[Spiritual SoundBite] When Do You Feel Most Like Yourself?

How did you spend your summers as a kid? Living at Playa Viva the last week has not only exposed me to a whole new environment but also conversations I otherwise wouldn’t be having. A guest I was speaking with mentioned that she was trying to decide where to spend Christmas with her family and that her 25-year old daughter considers a big festive city like Acapulco an ideal place for relaxing and vacationing because that’s where she grew up. The guest, on the other hand, grew up spending summers at a lake and that’s what she considers to be relaxing.

It made me think about where I feel most at “home” and what sorts of things feel natural to me. I grew up swimming everyday during the summer or going to the beach. I spent a lot of time outdoors with the neighborhood kids, riding our bikes, roller skating, playing basketball and tag football. Also, there were a couple of summers where my dad would take me and my sister to visit my grandparents in Hong Kong and we’d stay for the summer. It’s hot and humid as hell in Hong Kong during the summer time and I remember I loved swimming at the pool or in the ocean. I also get cold easily, so warm summer months were always my favorite time of year.

So when the guest mentioned that what we did as kids on “vacation” is what we feel most natural doing or what brings us most joy, it makes sense that I naturally gravitate towards locations with tropical weather where I can be barefoot, outdoors, and in my swimsuit 90% of the time! It’s how I feel most at “home” and feel most natural and “myself”.

Where do you feel most like “yourself”? And how close or how far away
from it are you most of the time? As kids, we do what comes naturally
and as we get older, we tend to have more outside influences that
causes us to stray away from what makes us who we are. So ask yourself what you enjoyed doing as a kid and think back to where and what you were doing that made you happiest.

Cheers to a Healthy. Happy. Sexy. You.

Living in Bikini Bottom…

Playa Viva…4th day here and I’ve pretty much been living in my bikini and am barefoot all the time. I’m literally living ON the beach…beach sand is everywhere. As soon as I arrived, I noticed the fine sand pouring into my tennis shoes…it was a moment of surrender and embracing the idea of having sand as my “floor”. I’ve also accepted the fact that my feet will never be fully “clean”—they will always be sandy and I will go to bed that way…and it’s okay.

I’ve given a yoga class every morning since arriving and having the ocean as our view and our soundtrack is amazing. I’ve given a few massages so far as well and they take place up on the tower that overlooks the ocean and the mountains from afar. I’m surrounded by the jungle and the sea and it is probably…it is by far, the most ideal “office” I’ve ever worked at.

The beach I live on at Playa Viva

The staff is super friendly and the cooks are amazing. Olga and Chuqui are the best local cooks…everything is homemade and fresh: from the tortillas to the salsas to the beautiful traditional, Mexican dishes we’re presented with at each meal…i.e.: chilaquiles, chicken enchiladas, stewed beef in a poblano sauce, and every Thursday in Julachuca is pazole day!…so I had chicken pazole (hominy) for the first time in my life! It was f’ing amazing. I don’t know how many bowls I had but it felt like I had a bottomless pit for pazole. I remember going to a dinner party in Los Angeles and pazole was the featured dish and I couldn’t have any because I was vegetarian back then.

Breakfast!

I must say, I’m super grateful for not being vegetarian anymore. I wouldn’t be having the culinary adventures that is so much a part of experiencing a culture. Hooray for being non-vegetarian! Woo hoo!!…but of course, done with the same consciousness as vegetarianism (that was for all the vegans and vegetarians out there).

Playa Viva

[Spiritual SoundBite] Opportunity+Openness=??

As you’re reading this, I’ll be on a flight headed to Ixtapa, Mexico where I’ll be greeted by a soon-to-be-friend and driven 30-minutes to the eco-resort I’ll be teaching yoga at for the next 2 months. Had someone told me that I’d be going to the little town that’s been known for being in the film, “Shawshank Redemption”, I wouldn’t have believed it. But many miraculous things have happened and so, I should not be so surprised. I believe each step we take each day prepares us for whatever tomorrow may bring. And so, when an opportunity comes along, you’re either ready to take it or not.

I also have been practicing ‘being open’…expanding my mind and spirit by doing things that may be a bit uncomfortable at first but become a part of who I am. For example, my dance classes have freed up any inhibitions of expressing myself physically in dance and have also opened up a whole new creativity in dressing for the classes! Outfits in dance class cannot be ‘wrong’. There’s no right or wrong. It’s all about being comfortable in your own skin and how you’d like to express that.

So I suppose opportunity met with openness becomes exciting possibility. And that is how I’m starting this trip to Zihuatanajo. Stay tuned…I’ll be regularly updating my blog, The Stellar Life (…that is, if I’m not too distracted by the ocean and turtles).

Cheers to a Healthy. Happy. Sexy. You.

Here’s A Positive Sign For You!

A snapshot I took at the Glendale/Echo Park Exit off the 101 fwy

DO NOT GIVE UP

Eco-Mexico–Here I Come!

Next week, I’ll have the opportunity to teach yoga and do massage at Playa Viva, an eco-resort in Zihuatanajo, Mexico. It’s a quaint town along the Pacific coast and I’ll be there till the end of the year. It’s an exciting opportunity I couldn’t pass up. My classes will be subbed by superb teachers. Please make sure you check them out at Silver Lake Yoga and Yogavidala!

Playa Viva is completely sustainable by design. You can read more about their sustainability practices here. I’m looking forward to being a part of such a conscious business!

Little Red Doors

“When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate” –C.G.Jung

[Spiritual SoundBite] Who Do You Keep As Company?

Portland, Oregan…that’s where I visited this past weekend. I got to see the new life that one of my best girlfriends, Alicia and her hubby Cooper have built for themselves over there. They’re both very talented and it’s an inspiration to see how they’ve come so far within a year of moving there and are successfully creating and building a business.

Many of my close friends are creatives and pursuing their dreams. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have attracted them into my life and to have fostered friendships that support me and encourage me to keep pursuing my own dreams. As they say, birds of the same feather flock together. It’s important who we surround ourselves with–they’re influence is much greater than we some times realize. Who are the inspirations in your life?…and make sure you share it with them!

Cheers to a Healthy. Happy. Sexy. You.

[Spiritual SoundBite] It’s Uncomfortable–Don’t Worry, It Won’t Last Long

I hate driving. It’s not even the traffic in Los Angeles that makes me not like it. I would rather just be driven than do the actual driving. I was apprehensive about driving to Santa Barbara by myself this past weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I avoid “long distance” driving…especially alone. The only time I’ve done any sort of road trip is driving down to San Diego to visit my sister and niece and nephews. But I was actually up for this “challenge” (as I called it). I thought it was about time I took a “grown-up” drive somewhere…alone.

With a tank full of gas, and my music to accompany me, I was ready to do this. I passed the familiar beaches and towns along the way that I’ve visited or camped at in the past. Doing the drive gave me courage to think that I may actually be able to go on a solo camping trip with my dog Duke. It’s been on my mind but because I’ve never camped alone nor done a solo road trip. Worry and fear always accompanied this nice thought. My first husband was always the one who found the campsites, set up the tent, and packed up the car. And this is another one of those things I feel like I must do for myself. Because there’s fear, I must do it. I’m not really sure what it is, but I make myself do the very things I fear. The fearless part of me wants to say to myself, “See?! I knew you could do it.” I suppose it’s a step towards believing I can conquer the unconquerable. And if it does turn out to be unconquerable, well…it doesn’t matter. Taking the risk in the first place and being able to say, “I tried” is all that really matters. Living without regrets is a big thing for me.

I think we’re constantly faced with challenges in life that cause fear–some small, some big…causing anxiety, worry, and restlessness. No one wants to feel discomfort. It’s uncomfortable. No matter how uncomfortable it may be in the moment, we must remember it is only temporary. We need to face it by acknowledging its presence, deal with it the best we can, and move through it.

True life is lived when tiny changes occur. -Leo Tolstoy

Cheers to a Healthy. Happy. Sexy. You.