The ending word of this line really stuck out to me. What is our nature or essence? In regards to this trip, at any location would I find an essence that really speaks to me about the nature of a place and its people?

One of the things I enjoy most about travel abroad is everyone in the world makes a better cup of coffee than Americans. Sorry my fair and lovely home, but alas american coffee is just sad and weak next to individually crafted cups made with love everywhere else I go. Brian and I enjoyed the perfect cup along with a simple and amazing breakfast before heading out on the ferry from Devenport to Auckland. A morning commute on the water is a delightful change of pace from sitting on route 80 stuck in traffic in the Poconos. 

Everyone we have met so far has been extremely outgoing and very helpful. Each person has really gone out of their way to share places and events that we might enjoy and get us all of the relevant information for us to find anything we need. Smiles and gracious welcomes are plentiful and feel really genuine. There is a pulse to the community with out rush or anxiety. 

We spent most of the day bouncing around Auckland. We ran across an art installation that was displayed in a set of old silos the art was great, but the way they re-purposed the old silos was even more impressive. The city really seems to have a knack for reinventing itself while keeping a touch of its history in everything it does.

The cities and smaller towns are all built on and around a variety of vulcano sites. Some are old and have out lived their activity. Others are dormant, but could wake up (scary thought in the back of ones mind). We took a good stout walk up to the top of Mt. Eden and gazed upon the old crater at the top. It was much different than expected. I didn't see any volcanic rock or remnants of ash, rather the crater was an extremely deep and very steep grass filled hole in the top of a small "mountain" which was more like a very large hill. As I stood at the top I could see the various grassy hills that were also sleeping volcanoes. 

We have only been here for two days so I do not yet have a true handle on what I feel might be the full nature of this very special place. There are many reflections from various cultures that have settled here and at the same time a subtle unique nature that is still making itself know to me.

To discover more I will continue to step toward being the witness. Observation is key. Not only to see the essence of this place but maybe find a little more about my own true nature. My body now is not the same as my body as a child so the essence of me is clearly not in the physical. Thoughts occur and fall away. I may experience sadness, but sadness is not who I am, nor is any other temporary thought or emotion. This is why we being to release judgement about the rise and fall of these ephemeral moments. To discover who I am I find more questions currently than answers and more things that I am not than what it really means to be me. At the same time I somehow feel a little bit closer to my essence as I clear away the list of definitions that had once created a cage about who I thought I had to be. 

Who are you New Zealand? I am excited to uncover your mysteries and your truths. Who am I? I am eagerly dancing into previously avoided territory. I will not cling to any idea of who I am or what this place can show me. I will sit in observation, lean into the witness and be open to it all.

If the aim or goal of yoga is to still the patterns of the mind, is it possible to to this while traveling? Many of my trips are short bursts with a lot of activity, or longer tours with multiple locations where we are bouncing from town to city to car to plane to bus and from studio to studio. At first glance I might say that there is no parallel, no opportunity to remove the physical and social and mental distractions that occur in the nature of these trips. Of course I have to play the devil's advocate with myself and see if that really holds water. 

Brian and I loaded everything into my mom's car at 8:00am EST in the morning (2/11). I had one last class to teach before heading off to the airport. I had leaned into my preparation from the months, weeks and days before so there was nothing particularly pressing this morning besides making sure we had our passports and confirmed that the flight was still running on time.  We sat for a leisurely cup of coffee. It was the first time in weeks I felt myself slow down and it may have been the first time I have sat down in months where I wasn't linked to my phone, computer our  notbook. My mind was far from a blank slate, but there was a certain calm and spaciousness that I was really enjoying for the moment. Hmmm Was it really possible for me to let go of my list of things to do and just go on with the journey? I was certainly ready to give it a shot.

The statement Pantajali makes is simple. Yoga is to clam down the mind, clear the thoughts, or find a little bit of peace in the brain. Such a clear and beautiful statement. Why then does it seem so far off and illusive, why do we have such a hard time getting out of our heads. I have heard the mental modifications referred to as "the monkey mind", "the horse with no rider" or as "tying the puppy to the post" (Stephen Cope-wisdom of yoga  Each image some animal running freely with seemingly no way to tame it. I feel as if we could spend all of our time on this one sutra alone. after all isn't this is really the end game.

Yoga/Union what are we uniting? Maybe it is not simply releasing thought, but becoming a more integrated whole. I don't believe it is just about sitting and lack of movement that can bring about this lucidity, but I do believe there needs to be enough physical space and opportunity to step outside of the daily chaos, both external and internal, to begin to see the forest through the trees. It is not lost on me that although the travel requires this large scale movement from one place to another, it is at the same time a full day and a half of primarily sitting still with very little distraction . hmmm I may have found my first access to traveling meditation. 

I used this first leg of the trip as a clearing point and kept the computer shut and notebooks aside, no phone and decided to even let go of reading until I got to my destination. The beginning moments were a bit of a mental disco complete with shiny objects and a musicality that made me chuckle. As the trip progressed I found that I wasn't controlling what came up for me,but I was deeply aware of me watching my own process. Who is doing the thinking and who is the witness? Is my mind really able to react and be fully aware of watching it's own reactions. This is not the first time I have pondered this question, but it sits more strongly with me today than before. I feel more connected to the witness than to the thoughts as they happen, that is a new distinction for me.

On the 2nd leg from LAX to Auckland I am lucky to have slept the majority of the flight so the 12 hours appeared as 2 in my view. I was luck to awaken in time for B and I to catch the sunrise.  Simon (B's Cousin) picked us up and it has been a slow moving day of adjustment to meeting new family, checking out the new surroundings and such. I look forward to diving back into this process and observing my own nature as the days progress. For now I think a great glass of wine and a meal with family will be what this yogi orders.

I have always been resistant to writing. I have been forced out of necessity to sit and write a great deal of content for teaching, training, news letters and various projects. I find that when I actually spend the time with it I gain clarity and can shape the vision of who I am continuously becoming and more deeply understand what I am wanting and where I can focus my energy best. I have said that I would write a blog about my travels often enough now to give it power and have my students hold me accountable to the process. I look forward to your reflections and hope to step towards my personal edges which for me is always the idea of vulnerability. Writing makes me feel naked and exposed, so I step forward to this project with both love and a bit of stress. Thank you for taking the time to walk the path with me.

As I am preparing for a very large teaching tour, actually a super saturated year of traveling, I begin to step towards my first few stops of the year, Auckland and Nelson, New Zealand, and Sydney Australia. It will be my first time to visit this part of the globe. My mind has been wrestling with the term preparation. I will be traveling for 5 weeks abroad; home for one week; back south to Chattanooga for a week in TN. This is just the start of the year and it is a tremendous amount of time away from the people I love and has totally messed with my homebody nature.

I may be the biggest kid at heart, but I keep a pretty grown up schedule including owning/ managing a studio, teaching as an independent contractor for 7 other yoga studios and schools, being a landlord to a vacation rental property and having a full time commitment as a Mentor Educator for my family at AcroYoga Inc. The latter is the inspiration for this trip. The bonus is that my boyfriend (domestic partner, life mate... we haven't figured out what to call it when you aren't married but have a level of commitment that is equally valid. why do you need a state document to validate what you mean to someone else... I digress and that is a topic for another blog.) Brian is traveling this part of the trip with me and we will have the opportunity to see his cousin Simon. Brian and Simon have not seen each other in about 20 years. Saying yes to an adventure in Auckland where it will be warm and sunny; teaching what I love; all while seeing some family was an easy thing to say yes to the project.

After saying yes, the work starts to set it. Set the dates. I will have to coordinate with studios and co-teachers that are 10-12 hours away and make a ton of arrangements.
Step one Make the List
1. Studio Contracts
2. teaching teams for 3 week long events 
3. Marketing (this one would take two pages by itself so lets just know that is a large and time consuming piece of the puzzle)
The above list began 10 months prior to the departure date which is tomorrow morning.

NEXT: what to prepare for actually going away.
1. House sitter for our four cats aka Fuzzballs of Love!
~ much gratitude and thanks to my awesome cousin Hatter Marie

2. My Studio...
Wow, this is a long time for me to be away from my heart and my community. We need class coverage, not just for me, but for Brian too. 6 weekly class worth and a monthly Acro Offering. 
~More Gratitude! I can not imagine how I would do this without the help of Nadya Matyachak, Devon Blakely, Leslie Underhill, Corinne and Mark Farrell, and Valerie Klass!!!

1st SNAG! ugh!!! I double booked myself. frig. what am I going to do. I am booked to teach Anatomy in NYC in the middle of my trip. Panic starts to set in. How do I manage this one? Let's start with honesty and check in with the training team. Amanda and Holy come to the rescue and shuffle the dates to make it all work out for me.

There is a laundry list more, but I don't like to ramble about the mundane details. I simply sit back tonight and look at how much time and energy has been spent over the last 10 months to bring this single journey into being. This one relatively short tour required so much attention, I realized that to me it mirrors my practice and my teaching path, it is all preparation for the moment of arrival. NOW!


The Yoga sutras (196 lines of yoga philosophy) are considered to be the "handbook" of the 8 limb path of yoga.  The very first line rings in my mind.


Sutra 1.1 NOW, the exposition of yoga is being made


NOW, as in this auspicious moment, to me implies preparation before hand to make you ready for the ultimate NOW and at the same time each step of preparation requires you to be fully present step by step which is being in the NOW. The preparation helps to ensure that when you reach the destination you can be at your most vigilant point of awareness, deeply connected to your experience and free from distraction.


The Expostion of Yoga is Being Made...Yoking, Union, Blaance
This too takes mindful preparation.


My daily tasks become my yoga. I realize it is not and cannot be done alone. Each step I have taken relies on the compassion and support of those around me. How can I be the best version of myself to give love and support in return? How can I pay it forward?


Each step of life prepares us to step forward towards union of our hearts, minds and bodies. NOW we are ready to move deeper into adventures of the soul, NOW we take the tools of the practice (Body movement, Breath-work, Concentration, & Meditation) to bring us closer to our own true nature. Now we prepare ourselves more fully to see one another in the light of love.


How do you choose to prepare for all you do?
How do you choose to prepare for the great journey of the mind and heart?