Reebok and Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Chicago

Recently I was given the opportunity to teach yoga at the "stretching and relaxation" tent hosted by Reebok at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Chicago . 

ME, the girl who had walked for the last 5 years to help raise awareness for Breast cancer, ME , the woman who went through Yoga teacher training to help deal with my own transition in life was being asked to help guide others . 

Yoga has been a part of my life forever , it's a part of who I am . It has kept me grounded, mentally stable and whole. Yoga is a way of life for me. It's not just what I practice on my mat, but what I practice in my daily life that's way more important . That's what creates the person that I am, and pushes me towards the person I want to be. 

I am grateful for such an amazing opportunity and got to meet two other amazing Chicago yoga teachers, Melissa and Heather, who taught that day as well.

When you do what you love and love what you do. Everything is perfect.

Living authentically

I've been wanting to write here again for so long. Yet kept putting it off, keeping the words, thoughts and emotions inside.  

And then when I take time to actually put the words on paper... I can't, because I have so many thoughts at once. Several different stories to tell yet all intertwined as one. Tales of love and loss, new beginnings, wanderlust , connection, friendship and my yogi travels. Stories of hope and of disappointment , feelings of excitement and sadness , the feeling of butterflies in my stomach as well as feeling that dull pain in my heart . The urge to protect myself yet knowing that I can't live fully while being fearful, being afraid to live and love openly and honestly does not align with who I am. I choose to live my life authentically .

So here I am, rough around the edges, a little scarred but so amazingly strong and imperfectly perfect. Living each day to it's fullest . Full of forgiveness , love,

Compassion and feeling blessed and grateful for each experience. My dear friend Pilar told me that Nothing happens by coincidence, everything happens for a reason.. You meet people to either teach them a lessons or to learn a life lesson from them.  Pretty simple when you think about it, yet also pretty amazing. 

So I guess I end this today by saying, be kind ,caring and compassionate to yourself and also to others .  Live your life from a place of love and authenticity .

-A

Vegan Banana Bread, (Chocolate Chip Banana Coconut Cinnamon Bread)

With the freezing temps here in Chicago I wanted something warm and comforting today. I threw this together and it turned out perfect ! I scribbled the ingredients down on a napkin before throwing everything in the bowl, just in case things worked out ok.

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

2 ripe bananas 

Handful of dairy free chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease load pan with coconut oil.

In a med sized bowl mix coconut oils(solid state) and sugar together until blended. Add in bananas and mix a little more, I used a wooden spoon - no mixer necessary. Add the remaining ingredients and continue mixing until everything is blended.

Bake 40-50 min (mine was perfect at 41 minutes, don't over bake or it will be dry)

We lost Nelson Mandela and I made soup

yes,you heard right,  I made soup. I didn't know what else to do. The moment someone told me that this wonderful,amazing,dedicated man had left this earth I went into my kitchen and started chopping vegetables.

I remember as a child attending funerals and the morning of my grandmother would always be cooking something. She would bring this meal to the church and everyone would eat together after the funeral, and remember the deceased. Was it a southern thing or does everyone do this? I have no clue but know that til this day my family takes food to the deceased persons family. An offering of sorts. To bring comfort in a time of pain. To nourish ones soul.

Silly as it seems, my soup was a way to honor Nelson Mandela in the only way I could. A way to bring comfort to my soul while seeing this great mans life come full circle.

Nelson Mandela was a man of Peace and gave us all hope for a better tomorrow. He was an angel here on earth and his job was done. May he rest in eternal peace.

Balance

I've been told by a friend that I lack balance. This came as a shock to me because I have always multi tasked and have always felt balanced. I gave it some thought after being told that "as spiritual that you are and being a yogi, its interesting that you're not balanced at all". WTF?

I take on more than I can handle, my head is always spinning and then I take on more until eventually I have some kind of epiphany that I'm doing too much. That's balance right? I quit when I realize that I'm a hamster on a wheel going nowhere. I balance 3 kids, activities, teaching, social life etc... That's balance right? Or is it not because I'm so exhausted at the end of any given day.. That I crawl into bed exhausted and still can't sleep because my mind is racing.  I wake up with more to do in a day than i can handle and somehow cheat my way thru it. Major realization.. I. AM. SO. NOT. BALANCED.

So I raise my hand here.. Totally NOT balanced BUT working on it. Here are my goals to bring more balance into my life.

1. Say NO . No explanation required.

2. Make time for My practice daily.. Yoga and mediation 

3. Set a limit on kids activities , they don't need to be overbooked and neither do I 

4. Get organized so I don't waste time searching for things that are hidden in plain sight 

5. Get rid of the things that no longer serve me 

6. Take I time for ME, when I'm happy and have good energy, everything just seems to flow a little better

7. Make To-Do lists ( daily and weekly)

8. Use a calendar to keep track of activities : I have double booked half marathons a couple of times , expensive lesson

9. Un-plug - so very important to spend time face to face with people and not try to document every moment on social media. 

10. Realize that I can't do it all 

So thank you my friend , for being a true friend and speaking your truth . For forcing me to see (although it's taken awhile) how I could live more authentically. 

In every relationship, whether with a friend,co-worker,spouse ,partner or family member...we are there to teach one another and also to learn. Our only goal is to do so with an open heart and mind. What we see in others is usually a reflection of something within ourselves .

Being upside down

My dear friend encouraged me to go upside down awhile ago . I was nervous, afraid that is break my neck, too old, a mom (so no way I could do a headstand or handstand).. And every other excuse in the book. HOLD ON a minute.. I was also, strong, beautiful,confident and an amazing mom.. So why let anything hold me back? 

Here are some pics from my upside down journey.. Seeing the world from a different perspective , balancing my my mind ,body and spirit by forcing me to focus only on the moment.

My first solo headstand..somewhere between KY and GA

Second one!! St Augustine Florida

My absolute favorite photo! ❤ St. AugustineFlorida 

Michigan

On a field trip with my daughter- Chicago

In the middle of poison ivy :-/

And the journey continues.. Yoga anywhere and everywhere !

The Storm

I'm right here in the middle of it-- kind of ironic as its actually been storming everyday here in Chicago as well. Symbolic maybe?

Everyday has been a challenge, frustrating, trying and just plain Hard! I've wanted to crawl into a cave and hibernate.. Like a bear.. Sleep thru the cold winter and come out when the sun is shining. 

But then I realized that its better to walk right thru the storm with my head up! Rain on my face and embracing the thunder and lightening. Knowing that after it storms, the sun comes out and for some reason looks brighter than it ever has before. Isn't it funny how after an afternoon storm, the sun shines and you can hear the birds chirping away? Kind of like they are signaling that its over and it's ok to sing again.  We need rain, it helps everything grow and it cleanses, washing away the old and dirty and making way for new growth and new beginnings. So instead of wallowing in self pity and being stressed, I choose to put on my big girl panties, some high heels and some red lipstick and march straight thru this mess! 

We have a choice in how to deal with our obstacles... We ALWAYS have a choice. I CHOOSE strength, fearlessness and to walk thru the storm with love in my heart .