on coffee.

(a scene from this morning)

my love for coffee is about so much more than the caffeine. even, dare i say, the flavor. although, the flavor is divine: rich, rustic, and earthy goodness.

my morning cup of coffee is a ritual of pausing. a moment to acknowledge the start of a new day.

i measure the grinds, pour in the water, listen to the hissing steam of the machine as the coffee starts to drip, drip, drip. then the swirl of the cream, slow deliberate sips, the warmth of the mug, and my thoughts.

of course, some days, simon does all of the above, (he he) and the cup of coffee delivered to my hands becomes a ritual of love.

together, we drink coffee, side by side... talk about the day ahead. and we cheers.

a cup of coffee, a new beginning. it really is quite wonderful.


p.s. lately, i have been educating myself about fair trade coffee, and if you're interested in learning more, please visit here.

have a gorgeous weekend!

(lately, it's hard to separate me from my camera.)

as i type this, i am sipping some new zealand wine, watching a silly show on television, and looking forward to an evening of pure relaxation. tomorrow, i am going to take a long walk. ahhhh.

have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the cool breeze of autumn (should you be so lucky).

yoga in the park, quiet time and pumpkin spice lattes.

hello, my lovelies! how are you?

yesterday i taught my first yoga class as a certified teacher and i was so nervous. we practiced in a shady little spot in the park, and my two students were encouraging and supportive. but honestly, i still struggled. i guess it will take some time to find my groove.

in other news, this week i am taking a wee break from our never-ending wedding to-do list. i am determined not to fret over the little things. instead, i am planning to write thank you notes, watch a silly romantic comedy and start brainstorming a yoga business name.

i'm also on a mission to enjoy my inaugural pumpkin spice latte of the season. hurray! have you had yours yet? :)


p.p.s. thank you, thank you, thank you, to those of you who sent us mixed cds for our honeymoon. you are so kind. i can't wait to listen to them!

(photo credit: flora douville)

what really goes on at yoga school, part 2

i want freedom for the full expression of my personality. -gandhi

one of my favorite aspects of being at kripalu was meeting complete strangers and slowly getting to know them, and then growing to love them. the process was particularly rewarding because our teachers were always reminding us to be ourselves and embrace the notion that we're all human beings just doing the best we can.

we were encouraged to talk to new people daily, listen to each others' struggles without trying to "fix" them, and work through challenging moments together... like teaching for the first time!

a great lesson for me was noticing how i am drawn to people who are unapologetic about who they are, confident in themselves despite being imperfect, and honest about how they feel. it's a quality i am striving to embody, particularly as i develop as a teacher.

i am also infinitely grateful to my new friends, who embraced me despite my insecurities, my daily need for time alone, my silliness, my occasional complaining, and my sensitivity to well... everything.

and wow, we had a blast. seriously, if you want to meet like-minded souls, who are as "real" as they come... go to yoga school. :)

what really goes on at yoga school, part 1

(our yoga teacher manual a.k.a. the bible.)

what am i doing here?
when we first arrived and were seated in a large circle, i think every single one of us had a moment of panic. "all these other people are going to be better yogis than me. this is going to be nuts. i want to go home!" luckily, it turned out we were all terrified. and we made it.


(my kripalu mug)

fifteen hour days:
i woke up at 6 a.m. every day and usually fell asleep around 10 p.m. it wasn't nearly as hard as i thought it would be... i got tired, yes, but the constant yoga and healthy food was very energizing. (and i still had my daily cup of coffee. of course!)


(a little nook in my room)

speaking of...
the food was local, organic, mostly vegetarian, fresh, and made with love... what more could a girl ask for? i became addicted to the fresh avocados, the kripalu house dressing, the chai tea, the kale (i know!) and the morning granola. yum. i really miss having all of my meals prepared for me... :)


(hilary and me)

the silliness:
we all bonded immediately, laughing about the fact that one our teachers resembles a ninja, sharing our life stories, and taking walks around the campus. i am so proud of all my friends who blossomed into yoga teachers over the course of the month.


(my friend athena doing some yoga in the grass)

and i'm even more appreciative that they let me talk about my bowels. :) yes, there was constant talk of bodily functions. maybe that's what happens when 57 people eat more fiber than ever before!


(ding! time to stop meditating.)

camel pose:
my favorite new pose is ustrasana. i used to avoid it like the plague, but several other yogis encouraged me, helped me, and supported me... and now i love it. funny how that happens.

om shanti! until tomorrow.

home sweet home (and lots to share!)

(me in downward dog by the lake)

hello sweet readers! so guess what? i'm officially a yoga teacher. woot woot!

i graduated on friday and am now settling back into life in boston. it feels a little surreal but i'm so happy...

this week i will be sharing lots about the past month, and i hope to be back to my regular posting schedule. thank you so much for sticking around and being so supportive.

i love you guys!

somewhere between overwhelmed and euphoric.

today is my 11th day at kripalu. wow.

at times, i feel like this month is moving at snail speed. i'll be sitting on my little cushion in the classroom, trying to soak up everything the teacher is saying about utkatasana, when in reality i'm just trying to keep my spine straight, lamenting that my pedicure is chipping, and wondering... when can i take a nap? :)

at other times, we'll be sitting in a circle and applauding each other's accomplishments, or practicing yoga outside on the cool grass, or dancing (there is so much dancing here!), and i'll feel an incredible amount of joy and energy.

still, i have hours (or days) when i feel like i'm never going to be able to pull off this whole "yoga teacher" thing. i had my first practice teach yesterday (30 minutes) and it was overwhelming. i felt like i was trying to juggle, on one foot, while singing a song, while counting backwards. but hey, i did it. :) and to be honest, i'm looking forward to doing it again.

and other than all of that, we're having a big 'ol blast. the people here are so lovely.

i've played in the rain, had bunnies for lunch company, soaked in the whirlpool, taken a field trip to a local coffee shop (huzzah), listened to beautiful music, built a lot of muscle strength, eaten gourmet meals every day, seen a celebrity (!), and laughed all day.

it's been an adventure! and it's not even half over...

kripalu update!

yoga school has been fabulous so far... it's amazing how much can happen in a week though; i don't know where to begin. :)

first, i'd like to thank you all for being so welcoming to our guest bloggers. i really appreciate it. aren't their posts fun? (also, i know the fonts have been wacky, and i'm going to try to fix it. thanks for your patience.)

now onto the juicy stuff... shall we start with some pictures?

kripalu is located smack dab in the middle of endless "om-trees." (that's our little nickname for them since they are so big and perfect!) the campus is incredible, and i've been taking short little walks daily.

this room is our home for the month. the instructors sit in the front, and all of the colorful shapes on the wall are our intentions for the month. the space is much larger than it looks in this photo though; we fit 57 yoga mats!

we've been learning lots of anatomy this week. i never thought i'd like bones so much. in fact, i can already tell i'm going to be the kind of yoga teacher who is obsessed with anatomy and safety. very cool.

this is a little lounge area where i sometimes sit. and by sometimes, i mean on the rare occasion that we actually have time to lounge. :)

a few other things about this first week:

- we practice yoga twice a day, for a total of 3.5 hours. the rest of the time we're either learning how to teach postures, or we're learning theory. i've also been going to dance classes during lunch. so you might say, i'm blissfully exhausted.

- we've also spent a great deal of time learning how to breathe! if you're not a yogi, you'd be surprised how much there is to learn about deep breathing. the other day we were practicing dirgha breathing and i burst into tears. i think i was releasing some built up anxiety. breathing is powerful stuff.

- the food. oh, the food. truthfully, i can't verbalize how yummy it is. sometimes in the middle of a tough yoga pose, i just daydream about the food. (don't tell, ok?)

- i've made some friends and they are all so special: a school teacher from calgary, a community center director from florida, an environmental genius from vancouver, and so many more... i feel so lucky to be spending this month with them.

- that being said, i miss simon.

i think that's about all for now. it has felt like a long week, but it's also been an empowering one. i will continue to update you all as time allows. :)

much much love and thank you for being patient and supportive while i am on this adventure!

p.s. today is our day off, and i'm getting a facial in a few hours. yay! 

kripalu day 1

hello, friends!
 
i am currently sitting in the kripalu cafe, looking out over rolling hills and a gorgeous lake. today's activities haven't started yet (they gave us a one time pass on 6:30 a.m. yoga) but i was awake most of the night anyway (a combination of excitement and nerves, i think). either way, i have my coffee next to me (shh) and a great view of the surrounding beauty. i'm happy.

kripalu is a very special place. if you've never been here, it's kind of hard to describe the vibe without using cliched words like "peaceful", "warm" and "vibrant". but it's true. there is an energy to this place that impresses me every time.

last night we had our opening circle, and it was surprisingly not intense. the two main instructors are lovely and funny, and made us all feel so welcome. there are about 60 people in the program, but only two guys. poor souls. :)

at one point we were moving around the room, getting our bodies warmed up, when all of a sudden a song came on... justin timberlake's rock your body. at that moment i knew this whole adventure was going to be a really good time.

oh my god! i just saw a bunny hopping around outside! seriously. okay, it's official: this place is ridiculous. :)

much love and see you soon!

p.s. pictures of my room and everything else coming soon! :)

off to kripalu!

eeeee! i am so excited as i type this... today i leave for my kripalu yoga teacher training.

it's been a long time coming, but i am finally packed and ready to go. simon is driving me to the beautiful berkshires, and then he'll help me set up my room. it kind of feels like i am going to college or summer camp! :) then we'll say goodbye (a part i'm not looking forward to) and i'll head off to program's welcome session.



i have lined up some awesome guest posts for the month, so i hope you enjoy them. but i'm also going to blog as often as i can. wish me luck, ok? i'll be thinking of all of you, and i promise to take lots of pictures!

p.s. if you happen to be at kripalu during the month of august and you see me, please come say hello! :)