Does anyone else feel like time is speeding up? Like the planet is actually spinning faster and so what our hearts desire to manifest come back to us exceedingly quickly? I feel as though I put my intentions out towards what I'm ready to receive, and as if throwing out the worlds fastest boomerang, it's back almost before I can raise my hand to catch it. Just in my last post, which was only a month ago but feels like ancient history, I talked about feeling happy and being ready to accept more love, happiness and authentic connections. So with the power of this new planetary vibration beginning, I guess it was no wonder that I found myself in the midst of the YogaSlackers Teacher Training. This 10 day event, just as last year, was a meeting of some of the most authentic and loving people on the planet and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it.
The YogaSlackers have a reputation for being rather bad-ass, and their training is no different. It isn't just extremely challenging physically, but often also mentally and sometimes emotionally (I mean, do these really come separate from each other?). I wrote about this training last year in my blog, mostly my challenges with my body and meeting my own physical expectations of myself. Also about my injury as it related to different parts of my life, particularly my relationships. But also the joy that I found in feeling part of a family of authentic and loving people. This year was also full of love, and physically challenging, but not because I was being pushed on the line or in conditioning -- I was the cook.
Another brave soul and I took on the challenge of cooking for this group of 37 people for 10 days. We kind of new what we were getting into, as we had seen it all go down before. But as we wheeled five carts out of Costco for just our first of four shopping days, shoving food into every crack and crevice of both Jason and Chelsey's car and the Peace Love Car (aka: PLC), we wondered if we were really prepared for the week. The schedule went something like this -- out of bed at 6am to make coffee, tea and put out snacks by 7am. While they do yoga from 7:30 to 9, we make smoothies and serve them at 9. Then, prepare brunch to serve by 11, a healthy snack at 3pm, and dinner by 6:30ish. Sometimes a birthday or anniversary would require some extra TLC for late night brownies, ice cream, cake, etc. So for the first couple days while we figured everything out, we were on our feet for something like 15 hours a day. I have never felt my feet hurt so much. I never really had my hips ache even when laying down. I've never moaned in pleasure during legs-up-the-wall pose, which was done often, and in any place we happened to lay ourselves down, sometimes shaking our calves back and forth and muttering in an exhausted, dreamy voice how it looked like a kelp forest and then laughing until we melted into puddles on the floor, where sometimes hungry slackers would find us and we'd pick ourselves back up and into the kitchen....
But, as the days went on, we became more efficient. We were able to gauge just how much work was needed to create excellence, and no more. We were able to give ourselves mid day naps and play time on the water slackline and interact with the amazing people who were there to learn to teach slackline and to eat our food. So although my body was tired, and hurting in new ways that only a car buffer, trained hands and anti-inflammatories could help, I have also never felt more appreciated for such hard work.
Every day, we were thanked endlessly for our food. We were massaged by participants. We were given smiles and hugs (good hugs, the heart centered kind I long for), compliments and kisses, laughter and jokes and applause. People came into the kitchen to sing with us (because, Goddess knows we were always singing). And we were able to be part of the new generation of YogaSlacker teachers, and it felt so GOOD. And through that process, the happiness, love and space for new possibility that just a long month ago had shot me out of a shadow and propelled me into this space of light and love, blossomed. And I was able to give, and to receive, and to share, and to love, and to feel genuine gratitude for all that was around me.
Before I left for the retreat, I had been keeping true to the lunar rhythms and following the pattern of the moon and stars in my chart. The full moon in Sagittarius that carried with it a partial eclipse fell in my 7th house of relationships. On a good guidance of my astrologist Holly RePenn, I created a document that lists, in detail, the qualities of a person who would fulfill my soul's need. I was tired during this full moon, and I begrudgingly took to work, but became more interested and soon took pen to paper with gusto. Then, when I went to Virginia, I immediately forgot about the list (which is the surest way to manifest quickly -- ask for what you want and then let it go -- how is the Universe going to take it and manifest it if you're still holding on?). During the training, I met so many people who fulfilled my soul in so many of the ways I needed. But I got more than that. I am sitting here this morning, listening to the birds sing and marveling in the possibility that I've already manifested what it was I wanted from that simple list constructed during the full moon. I'm marveling in the ways of the universe and and I'm coming to experience what it is I've always known -- that as long as I listen to the guidance of spirit, and all the tools that Spirit provides, I can have my heart's desire. All I know is that today I am grateful, and hopeful, and grounded and happy.
I am also happy in knowledge that I am on my final leg of healing this experience of back injury. I can FEEL it in my aura and I can see it in my meditations. I came home to see my physical therapist, sure that long hours on my feet, a night sleeping in and airport, and a day on a place had screwed my back up royally. Instead, I was in for another juicy surprise -- I had no mal-alignments in my spine, period. None! Tears of joy streamed down my face for the second time that day, and I told my PT, "I can feel myself at the end of this cycle." She said to me, "We both knew it was really about getting our of your relationship cycle. You were able to make the hard decisions, and they came with the greatest rewards." And I allowed myself to feel pride, for finding the courage I needed to address the cycle of emotional pain that kept me in physical pain, and to make the decisions necessary to change my life. And it's changing now, whew! Changing so quickly it makes me giddy with happiness.
Maybe the loving power of the YogaSlackers group allowed my manifestations to occur so much more quickly; that idea that if you get a bunch of like-minded individuals in a creative space together, miracles will occur. Maybe when you get a group of loving, authentic and supportive people together, people who notice each other's intrinsic worth and support what they see inside, the seeds that our spirit plants in order to manifest our dreams are fed by those energetic ribbons of love and hope and laughter, and we are able to create our dreams much more quickly, no matter how fast the world is spinning.
The YogaSlackers have a reputation for being rather bad-ass, and their training is no different. It isn't just extremely challenging physically, but often also mentally and sometimes emotionally (I mean, do these really come separate from each other?). I wrote about this training last year in my blog, mostly my challenges with my body and meeting my own physical expectations of myself. Also about my injury as it related to different parts of my life, particularly my relationships. But also the joy that I found in feeling part of a family of authentic and loving people. This year was also full of love, and physically challenging, but not because I was being pushed on the line or in conditioning -- I was the cook.
Laura and I, the two cooks (or Cookies, as Sam called us)
Another brave soul and I took on the challenge of cooking for this group of 37 people for 10 days. We kind of new what we were getting into, as we had seen it all go down before. But as we wheeled five carts out of Costco for just our first of four shopping days, shoving food into every crack and crevice of both Jason and Chelsey's car and the Peace Love Car (aka: PLC), we wondered if we were really prepared for the week. The schedule went something like this -- out of bed at 6am to make coffee, tea and put out snacks by 7am. While they do yoga from 7:30 to 9, we make smoothies and serve them at 9. Then, prepare brunch to serve by 11, a healthy snack at 3pm, and dinner by 6:30ish. Sometimes a birthday or anniversary would require some extra TLC for late night brownies, ice cream, cake, etc. So for the first couple days while we figured everything out, we were on our feet for something like 15 hours a day. I have never felt my feet hurt so much. I never really had my hips ache even when laying down. I've never moaned in pleasure during legs-up-the-wall pose, which was done often, and in any place we happened to lay ourselves down, sometimes shaking our calves back and forth and muttering in an exhausted, dreamy voice how it looked like a kelp forest and then laughing until we melted into puddles on the floor, where sometimes hungry slackers would find us and we'd pick ourselves back up and into the kitchen....
Doing what we do best!
But, as the days went on, we became more efficient. We were able to gauge just how much work was needed to create excellence, and no more. We were able to give ourselves mid day naps and play time on the water slackline and interact with the amazing people who were there to learn to teach slackline and to eat our food. So although my body was tired, and hurting in new ways that only a car buffer, trained hands and anti-inflammatories could help, I have also never felt more appreciated for such hard work.
Every day, we were thanked endlessly for our food. We were massaged by participants. We were given smiles and hugs (good hugs, the heart centered kind I long for), compliments and kisses, laughter and jokes and applause. People came into the kitchen to sing with us (because, Goddess knows we were always singing). And we were able to be part of the new generation of YogaSlacker teachers, and it felt so GOOD. And through that process, the happiness, love and space for new possibility that just a long month ago had shot me out of a shadow and propelled me into this space of light and love, blossomed. And I was able to give, and to receive, and to share, and to love, and to feel genuine gratitude for all that was around me.
Taco Night!
Before I left for the retreat, I had been keeping true to the lunar rhythms and following the pattern of the moon and stars in my chart. The full moon in Sagittarius that carried with it a partial eclipse fell in my 7th house of relationships. On a good guidance of my astrologist Holly RePenn, I created a document that lists, in detail, the qualities of a person who would fulfill my soul's need. I was tired during this full moon, and I begrudgingly took to work, but became more interested and soon took pen to paper with gusto. Then, when I went to Virginia, I immediately forgot about the list (which is the surest way to manifest quickly -- ask for what you want and then let it go -- how is the Universe going to take it and manifest it if you're still holding on?). During the training, I met so many people who fulfilled my soul in so many of the ways I needed. But I got more than that. I am sitting here this morning, listening to the birds sing and marveling in the possibility that I've already manifested what it was I wanted from that simple list constructed during the full moon. I'm marveling in the ways of the universe and and I'm coming to experience what it is I've always known -- that as long as I listen to the guidance of spirit, and all the tools that Spirit provides, I can have my heart's desire. All I know is that today I am grateful, and hopeful, and grounded and happy.
I am also happy in knowledge that I am on my final leg of healing this experience of back injury. I can FEEL it in my aura and I can see it in my meditations. I came home to see my physical therapist, sure that long hours on my feet, a night sleeping in and airport, and a day on a place had screwed my back up royally. Instead, I was in for another juicy surprise -- I had no mal-alignments in my spine, period. None! Tears of joy streamed down my face for the second time that day, and I told my PT, "I can feel myself at the end of this cycle." She said to me, "We both knew it was really about getting our of your relationship cycle. You were able to make the hard decisions, and they came with the greatest rewards." And I allowed myself to feel pride, for finding the courage I needed to address the cycle of emotional pain that kept me in physical pain, and to make the decisions necessary to change my life. And it's changing now, whew! Changing so quickly it makes me giddy with happiness.
Maybe the loving power of the YogaSlackers group allowed my manifestations to occur so much more quickly; that idea that if you get a bunch of like-minded individuals in a creative space together, miracles will occur. Maybe when you get a group of loving, authentic and supportive people together, people who notice each other's intrinsic worth and support what they see inside, the seeds that our spirit plants in order to manifest our dreams are fed by those energetic ribbons of love and hope and laughter, and we are able to create our dreams much more quickly, no matter how fast the world is spinning.
