Birthday Love and Some Magic

Before going to bed, I set up a little birthday altar to greet my 24 year old self! 

Birthday magic is in the air. I am breathing deeply, closing my eyes and then opening them wide to make a wish, dreaming and manifesting. I bid 23 adieu. I reenergize my 2014 intentions and start anew with the brilliant age of 24.

This past year has been one of immense change, transitions weathered, insecurities bubbled up to the surface to be seen and then handled with love and care. Friendships strengthened, relationships released, and a returning (again and again) to loving myself, to softening and showing compassion. I place the lessons of 23 in my heart, in my pockets, and give the heartaches to the mischievous Spring breeze.

I turn the page into the unknown, greeting uncertainty with a latte and a deepening belief in self. I write the story of 24^th year here.

I Begin Here. I LOVE Now. Let that Birthday Magic Shine!!! 

Fierceness & Freedom

Urban Yogini strikes Camatkarasana, Wild Thing Pose

On the eve of my birthday, I invite fierceness and freedom to guide me on the mat.

Spontaneously, I spin open into a wild thing. Letting space stretch across my chest, I invite my arm to reach back. Grow long, my body urges, and my toes kiss the earth. I land back in downdog with an exhale and settle here, feeling a wildness and a sense of freedom spread within my heart.

I express freedom on the mat by flowing playfully from pose to pose. Fierceness is unleashed through wild thing, dancer’s pose, and a long held goddess stance. My ujiayi or victorious breath begins impromptu; an unconstructed wave of inhalations and exhalations feeding my inner fire and liberating my mind from negative chatter.

I rekindle fierceness and freedom on the mat and invite those guiding words to accompany me out into the growing heat of summer. Off the mat, fierceness materializes in leopard leggings matched with pink tops and singing along to Iggy Azalae. Freedom nurtures all parts of my personality and invites self-expression for all multitudes of my being.

Fierceness manifests in declaring boundaries, carving out space for me to write and fiercely honoring my time alone to create, daydream and be. Freedom lets my muse wander, creating yoga sequences, writing stories, piecing together the perfect Tuesday ensemble, and clearing out a sacred corner of beauty in my room. 

Fierceness demands I stay true to myself as I navigate transitions and muse on the next step. Freedom encourages self-exploration, travel, and following passions. On this birthday eve, I’m ready to start anew and embrace with a fierce and freed heart for all the summer adventures waiting for me.

Fierce and Free PLAYlist:

1.   Awake – Tycho

2.   Lollipop – The Chordettes (Squeaky Clean Desert Eagles Remix)

3.   Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap

4.   Only Love – Ben Howard

5.   We Own the Sky – M83

6.   Dougou Badia (feat. Sanigold) – Amadou & Mariam

7.   Diet Mountain Dew – Lana Del Rey

8.   Fancy – Iggy Azalea

9.   Tell Me Why – M.I.A. 

10.                See – Tycho

11.                 Hayling – FC Kahuna

12.                 The Wind – Cat Stevens

Lex Style

The arrival of Spring awakens creative energies. Closets are cleaned, spaces redecorated, or simply adorned with fresh flowers, daydreams of travels manifest into reality. There’s a desire to reconnect with friends, return re-energized to a forgotten project, nourish a passion, and entertain a creative hobby. This Spring, I’m indulging my fashionista side.

My inner fashionista uses dress as a form of self-expression, it’s an artistic outlet for my many moods, whims, and desires. Piecing together an ensemble empowers me to be a creatrix celebrating my femininity and individuality. I take an interest in trends, but only follow them if they speak and resonate with me.

As an avid people watcher, I see Lexington fashionistas tweaking today’s trends and rocking them out in a personalized style that is eye catchy and chic. My creative self wows over the eclectic parade of style I see in my hometown. My friends and coworkers consistently amaze me with their fashion creations. Therefore, in honor of the creative tides of Spring and the fashionistas who brighten my life and the Lexington style scene, I am introducing a Fashion Spotlight to this blog! The featured fashionistas are locals whose artistic ensembles celebrate their individuality and beauty.

The first (in a long line up of cool cats!) is my kindergarten, yoga, AmeriCorps sista soul mate, Delia Rose Gibbs. Dating back to kindergarten (we’ve got the photos to prove it!) Delia has been glamming out in dresses. From classy black to playful prints, Delia effortlessly intertwines feminine sophistication with fanciful whimsical flair. Her passion for justice guides her to making conscientious buys from local boutiques and fair trade sellers, resulting in a look that is soft, intentional and exquisite.

Here is Miss Delia Rose (outside of our Friday coffee place, A Cup of Commonwealth) in an eclectic and fashionable outfit that easily transitions from work appropriate to weekend fun!

Get the Delia Look:

"Bet Your Bottom Dollar" boots from BC footwear

Tights - Riteaid (ha!)

Dress - Kensie Girl

Jacket - Black Market

Bag - Servv, fairtrade clothing company!

Dedication

I sprint inside the colorful coffee shop for an afternoon caffeine kick. Pressed for time, I impatiently wait by the stack of magazines and newspapers. My mind runs through my to-do list, making a mental check list for the upcoming yoga class I am about to teach, even jumping ahead to tomorrow and pondering outfit choices (what shirt would be suitable for both work and then yoga?). Then, the young girl’s face on the cover of The New York Times pulls me into the present. Her eyes don’t meet the camera. Her schoolmates, silent figures clothed in long, grayish robes, surround her. The article reports about the recently released video of the schoolgirls as a hopeful sign for parents, at least suggesting that the girls are still together and alive.

The Nigerian schoolgirls sudden presence in the coffee shop puts my reality into sharp focus. I feel guilty about being so safe and secure in my slither of the world. Any grumblings I had about my day dissipate as I search the face of the photographed student. What violence and madness has she witnessed? I feel small standing next to the newspaper, powerless to help. My drink is called and I feel again a bit silly, a bit too privileged to so freely romp around while there are girls in the world who chance death by simply walking to school.

I step out into the hot spring day. Already my thoughts are turning back into the usual cycle of to-dos: ahead of me is the drive to the yoga studio and two classes waiting to be taught. My world is faraway from the forest keeping them captive, but the schoolgirls remain with me. I carry them out into the sunlit day, more aware of the heat, the brilliant sky, the soft breeze.

I slide into the muggy heat of the car, think about checking my phone, and begin to rummage around for my ipod, wanting to blast a new playlist. I know these signs: I want to bury my discomfort in loudness and external busyness. I force myself to pause. Pausing is hard, I don’t want to acknowledge the heavy emotions stirred by the photograph, but if I don’t recognize them now, they’ll fester and snap out sooner rather than later.

I place my hand over my heart and breathe. I listen to the anger, disbelief, sadness. I breathe in the pain and fear the girls and their parents are feeling. Listening and breathing creates a space, a softening where I can safely dwell and be.

Breathing consciously, I feel myself in my body and give thanks for it. My mind sweeps through the interactions I have had with people today and I silently offer the people in my day thanks and peace. My thoughts gently turn to the approaching yoga classes, to the teachers and yogis who will be sharing their practices with me, and gratitude for the opportunity to teach, for the ability to spread a ripple of peace blossoms within my heart.

I return to the Nigerian schoolgirls and dedicate my day to them. I intend to speak loving words, invite peaceful thoughts toward myself and others, and act with purpose and poise. The schoolgirls empower me to be a being of peace in this small corner of the world that I call home. For a moment, in that colorful coffee shop parking lot, their world and my world feel connected, and not so very faraway.

Spring Love & Rumi

Rumi eloquently captures my heart bursting love for this glorious Kentucky Spring:

Say, I Am You ~ Rumi

I am dust particles in sunlight.

I am the round sun.

To the bits of dust I say, Stay.

To the sun, Keep moving.

I am morning mist,

and the breathing of evening.

I am wind in the top of a grove,

and surf on the cliff.

Mast, rudder, helmsman, and keel,

I am also the coral reef they founder on.

I am a tree with a trained parrot in its branches.

Silence, thought, and voice.

The musical air coming through a flute,

a spark of stone, a flickering in metal.

Both candle and the moth crazy around it.

Rose, and the nightingale lost in the fragrance.

I am all orders of being, the circling galaxy,

the evolutionary intelligence, the lift, and the falling away.

What is, and what isn't.

You who know, Jelaluddin,

You the one in all, say who I am.

Say I am you.