Richard and I are coming to Utah this summer and I am SO excited to get back! We are going to rent an RV of sorts so that he can see the magnificence that is Utah. Here is my proposed route...
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
2012 List just for fun
1:What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Got engaged, went fishing, went shed hunting, called off an engagement, went to Yellowstone National Park, completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, met my soul mate, got married, moved to Manchester
2:Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any
3:Did anyone close to you give birth?
Jillian :)
4:Did anyone close to you die?
Sabrina, Sam and Prince
5:What countries did you visit?
England!
6:What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
100 classes under my belt. Maybe an Iceland stamp on my passport. :D
7:What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 17, the day I graduated from BYTT. November 18, the day I got married
8:What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Taking action to get out of a life that I did not want, almost touching the floor in a backbend assisted by Bikram himself, graduating from teacher training, getting married
9:What was your biggest failure?
10:Did you suffer illness or injury?
I did injure my shoulder at TT
11:What was the best thing you bought?
My growler, my Onzie outfits - best things to practice in hands-down
12:Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Bikram, Richard, Mother Teresa
13:Whose behaviour made you appalled?
appalled is a very strong word…
14:Where did most of your money go?
BYTT
16:What song will always remind you of 2012?
Love: Alone Again Or
Donnie and Joe Emmerson: Baby
17:Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
a) happier
b) definitely thinner
c) richer - only supporting myself at the moment
18:What do you wish you’d done more of?
seeing friends, spending time with my mom
19:What do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying
20:How did you spend Christmas?
with my new family.
21:Did you fall in love in 2012?
yes
22:What was your favourite TV program?
Madmen
23:Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
24:What was the best book you read?
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
25:What was your greatest musical discovery?
Wow... tough one. too many to name
26:What did you want and get?
got my teaching certificate, got a husband, got a new life
27:What did you want and not get?
hmm...
28:What was your favourite film of this year?
I didn't see many films last year to be fair. Drive, but that came out the year before.
29:What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
30:How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Moab Yogi
31:What kept you sane?
yoga, instagram, kitties, coffee, and dreams
32:Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
ryan gosling
33:What political issue stirred you the most?
gay marriage
34:Who did you miss?
my friends
35:Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
Listen to your heart. Do not do what feels wrong, or makes your heart ache. We are born to give, not to get. Lock the knee. Self-realization is God-realization
36:Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
.... All you must hold on to is you, is you, is you .....
Got engaged, went fishing, went shed hunting, called off an engagement, went to Yellowstone National Park, completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, met my soul mate, got married, moved to Manchester
2:Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any
3:Did anyone close to you give birth?
Jillian :)
4:Did anyone close to you die?
Sabrina, Sam and Prince
5:What countries did you visit?
England!
6:What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
100 classes under my belt. Maybe an Iceland stamp on my passport. :D
7:What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 17, the day I graduated from BYTT. November 18, the day I got married
8:What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Taking action to get out of a life that I did not want, almost touching the floor in a backbend assisted by Bikram himself, graduating from teacher training, getting married
9:What was your biggest failure?
10:Did you suffer illness or injury?
I did injure my shoulder at TT
11:What was the best thing you bought?
My growler, my Onzie outfits - best things to practice in hands-down
12:Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Bikram, Richard, Mother Teresa
13:Whose behaviour made you appalled?
appalled is a very strong word…
14:Where did most of your money go?
BYTT
16:What song will always remind you of 2012?
Love: Alone Again Or
Donnie and Joe Emmerson: Baby
17:Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
a) happier
b) definitely thinner
c) richer - only supporting myself at the moment
18:What do you wish you’d done more of?
seeing friends, spending time with my mom
19:What do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying
20:How did you spend Christmas?
with my new family.
21:Did you fall in love in 2012?
yes
22:What was your favourite TV program?
Madmen
23:Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
24:What was the best book you read?
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
25:What was your greatest musical discovery?
Wow... tough one. too many to name
26:What did you want and get?
got my teaching certificate, got a husband, got a new life
27:What did you want and not get?
hmm...
28:What was your favourite film of this year?
I didn't see many films last year to be fair. Drive, but that came out the year before.
29:What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
30:How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Moab Yogi
31:What kept you sane?
yoga, instagram, kitties, coffee, and dreams
32:Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
ryan gosling
33:What political issue stirred you the most?
gay marriage
34:Who did you miss?
my friends
35:Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
Listen to your heart. Do not do what feels wrong, or makes your heart ache. We are born to give, not to get. Lock the knee. Self-realization is God-realization
36:Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
.... All you must hold on to is you, is you, is you .....
The Invitation
| It doesn't interest me what you do for a living I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love for your dreams for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon... I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain mine or your own without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy mine or your own if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful be realistic to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure yours and mine and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes." It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
- Oriah Mountain Dreamer
|
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Breaking Bad or How I Threw Caution to the Wind and Attended My First Advanced Bikram Yoga Class
Richard and I are currently in London, staying at the luxurious Jury Inn at London Heathrow Airport. Okay, when I say luxurious I am being 100% cheeky. It is the best deal in town, and within walking distance to Richard's training, as well as the Tube station.
We arrived Friday night sometime after midnight. We had spoken to our friend from Teacher Training Tammy about getting together, and she invited us to come to an Advanced Bikram class on Saturday. I was so excited for the chance to take an advanced class as they are currently not offered in Manchester or Liverpool. I have been intrigued and feeling ready to try it since Teacher Training, and my curiosity was heightened with reading Benjamin Lorr's "Hell Bent". Let's just say I've been dying to try it for a few months and was really happy that I was going to get a chance.
Tammy emailed me Saturday morning to let me know that I should come to the 12pm Beginners class to warm up for Advanced. As I wasn't planning on this, and since I was potentially 2 hours away with the trains and getting my bearings, I ran out the door with my skull onzie on under my clothes so that I could jump directly on to the mat upon arrival.
The universe guided me straight there with hardly a delay. I arrived with 20 or so minutes to spare. Tammy greeted me and introduced me to Ky Ha the 2007 Yoga Asana Champion who would be teaching our Advanced session.
The Beginners class was lovely. I enjoyed the hot room, the carpeted floors, the windows looking out to the posh office buildings of Canary Wharf just outside. By the time we were finished, I had chugged two litres of water, and was ready to fill up my third to take to Advanced. We had a 15 minute break and then class began.
I was positioned in the back, straight in front of a window looking out into the reception area where three employees were staring in watching the class. I felt a bit like I was in a fish bowl, but tried not to let that bother me too much.
I stumbled through the warm up series, falling down a few times inbetween the quick movements with Ky counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. between each pose. Everything was brand new to me, which made it lots of fun. I had seen the Advanced series at Teacher Training, but other than that I had no idea what to expect.
There were several postures where you place your leg over your head, which I have been able to to since I was a kid. It felt so nice to actually be able to apply this special talent to something useful. Ha! I nearly did a lot of the postures, including one where my right leg was behind my head, and I stood up from that position like in toe stand. Holy shit! After that, I managed to do the splits on both legs. Holy shit again! I haven't done the splits since I was in middle school! The feeling of having my legs completely apart on the floor was a major rush.
After that, I managed to do a full back bend, touching my hands to the floor, walking them close to my feet, and then standing back up from the back bend (first with the help of Ky, then on my own.) Finally, towards the end of class, after accomplishing so many things that I never imagined I would ever attempt, I did full camel. What a feeling. I can't wait to do it all again!
We arrived Friday night sometime after midnight. We had spoken to our friend from Teacher Training Tammy about getting together, and she invited us to come to an Advanced Bikram class on Saturday. I was so excited for the chance to take an advanced class as they are currently not offered in Manchester or Liverpool. I have been intrigued and feeling ready to try it since Teacher Training, and my curiosity was heightened with reading Benjamin Lorr's "Hell Bent". Let's just say I've been dying to try it for a few months and was really happy that I was going to get a chance.
Tammy emailed me Saturday morning to let me know that I should come to the 12pm Beginners class to warm up for Advanced. As I wasn't planning on this, and since I was potentially 2 hours away with the trains and getting my bearings, I ran out the door with my skull onzie on under my clothes so that I could jump directly on to the mat upon arrival.
The universe guided me straight there with hardly a delay. I arrived with 20 or so minutes to spare. Tammy greeted me and introduced me to Ky Ha the 2007 Yoga Asana Champion who would be teaching our Advanced session.
The Beginners class was lovely. I enjoyed the hot room, the carpeted floors, the windows looking out to the posh office buildings of Canary Wharf just outside. By the time we were finished, I had chugged two litres of water, and was ready to fill up my third to take to Advanced. We had a 15 minute break and then class began.
I was positioned in the back, straight in front of a window looking out into the reception area where three employees were staring in watching the class. I felt a bit like I was in a fish bowl, but tried not to let that bother me too much.
I stumbled through the warm up series, falling down a few times inbetween the quick movements with Ky counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. between each pose. Everything was brand new to me, which made it lots of fun. I had seen the Advanced series at Teacher Training, but other than that I had no idea what to expect.
There were several postures where you place your leg over your head, which I have been able to to since I was a kid. It felt so nice to actually be able to apply this special talent to something useful. Ha! I nearly did a lot of the postures, including one where my right leg was behind my head, and I stood up from that position like in toe stand. Holy shit! After that, I managed to do the splits on both legs. Holy shit again! I haven't done the splits since I was in middle school! The feeling of having my legs completely apart on the floor was a major rush.
After that, I managed to do a full back bend, touching my hands to the floor, walking them close to my feet, and then standing back up from the back bend (first with the help of Ky, then on my own.) Finally, towards the end of class, after accomplishing so many things that I never imagined I would ever attempt, I did full camel. What a feeling. I can't wait to do it all again!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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.
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.
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 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.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
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
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
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