Partner Yoga Fun :)

Partner yoga fun ya'll :) ...................

Divine Loves Secret

The secret to making divine love a reality lies in feeling and expressing all the emotions that don't feel like love, and doing so free of any blame or criticism. Since emotional upsets are always opportunities to heal the past, I agree to breathe every breathe as deeply as possible since the more deeply I breathe the greater my awareness of the emotions that are buried deep inside me.

To the people in my life I say "you have my permission to be emotionally honest with me and I ask for your permission to be emotionally honest with you" At those times when you get triggered into and emotionally upset by something I have said or done, rather than withdrawing, I ask that you express your emotion directly to me while keeping in mind that I am not to blame for what you are feeling. Instead of getting defensive, I will do my best to receive your honest emotional expression as a gift.

And with your permission when I feel hurt or angry or frightened in relation to something you've said or done, I will not withdraw from you but express my emotion openly with the awareness that you are not to blame for what I am feeling. At such times, I will ask that you receive my honest emotional expression as a gift, even if my emotion is difficult for you to be with.

In addition, if I speak critically of you, please remind me to explore my own irritation rather than continuing to focus on what I think is wrong with you. And if you get critical of me I will remind you to explore your inner irritation rather than continuing to focus on what you perceive is wrong with me.

By being together in these ways, to the best of our abilities, we can help one another remove the barriers which keep us separate and stand in the way of the intimacy and uncondional love we long for.

Breathe deeply feel and express every emotion that arises, do not blame, criticize or get defensive, and remember that emotional upsets are always blessings in disguise....herein lies the secret to making divine love a reality.

Colors of healthy eating....

Yummy healthy deliciousness for the living foods lifestyle I am on.....

ATVs

Yeehaw! a day of adventure; 4-wheelers and an island full of mountain trails. What a grand time, once we found enough of them. We had to go to half a dozen places to find one with at least 4 ATVs available at once but we finally did. What a crazy crew we made.....we rode all over the island searching out the best viewpoints and waterfalls and then came up with a plan to go to an inaccessable beach over on the eastern shore & discovered just how treacherous the path really is, Travis especially! The roads were so steep and sandy and graveled we were probably nuts to try it in the first place. there were a few doubtful moments and a couple close calls and then he hit a tree! Travis that is hit a tree, he lost control down an extremely steep hill (had the sense to bail of the vehicle) and the 4-wheeler ran off a curve & slammed right into a tree and rolled down into some brush. It took all 4 of us to get it back to the road and needless to say we turned around and have continued to take only boat taxi to that particular beach area since ;P But all in all it was an incredibly fun and exciting adventure.......

Happy New Year!!!

Kambucha Tea

This I am also growing! The "Chinese immortality Tea" look it up it is GREAT stuff and there is lots of documented research about the health benefits. A really nice Russian guy who owns a health spa called The Good Life up in the mountain town Pai gave us some pieces of his culture to spawn our own. His was hands down the best I have ever tried, a perfect flavor and lots of fizz! We have named the mother culture Trinity and the first batch is almost done and I am so excited to start drinking and sharing it! pics to come soon.....

WheatGrass

I am growing wheatgrass! So in case you didn't know it is an amazing superfood that is juiced and drank by the shot. It is pretty easy to grow here is because it is the perfect climate; warm and humid....I am excited to try my first shot of home grown....more updates to come as my garden grows....

Christmas Yoga

So the Agama community had a gathering for Christmas (on the 23rd because a retreat was beginning the next day but Same Same) It was an interesting set of activities. We sang Christmas carols along side Jewish Bajans and then did a Hindu round dance that reminded me of square-dancing ;P We had a gift exchange and that was fun, it was cute to see what people could find for 50 baht (which is like $1.50 US). It was kinda slow but really nice to see all my new friends..... My favorite was a reciting of the classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' I was suprised to notice I still remember all the words myself, haha!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY YULE, LOVE AND LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

Pai

Loving the health and wellness of my mountain retreat getaway.......I am at a sleepy little mountain town tucked away in Northern Thailand. It has only got a population of about 4000 people but they are mostly artisan and crafters. It makes a really nice vibe, the town is really just a bunch of leather, jewelry, and craft shops with a lot of little boutiques and yoga schools too. Tons of beautiful handmade items. I have been helping my friend Mike who lives in Thailand now select décor for his new home here in Asia. Everything is amazingly inexpensive, even shipping stuff south to the island he lives on. There aren’t many western visitors either it is mostly locals and Thai vacationers, it was actually crazy busy with Thai tourists last weekend for the Kings birthday…..the streets were so crowded you couldn’t even ride a bicycle but it has been such a nice change to be away from all the “farang” (western tourists) HAHA!

White Water Rafting !

OMG! Amazing :) I went white water rafting with Mike (New Yorker). It was so incredibly beautiful; we rafted down the Pai river through the mountains of North Thailand. We had a really fun group, about 13 people total in 3 rafts plus 3 guides/captains. We hit about 15 rapids the first day, a nice easy slow intro with stop at swimming holes and hot springs. The water was REALLY cold but rowing and adrenaline kept me plenty warm. There was absolutely no one else on the river, it was pure unadulterated jungle canyons to look at…..I had more than a couple moments of being lost in the view and needing reminding to awareness of my rowing duties :P We stopped at a riverbank camp for the night, with a campfire going to warm us and dry our clothes and then a delicious dinner cooked on the open fire and washing in the river. it was great eco-tourism; everything was made of natural materials. Bamboo and peg platforms to sleep on and bamboo “plumbing” for running water from the river. We head out again the next day for 45 more rapids giving us a total of 65 kilometers of river travel! We only flipped our raft once, we lost control at the “washing machine” ……what a great name for a whirlpool, haha. We had a packed lunch of rice and cooked veggies wrapped in banana leaves (truly leave no trace). Ah, an adventure I’ll not forget!

Bodhi Villa

The spot I am staying is divine! Bodhi Villa Chill Out is the name :) I am in a floating bungalow on the river, there is a little wooden walkway that goes out to room and the water facing side is just long wide curtains that blow in the wind. It is so beautiful and the sun rises over the opposite side of the river with the breeze waving the curtains so you catch glimpses of the sunrise but are not blinded by the light. We hung a hammock on the open side too so we can pull up the curtains and just lay in the hammock for a book or nap….absolutely fabulous spot. A great guy named Hugh (Aussie) owns the place and the bar is rockin every night and has a full stock of western favs (including the Captain :P). The food has been one of the best parts too, everything on the menu is delicious! We actually had to stay someplace else the first night in Kampot cause this place was full but it was worth the wait, my friend Tanya (from the Yoga school in Koh Phangan) recommended this spot and I will be giving her a big thank you for that! If you are in the area it’s a must! I am actually sorta sad to be moving on but I have been in Cambodia a while now and my visa is up soon so time to move on……

Kampot

Kampot is a wonderfully central location for South Cambodia, there is Kep to the East and Sihanoukville to the West, the river, caves and Bokor mountains/National Park.

I have taken day trips to all, it is so much nicer to just settle somewhere and go out from there than be constantly on the move. The National Park is actually closed for construction (or the part I wanted to visit)…..there is a “ghost town” in the mountains, it was built a century ago by the French and has a hotel, casino, and even small palace but was abandoned TWICE because of fighting in the region and it is undergoing revitalization again so I hear. Next time I am here the casino will probably be open for business, I would have liked to see it empty and with all the original architecture…….but oh well. The rapids upriver have been fun as well as a day trip to Kep and great oceanside seafood at a shack in the crab market. The town of Kampot is small and quiet and pretty much shuts down after dark but this has been one of my favorite places and I think I may just come back here again someday.