Never Before...

Photo by Chara Marie www.charamarie.com

"The One World Wellness retreat has been a life changing experience for me. I booked with the intention of learning to meditate and got so much more. Kristin and Tanner are fantastic. Their incredibly positive healing energy and deep understanding of holistic wellness has enhanced my life in ways I will forever be grateful for. They were able to offer support, information, guidance and everything in between without expectations or trying to push anyone into doing anything they were not comfortable with or ready for. Not only was it a transforming experience, but also an awesome vacation because they facilitated that. The only negative thing I have to say about the entire experience is that Kristin and Tanner live in Canada, which is really far away from Utah. They are the kind of people you meet and hope to keep in your life forever. If you are ready to find yourself and get to know yourself on an entirely new level you should definitely book with One World Wellness. We might even run into each other because this is definitely not my last retreat with One World Wellness. " - Jess, Utah, USA - Back to Basics Retreat

Our epic winter/spring 2018 Mexican yoga and wellness retreat adventure has come to a close. We have learned so many volumes of things that it will likely take some time to allow it all to sink in. Overall we will simply call this venture a wild success. Just, perhaps, not in the same ways we could have EVER imagined.

Never before in a 6 month period of my life had I met so many humans on similar paths and journeys. Never before had I met so many magical people from all around the globe. Never had I been pushed so close to the edge of my own mental and physical capabilities, and all while in a leadership position. Never had I had a tooth pulled from my mouth before this Mexico trip (a 2012 root canal needed to be taken out). Never have I had a partner by my side through the wild crashing waves of it all and at the closing ceremony, we are stronger and happier as a couple and as a team than ever before.

Photo by Chara Marie www.charamarie.com

Never before had I received *and accepted with grace* so many thoughtful, loving words and gifts, tangible and intangible. Never before had I given and received so many hugs and sweet soul-witnessing smiles. Never before had I taught so many yoga classes and guided and supported so many busy minds into deeper surrender and inner peace (especially my own). Never before had I eaten so much tropical fruit (mostly mangoes, avocados and coconuts) or come into contact with so many insects and geckos...in my bedroom. Geckos poop SO much. We even found a gecko skeleton under our suitcase on moving day. Yikes.

Never before had I spoken so much broken Spanish and been able to laugh my way through it all. Never had I rented an entire retreat center that I had never laid eyes or feet upon prior to our arrival day. *HUGE lessons there*

Never before had I sat around so many beautiful circles and campfires and witnessed the releasing of old beliefs, blockages and patterns that were smothering the magic within each person (myself included).

Photo by Chara Marie www.charamarie.com

Never, EVER before have I felt so strong in my own heart and soul.

Never before had I enjoyed my time playing in the turquoise ocean waves so deeply. Never before had I spent time in the tropics with so many friends who are dear to me and who left their routines to come and play with us. To laugh and cry (and SWEAAAAAT) with us.

Never before had I offered such incredibly powerful Reiki sessions with my partner to so many willing and grateful recipients. Wow. Just wow. We will now be offering this as part of our magical, yummy menu!

Never before had we gotten to hang out with the majestic Theobroma Cacao Trees in the forests of Mexico AND share their amazingly tasty fruits with lots of grateful taste buds.

Never before had I experienced an earthquake swaying the foundation below me while lying upon the earth next to a river...during an Ayahuasca ceremony. Then all of the harmless aftershocks at the retreat center that literally shook me to the core all week and resulted in no sleep and a constant feeling of tremors day and night.

Never before did that get coupled with our next door neighbor moving in with a pack of riled up dogs who barked day and night. Which resulted in someone poisoning some of them. Which resulted in not only dead dogs but a dead cat of the retreat owner that went missing and a dead iguana rotting under our tiny casa. That week was the pinnacle of the universal testing! Finally that phase seemed to come to a close another week later with a midnight pick-axe sound below our bedroom window while the man buried yet another deceased doggy. What a mess THAT all was. (Yup, it really happened.) Hopefully NEVER again.

Never before had I given and received so many smudgings. SO MANY. Never had I seen Tanner paint perfect sacred art on a wall. Never had I watched a tarantula cross the road. Never before had I heard a daily orchestra of dozens of roosters- EVERY. Damn. Morning. Way before the sun was even thinking about rising. Never before have I felt so strongly that I never again need a pet dog. Or cat. I had about 99 of them in the neighbourhood all winter and spring. Stretch that out and it will last one a lifetime or more.

Photo by Chara Marie www.charamarie.com

Never had I hired two vegan cooks who both said “I don’t really cook. Especially vegan. But I’ll learn!” And never before had I seen such a rapid transformation of two non-cooks into magical food art wizards. Um...see for yourself. All of our kitchen helpers were superheros. There is NO way we could have done all of this without you all.

Never before now have I felt such a strong push in the direction of my deepest purpose and the blissful flapping of my wings with great anticipation of what might be coming next.

Never before have I felt like I accomplished with flying colors such a massively challenging assignment from the universe. A clear beginning and a clear end. Checkmark. Where will One World Wellness Retreats in Canada happen? We are ready for our summer assignment! Bring. It. On. WhamO! (Oh, and in English please.)

PS. Mexico we LOVE you and all of your mysterious and hilarious humor and powerful yet loving lessons! See you soon.  Until then...Adios. Also, we are so grateful to everyone who was the behind-the-scenes support team for US. Wow. What an amazing web of people we have in our lives. xoxoxo

Can We Get Back to Basics?

A babbling brook flows lazily past us as we lounge in the humid August heat of rural Pennsylvania. 

The sycamore trees are incredibly tall and chunks of their bark are dropping all around making rustling sounds in the forest. The sprawling top limbs of the trees look all smooth and whitish, while the trunks remain gray and covered in bark. The first signs of autumn are showing as the occasional yellowed leaf flutters to the ground in the breeze.

We are spending another two weeks of fun and learning with my nephew. He's approaching 11 years old and would happily spend all day, every day in nature. He repeatedly requests to hang out at "a body of water". He brings his little net and hunts fish, frogs, crayfish and anything else that crawls or swims. (Like a carbon copy of myself when I was a wee kiddo.)

The last time I was here at this stream with Tanner, about 3 weeks ago, a woman appeared with her dog and she was wearing a black tank top with bold, white lettering that said "GO FOR IT". We said hello and told her we really liked her shirt. She said thanks, and said that she normally doesn't venture into the forest and to the stream alone, but today she decided to break out of her normal routine and go out adventuring solo with her pup. She said that shirt gave her the push to just do it. 

In our culture, most of us are taught to play it safe. Stick to what we know. Follow the formula that is already tried and true. Think inside the box. Don't venture outside what is comfortable and familiar. Fear the unknown. Blend in with the herd. Etc. Etc. 

Well, that's not how we have been living for the last 4 years (probably longer, really?) and we needed a reminder on that day to keep on keeping on being  ourselves. Her shirt was just perfect!

Interesting state motto. It was worth stopping for.

We had been feeling a bit frustrated about the lack of forward momentum in our realities and felt a bit confused about what our next step might be. 

We inquired about residency at the yoga ashram and never received a response. We both also applied for work there and no follow through came from that either. We found that all to be fairly bizarre and not to mention, quite unprofessional, so we finally decided that it was not our destination and it felt like an energy drain for us both to keep pushing. We aren't meant  to be a part of that organization right now and that is A-OK. When one door closes, we have to be awake enough to recognize the other doors when they open. 

I will speak for myself in saying that my trust and patience in the universe were really stretched to the supa-dupa max over the last month. I found myself wondering what the heck we were doing in this part of the world and where we could be headed, if not for there to continue studying yoga? New ideas and scenarios presented themselves, but each new trail of breadcrumbs kept leading us into a wall. Hmmmmm...

We have had a handful of mini-redirects from the adjustment bureau of the universe. One week, Tanner had a high fever and headache for several days, which was fairly limiting for him. Time for resting and resetting. In addition, our car has been acting funny on occasion, sending messages and warning lights that make no sense to us. Mechanics can't even seem to figure out that issue. At least she drives fine, inspite of that. 

My thoughtful younger sister gifted us birthday tickets to see Nahko and Medicine for the People on the waterfront in Boston a few weeks ago. That was quite an adventure. Apparently, marijuana is legal in Massachusetts now. I have never been in such a huge cloud of pot smoke in my life. MFTP were an opening act and there was also a reggae band from the Caribbean and they were encouraging the crowd to light up their weed, eh Mon. The music was great, as always, but the east coast crowd just didn't have the buzz and enthusiasm that the west coast crowd has for Nahko's messages. Hopefully soon their inspiring message spreads eastward. Optimism and unity are needed here (and everywhere) as far as I can tell. 

 We headed northwest to Vermont to visit our long-time pals in their new abode. We stayed for about 10 days. Tanner helped out with installing some new flooring and I mostly helped with cooking,  tidying and prepping some details for their upcoming wedding. 

Part of the intention of our mobile lifestyle has been about having the flexibility to support various family and friends in many locations and all stages of life. We are now approaching a point where we are just about ready to move on to a place where we can spend some time nurturing ourselves. What an idea! Constant travel and immersion into other people's worlds can take a toll on mind, diet, exercise and routines. Everyone needs a time out here and there to reset and rejuvenate.

Through our travels it has become more and more clear how our current societal model strives to train, direct and then trap each generation into striving for the "American / Canadian Dream".  (It's pretty much the same formula in both countries.) In general, it seems that most people that we know are less than happy and less than healthy. This is no accident. It's appears that it's all part of a master plan to create a society of cheap labor and mindless slavery to keep the wheels of growth and progress turning smoothly. Because after all, that's what really matters, right? Or does it? Someone is laughing behind the scenes of the grandest puppet show. Buy stuff, borrow money, work a lot, pay a lot, consume more, climb the success ladder, repeat. 

Who's idea was this anyway?! Why aren't we finding an alternative to the collective madness? Does anyone else feel like this is simply crazy?

Stress is so prevalent everywhere that it seems as though it's draping thickly over this part of the planet like a blanket of stupefying smog. Many folks are hardly keeping it together and barely making ends meet. When you aren't in it, it's very apparent. It's always easier to see from the outside looking in. You must step off of the wheel, even briefly, to see what I am seeing. It's not pretty.

Perhaps, I'm reflecting, just maybe, it's time to stop and question a few things? Such as: Why are we all here on earth in this amazing time of unmatched technology (and constant information influx) and how can we use it to our advantage? What do we actually need to live fulfilling and joyful lives? How can we begin to make that a reality? 

Best answer: We've gotta just get back to basics. It's time for a reality reset. It's the only thing that makes any sense right now. 

There seems to be too much fogginess, fluff and distraction for most of us to think and operate with any amount of consistent clarity. It's like a zombie nation everywhere we look. Smart phones and television. Alarmist news headlines and scare tactics. I feel like we are the weird ones most of the time because we are among the minority who are actually aware of the traps that most of our society has accepted. I feel so aware that it can be extremely lonely, frustrating and often deeply disturbing to try to communicate or make any progress with the rest of our brothers and sisters. 

Let's help each other to bust out of this insane pattern. It just doesn't have to be this way. It's not necessarily simple to make the changes, but with persistence, and baby steps, life can be better. We can choose to put time and effort into a joyful existence or we can put the same time and effort into maintaining a chaotic and exhausting existence. We each have choices.

The two of us have done some deep, deeeeep digging and we have concluded that it's time for us to share some of what we know in a retreat setting- away from familiar distractions and societal standards. We have thrown the idea around in the background for a couple of years and we are finally ready to GO FOR IT...

***Early 2018 in Mexico. Stay tuned for more details this fall. Mexico is calling. Can you hear it? It's sounds like coconuts and crashing waves. Mmmmmm.

Stay Wild, Child

The eyes of a child notice even the tiniest of critters. This inch worm was inching across a footbridge on a forest adventure. Inch by inch we all get to where we are going....

Few words are needed to share the magic of our week of camping and forest adventures with our ten year-old nephew. Pennsylvania is a magical place and the wilderness here is so full of wonder. Enjoy....

Newts love cool, wet mossy forests. Little boys love newts. 

Mushroom magic is abound during the wet summer storm season. Children are amazing mushroom spotters.

This heart mushroom!!!

Wild blueberries are everywhere now. Best blueberries ever.  I have missed their  sweet tart flavor for the last 13 summers!

Exploring the river banks with uncle Tanner. Snakes, frogs and crayfish are all around.

A happy boy rests on the shores of Conservation Island in Promised Land State Park, located in the Pocono Mountains of NE Pennsylvania. 

No wonder I love Vancouver Island! The resemblance is amazing. I have so much gratitude for all of the magical places I get to call home. 

A summer well spent. 

Are You Breathing? REALLY breathing?

I painted this sign outside of a hostel in Mexico two and a half years ago. It was the first time someone asked me to instruct yoga classes.

If I was a cell phone, my energetic battery would be at the thin red line just before it shuts itself down. 

My inspiration battery would be at least 100% though. Possibly ready to recharge other batteries!

I have never ever been so inspired and so exhausted simultaneously. I am feeling like I can barely walk around without feeling totally tired. Which is why I'm curled up in a plush chair in the tea lounge. It's our final evening of the yoga teacher training. The emotions are big and there is an air of sadness because we are all parting ways tomorrow. My mind is also so expanded that I feel like I am dreaming.

2017 Himalayan Institute 200-hour YTT class. Photo by HI staff- thank you!!!

Today we each took a turn instructing the entire class. It was deeply moving to witness the massive transformations that have taken place for all of us. I had to get a pile of Kleenex to make it through the morning. A good cry can be so nurturing and helps to release deeply held emotions. (Except it often messes with my nasal breathing when my sinuses get all puffy.) 

My ability to breathe has never been so amazing. I had the realization during this course that I have not been breathing correctly for nearly 35 years! Shocking, right?! Tell me about it. We have been practicing breath training daily. One tool that is a miracle worker (if you're open to practicing) is called a breath pillow. It's a cloth sand-filled bag shaped like a crescent moon, between 7-10 lbs. It's weight, when placed on the abdomen just below the rib cage, for only a few minutes each day, allows one to feel the diaphragm pressing into the abdomen to expand the chest cavity, therefore supplying the body with the maximum amount of nourishing breath and strengthening the diaphragm. I was definitely not doing this my WHOLE life. It was a very tricky process to convince my unconscious memory and my cellular memory to allow my diaphragm to release its decades-long grip. When it finally happened, it was like coming up for air after being held just beneath the surface of the water for far too long. I was lying in bed ready to sleep when I felt it (after just a week!) On my back, I took the deepest breath I have ever taken. I got so excited. I said to Tanner "I feel like I have whale lungs!!!" I have been sleeping so much better, too.

Now, the trick is to continue maintaining this openness and continuing to strengthen that mysterious muscle called the diaphragm that helps to keep us alive and thriving. 

There she is. The beautiful diaphragm. 

I had a day two weeks ago where I traced my whole life backwards. I had asked myself how it is that I am here right now. As I traced back all of people and events that lead me here to finally become a certified yoga teacher, my heart swelled with heaps of gratitude. I have been blessed with so many supportive friends and acquaintances. I have been walking (fairly) steadily down a path of deepening spiritual realms. It continues to deepen with each leap of faith and each excavation and examination of my own inner world. 

May we all consider exploring deep within ourselves to shift our collective experience as humanity. As the peace of our inner worlds expands, our outer worlds become filled with more love and joy. Who doesn't long for that? 

The next steps for us are a) completing our required teaching hours and b) completing our 30-day meditation journals. Then our certifications will be official. We hope to be sharing the magic of yoga with the world before very long. Where? That part remains unclear, but time reveals all. 

A nourishing nature break from yoga school by a babbling Pennsylvania brook. Ahhhhhh....

OM is Where the Heart Is

It's June 21st- Summer Solstice, international yoga day (I guess this is a real thing? I need to get out more!) and it's also day 5 of the 2017 Himalayan Institute 200-hour yoga teacher training. the Pennsylvania campus is the world headquarters and the HI has multiple campuses worldwide. 

We are resting before supper time on a grassy hillside that overlooks hundreds of acres of Pennsylvanian wilderness. The crows and songbirds are abundant and summer weather has finally arrived. 

The campus here ebbs and flows with human activity. It's typically something like a yogic beehive on weekends when extra programs are offered. It relaxes down to a peaceful, rhythmic buzz during the weekdays. There is a beautiful blend of seekers from all parts of the planet, and on any given day you will sense this worldly energy. Many languages, many lifestyles, many faces... all sharing one consciousness. The thread that weaves the diversity together is a seeking for higher truth. A greater understanding of existence. A longing for personal freedom, beginning deep inside. 

There are 17 of us teachers-in-training and just two are gentlemen. One of them is Tanner and the other is a very cheerful and kind young man from India. Age ranges from mid-20's to nearly 70 years wise. 

The approach and execution that this organization has designed for their students is like nothing I have encountered elsewhere. I spent a very challenging, transformative and dynamic 6 months here at the HI way back in 2003, at age 21. Over the last 14 years I have made massive changes to my own way of being and interacting with life, inside and outside. Yoga has supported me through it all. Many who have not experienced the breadth of yoga have a perception that it is simply an hour of stepping onto a mat and folding and stretching, and of course, wearing the fanciest yoga pants available. (Ok. I'm wearing my new tie-dyed leggings today...but seriously...) 

The mat practice is just one slice out of the yoga pie. 

The hatha or asana practice is like the bait that seems to attract the student with a stealth ninja-like cunning. It seems like a fold and a twist and a one-legged balance. But then...one day...something happens. A feeling. An awareness that wasn't there before. What was that? Did anyone else in the class feel that shift? Hmmm. Maybe there's more to this whole yoga thing.

A different instructor leads our 6:45am hatha class each morning. The variety of styles of teaching is fabulous. Today I was moved to tears by the woman who led the class. The words that she spoke while she lead us through a sequence of postures and contemplation were connecting to a place so deep within my yet so infinitely vast. 

I proceeded to eat my breakfast alone and just sit with what had transpired. I realized that I have not felt moved or inspired to this level in recent months. My inner light grew three sizes today.

At the conclusion of today's afternoon anatomy session, we were invited to share our personal shifts that have been a result of following our own yoga practices. I wanted to say many things, but what I ended up sharing was that I was so grateful to have discovered the yogic path nearly 15 years ago, and that it has been the foundation of me cultivating a knowing of deep inner peace. No matter where I am, or what is happening around me, there is an anchor deep within. Nothing outside of me has even come close to the inner guru that each of us has and is, if only we choose to hear the whispers of the guru. I've seen a saying that says "go within or go without".  Everything (and I mean everything) outside of us is only superficial and temporarily soothing or comforting tool. The infinite wisdom is waiting inside of us. Patiently. With love and compassion for our humanness to discover it. Namaste. Yup. I said it. And I meant it, too.

Trumped...but Still Beautiful

It's been an adventurous month crossing the USA. I have a few minutes while I await a dental exam (another one) to begin putting my thoughts into words here. To my dismay, a cavity that I had filled two months ago is very sore and so I wait for a seat in my least favorite type of chair....

On a lighter note, it's been a beautiful trek across America, and just so our Canadian and global friends know: America is the same place it has been for a very long time. It's not suddenly evil. The people are generally kind and friendly - just like in Canada. The land is gorgeous and the wildlife is abundant - just like in Canada. Everyone is doing the best they can. Occasionally, we have spotted red, white and blue billboards, signs and bumper stickers saying "TRUMP: Making America Great Again". In my humble opinion, America IS great, but it has nothing to do with the politics. It's simply another incredible place on this earth, and the abundance of amazing human beings is what makes it greatest. 

When we approached the border between southern Alberta and Montana, the guard looked at my American passport and said "welcome home". I smiled and said thank you, but also felt a bit funny because I haven't considered the USA to be my home in over a decade. 

We made our way south to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The geysers were so beautiful and bizarre. It was tricky to capture the true essence of their steamy mystery in photos. 

Herds of bison grazed the foothills and elk and moose could be seen in the fields and forests. 

Heading into eastern Wyoming, we took a detour when we saw a sign that said "wild horse scenic tour". We drove for nearly two hours through the dry badlands on a high plateau overlooking prehistoric canyons with layers of colored rock shelves exposed from centuries of erosion. The roadside markers described what was believed to be a prehistoric ocean millions of years ago. Also we never saw a single wild horse...so that was a bummer. We had fun anyway!

We had to do a last minute route change, due to an avalanche closure of a Rocky Mountain pass through northern Colorado. Instead, we went a bit south through Denver. As soon as we drove into the downtown area, marijuana was in the air. We parked and found a hip Thai bistro and has a great chat with the young man, perhaps 25 years old, who was the waiter.  He had spent a year in Thailand and was feeling obligated to remain in the USA because he felt that he would be throwing away his winning birth lottery of being born American. We smiled and suggested that he just do what made him happiest. He said the legality of marijuana in Colorado was causing a crunch in housing availability. Everyone wants to be a part of the cannbis revolution. He mentioned that he was observing the current generation's new American Dream: have a career that allows you to be your own boss and live anywhere you want to. We said that is precisely what we are aiming for...

We downloaded an excellent audiobook called "Stop Saying You're Fine" by Mel Robbins. It's SO good. She is a no-bullshit kinda gal and is a former lawyer, who now has an inspirational radio show. It is full of great stories and tips to inspire even the most stuck person into just doing anything, rather than nothing to make a change in their lives. We took notes as we listened day after day while traversing the corn and wheat belt of the American Midwest. We found this gem of a park to camp in, right in the middle of Kansas. We saw the name on our atlas (yep, we have a vintage paper atlas) and just knew we wanted to camp there. It was beautiful. 

We had a lovely weekend with my older brother, who is an air traffic controller. He wanted to take us into his center and show us the behind the scenes of his job, but they said no Canadians allowed in there. So much for that. America's air security is seriously serious.

So we made it to the east coast. We are currently visiting my dad in rural northeastern Pennsylvania. It's so beautiful here. We have been getting up and going for a long morning stroll around the neighborhood where I grew up exploring forests and streams. We saw a family of red foxes and found this turtle in the yard today. A pair of robins built a nest on top of a Christmas wreath that I hung for my dad over a year and a half ago next to his front door.  

We harvested a ganoderma tsugae mushroom, a type of reishi that grows on hemlock trees here. We dried a big one for tea and Tanner sautéed a chunk to enjoy fresh also. He said it was delish. 

We made a visit to the Himalayan Institute last night for supper and a kirtan, Indian devotional chanting. It was a wonderful visit and in one week we will begin the 200-hour training to become certified yoga instructors. We are very excited.

Front entrance at the Himalayan Institute in Bethany, Pennsylvania