up faith. Not one single time. I can't say that she didn't in her quietest, most fearful moments, but she never once expressed it to anyone around her.

When you witness someone you love with your wholeHeart, your entire being, fight a grueling battle to live.....

Well it changes you. I know no other way to express it.

So for this reason and others, I am choosing "wholeHearted" as my one word for the year, my theme, my container, my guiding light to help me to choose how to best think, speak, and act. How best to use my time, energy, and resources.

The day after that question and that dinner we learned that my Mama's scan came back all clear. No signs of cancer.

To say that it was an unbelievably, life changing moment is an understatement. This is the photo I snapped with my phone moments after we heard the good news. The photos below show more of our journey over the last 5.5 months.