sarita and gracy playtime.

heart-opening.

handstands are way easier when you have a buddy!


these pictures were taken at sheep's meadow in central park, while i was in nyc in june. sarita and i have known each other since we were 15 years old and at unity church's youth conference in kansas city. even though she lived in arizona and i lived in dc, we managed to keep in touch because those kinds of teenage connection bonds are awful strong and needed during those years. after graduating we lost touch for a while but i heard she was in santa cruz and la, dancing and doing yoga and loving life.

then sarita moved to new york and our indispensable friend justin reconnected us in our common passion of getting our stretch and breath on. when at the beginning of the year sarita asked me if i would like to co-lead yoga and thai massage retreat in costa rica this august, i said, "um, hell yes." it was one of those leap before looking moments where my heart answered before my head could make a good argument against it. after committing to her, i have definitely had a few moments when i doubted whether we could make this work. as someone who is very hesitant about any kind of hard sell, especially regarding yoga, these past few months of retreat marketing have been such an experience of living my yoga. i've had to work really hard to spread the word as much as i can while completely releasing the results of having anyone say "yes." it's that same balance of effort and release that i am always trying to cultivate in my asana practice and just as in my yoga practice, it is hard. the trick, as patanjali advises us in the yoga sutras, is full faith in our success, no matter how hairy it may seem in the moment. for this, i have to thank the enthusiasm of sarita, who, just with her voice, makes me believe that anything is possible.

but this full faith stuff really does work. our sign-ups trickled in at first and but we held steady and they kept coming in. i understand now that the universe just likes to take her time assembling the perfect group of people for such a lovely affair. now we are a month away and i am happy to report that we've got a great group of people together to relax and learn in paradise. and we still have a few more openings if anyone is still looking for a fabulous way to close out their summer. you can find more information here and see pictures of anamaya, the resort center, right here. thank you to everyone for all their supporting in making this happen!

i am just back from a 10-day trip to the midwest (simple, relaxing, awesome) and i am working on posting some of the photos from the trip. in the meantime, i'll leave you all with this quote about perfectionism. i have been saving a while for the perfect post but i think that it applies to all of us on a daily basis (i know i've needed it already a couple of times today).

"I must learn to love the fool in me-the one who feels too much, talks too much,takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and break promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against the utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of my human aliveness, humility and dignity but for my fool”
-Theodore I.Rubin MD