New Jersey > Brooklyn > New York > New Jersey > London > Manchester

We're back from a whirlwind trip to New York City via Newark, NJ and let me tell you, I am exhausted! These trips bring sleep deprivation to a whole new level. You know that place where you are so tired that even sleep seems like a big task? Yeah, that's how it is. I don't know how my hubby has done his job for the last 20+ years.

We visited two Bikram schools while in Brooklyn. Bikram Yoga Brooklyn Heights, and Bikram Yoga Park Slope in the South Slope area. The Brooklyn Heights school was nestled among cafes and Brownstones on the 2nd floor of a funky building. The space was small and intimate, with the feeling that you were in someone's apartment. Half of the room had only enough space for a single row of praticioners, giving the space a very intimate and meditative vibe. Our instructor was very good - she's been teaching for four years now so she has honed her craft. Here we are in our post-class bliss doing some postures in front of the studio.

Next we treated ourselves to a beautiful lunch at Siggy's Good Food which totally lived up to it's name. We wandered around Brooklyn, checking out the Promenade, and picked up a new coat at the Buffalo Exchange in town. Moral dilemma: the coat is a fur. A totally bad ass fur. I have never owned a fur coat, and felt a bit conflicted by the whole thing, but also decided that seeing as how it was vintage, it wasn't as bad as buying one new. As the girl at the shop said "If you get splattered with paint, you know it's over. If you get hundreds of compliments, then you know you've made the most fabulous thrift-store purchase of your life." So far, all I've been showered with is compliments on the coat, so I'm sticking with it.

What a view! I actually welled up with tears at the sight of this.

Getting lost during a cab ride can have beautiful results.

We stayed at the Hotel BPM in Brooklyn South Slope which seemed to have a cool vibe and good reviews on Hotels.com, and the price was right. But it seemed totally shady. It was in a weird part of town near the Costco, in the middle of a block full of abandoned buildings. The hotel had a hip-hop theme which is rad, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was a front for something else going on. What are the chances? Ha! We went out for an evening stroll in hopes of getting a bite to eat, but mostly found abandoned buildings, laundromats, and funeral homes. We headed north and wound up walking in to the lovely Piccoli Trattoria which had a beautiful, intimate setting paired with wine and homemade pasta. It was just what we needed after a long day of walking, trains and yoga.

We practiced at Bikram Yoga Park Slope the next morning which many yogis claim to be their favorite of all the spaces in NYC, and I can see why. What a beautiful space! Located on the 2nd floor of an old bank, the layout and feel of the space were very unique, reminded me a bit of the Funky Door on Polk Street in San Francisco in that you  had views out to the street in the hot room which makes for a nice vibe.

New York, Liverpool, and A Home In the Heart of the Country

Richard returned home from his three-day trip to Nigeria today and told me that he was just given a trip to EWR (Newark, NJ.) this weekend, and I am gonna go with. I quickly emailed our fellow Bikram teachers in NYC to see if anyone is teaching, and if perhaps - gulp - I might teach a class while we are there. We started studying our dialogue last night, and I have some serious catching up to do. I could barely make it through Standing Separate Leg Stretching which is my favorite one to say. (insert whip crack sound) workinonit!

We were treated to a lovely dinner at the home of Cathy and Ian last night. They bought a house in the country right across from a stable. There was someone getting riding lessons when we arrived and we had to take a second to watch. I am still so charmed by everyone's accent out here - especially in new venues like an equestrian park. "Trott on! Trott trott!" Haha.

What a beautiful home, a beautiful couple, and a beautiful meal!

We are heading to Liverpool today to take class and see about teaching there. So excited! I am hoping the universe provides.

Workinonit - J Dilla from Marcos Quintanilla on Vimeo.

Back In Action

Hello friends - I have to believe that once in a while people are checking back here to see what I wrote - even if it has been months. I'm back on the interwabs and there is a lot of catching up to be had.

In the last five months I attended and graduated from Bikram Yoga Teacher Training - Fall 2012 Class, Became a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, met a handsome, intelligent, funny fellow yogi who also happened to be my soul mate, flew to Vegas, sealed the deal, moved back to the Salt Lake Valley, changed my name to "Lockett", taught three Bikram classes, and then moved to Manchester, UK to be with my husband. And we lived happily ever after...

...and now the real story begins.

I have intentionally abstained from blogging for the past five months due in part to the fact that I wanted to disconnect from the world of electronics as much as possible during my experience. For those of you who know me, instagram had gone from my favorite past time, to my daily obsession. Half of the reason I drove from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles via Moab was so that I could capture and share the sights on IG. On the night before I arrived in LA, I dropped my phone - in it's case - on a soft pine wood deck and the screen cracked in to a billion pieces. I was mortified, but I immediately knew that the universe was telling me "You're embarking on the soul journey of your life. Put your fracking phone down!!!"

Once I arrived at Teacher Training, the breaks I had were short and sweet, but hardly left enough time to write about the experience. Once I was home from teacher training, I was too busy studying, teaching, practicing, planning, and packing to think about writing about the experience. Once I arrived in Manchester I was too busy with Christmas, New Year (they say "New Year", not "New Years" here, which is one of the few dialect thingys that makes more sense to me than the way "we" say it over in the states) and having my body introduced to it's first trans-continental flu, I was too exhausted to write about the experience.

Then, this morning the sun came out all day. I felt inspired by where I am and what I am doing for the first time in a while, and I felt compelled to start up my blogging again. I am hoping to do more with it this time around. To share, inspire, produce, and maybe even make some dough. (gotta put it out there.)

So here it is, the kicker, the kick off. I'll leave it at that for now except to say to all my friends who haven't been here before:

Welcome to Manchester

I'm Okay To Go

Heading out in less than 24 hours, and feeling like I am ready as I'll ever be. The last seven weeks have been peacefully re-affirming for me, mixed with serious bouts of stress, confusion, anxiety, sorrow, and remorse. But no regrets. Coming back to Castle Valley has been magical. This place is even more precious and wonderful than ever. I never want to leave, but I feel I have taken it in and absorbed it to the fullest every day I have been here. Each time I watch the sun rise from the table next to the window over looking Porcupine Ridge, I take in even more. 

My focus must turn back to Bikram, to my soul, to my self. I want this experience to launch me in to a place where I am manifesting what I really want out of life. Learning, travel, love, communication. I need to remember that a lot of the reason I chose to be a teacher, the reason I love practicing Bikram is that it is self-induced self-love. To quote my sister in law Kathy "I don't know when the last time was that I paid that much attention to myself for an hour and a half." 

My neighbor Adele read my astrological chart a few months back, and noticed that I had "Natal Mars Squares Jupiter" in my reading. She told me to go home and research this aspect to find out what it means and that it was prominent and unusual. Here is what I found:

MARS SQUARE JUPITER - Mars and Jupiter in a square aspect generate abundant physical and mental energy. Of itself, this energy is undisciplined and uncontrolled, but you will learn through experience how to channel it into productive activities. You have a desire to achieve great things, and you have the capacity and determination to do so, but you would do well to examine your own motives to ensure that they are based on some philosophical ideal or guiding principle. It is only in this way that you can use this aspect to its full potential and achieve eventual success. If your purpose is simply for the glorification of your own ego, an equally possible manifestation of this aspect, then you are bound to run into serious problems.

You have a tendency to overdo things, in your desire to get ahead you are prepared to work long and gruelling hours at the expense of the needs of your physical body, and also of your domestic life. You need to learn when to rest if you wish to avoid nervous exhaustion, and to say hello to your family occasionally, if only to let them know that you are still aware of their existence.

I feel that Bikram yoga has helped me to balance this aspect of my life. Bikram requires that you drink more water, to eat healthier, to make exercise more than just a priority - it's a way of life. My list of reasons for doing Bikram could go on and on, and I will dedicate a post to this while at BYTT. The point is, I have a tendency to overdo things at the expense of my own physical body. Some people see Bikram yoga as an extreme thing, but to me, it is more extreme to go throughout life without having something to remind you to breathe, slow down, be in the moment, drink your water, and just be. 

I'm about to do that for nine weeks, and it is my hope that I will stay in that frame of mind, not get caught up in any drama, and stay true to myself. 

I'm okay to go...

Slight Change in Plans

I made it to Williams last night, and am staying at the sweetest little B&B called the Grand Canyon Bed and Breakfast. Sheri and Del are super sweet and kind, and have a lovely place here. If you are visiting the Williams area, I highly recommend staying here.

I dropped my phone last night while checking in here, and the screen shattered into 100 pieces. :( Wah! Because of this, I found the nearest Apple store, which is in Palm Desert, CA - just outside of Palm Springs, so I will be heading that way instead of Joshua Tree and staying there tonight at the Inn at Deep Canyon. Updated Travel plans below:


View Larger Map

On the Road Again

My route to LA:

1. Castle Valley to Williams, AZ (by way of the Grand Canyon)
2. Williams to Joshua Tree, CA (by way of Lake Havasu)
3. JT to Cabazon (To see the dinosaurs from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, duh!)
4. Cabazon to LA!

View Larger Map

Words of Wisdom

Before I left Salt Lake, Niki took the time to read me this week's CW Horoscope. I love when stellar advice comes to you in the form of your best friend reading it from the local independent paper...

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)“Disappointments should be cremated, not embalmed,” said the aphorist Henry S. Haskins. That’s good advice for you right now, Libra. It’s an auspicious moment for you to set fire to your defeats, letdowns, and discouragements -- and let them burn into tiny piles of ashes. I mean all of them, stretching back for years, not simply the recent ones. There’s no need to treat them like precious treasures you have an obligation to lug with you into the future. The time is right for you to deepen your mastery of the art of liberation.