Re-Entry Into Real Winter

Home from Chiapas & Monterrey

This was my second visit to our farm partner in Chiapas, Mexico. Also, this was the second trip that I have lead for One Bigg Island in Space. 

Are there challenges, and some discomfort, when you get out there? 
For sure. 
Did I have an incredible time?
Absolutely!!

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“They fear love because it creates a world they can’t control.”
~ George Orwell, 1984

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Hello friends!

Wow. For those of us in Michigan, we certainly are experiencing what my husband calls, “Real Winter.” On my first night home, we drove to Oval Beach and watched the wild waves crash against the rapidly growing ice formations. It was fierce and beautiful. 

It seems impossible that in approximately two and a half more months, we will once again be sailing in that big lake?!  

Anyway, it’s great to be home, and it’s incredible to be teaching once again. 

For years in my classes I have said things like, “Yoga is a breath by breath, moving meditation, rather than a series of postures.” 

I have to tell you. Traveling the way I have for the last 3 months? This concept has become abundantly more clear for me. 

Even though I always take a travel yoga mat with me, it’s not often that I get on that mat. Our schedules are intense, and space is not often optimal. 

And yet, these trips feel like one long moving meditation for me. 

Keeping myself grounded. And present. And flowing with the joys and the challenges. 

It’s so interesting. 

I could use words, photos, and videos that make these trips seem like all we do is laugh and eat great food in amazing places. 

I could also tell stories, and share photos, that present these trips as one huge challenge full of bumpy rides, delayed travel, and short nights in bad hotels. 

The truth is? Our adventures include all of the above and so much more. 

When you get out into remote places, and are being hosted by others, things don’t always go according to plan. And, maybe the plan itself seems a bit ludicrous to our Western way of thinking?!

Honestly? No matter where we spend our days, this complexity of occurrences in every day life is real.  I don’t want to try and live in an Instagram filtered / pretty version of the world. Nor do I want to doom scroll myself into a never ending pit of despair. 

Life is complex. And difficult. And fierce. And beautiful. 

It’s all right here. And, it’s all happening simultaneously. 

Right now, I’m continuing to try and strike a balance within my body and my being. What’s the right amount of information to ingest? And what do I want to do with that information, and all the feelings, the emerge as a result? 

What’s my responsibility in these times . . . for my family, my community, my country, my planet, myself? 

I don’t have a series of answers to these questions. And, I continue trying to move breath by breath, moment by moment, through each day. I continue resourcing myself with nourishing foods and practices and friendships and nature, so that I can meet each moment (best I can!) from a place of clarity, peace, and light. 

I hope each one of you are doing well. And taking great care. 

As always, no matter where I am, I am here for you. I’d love to know how you are doing in these times. 

Om shanti, shanti, shanti,

~ m