Falling into Fall
Gratitude for the summer, and excited for what is ahead: My online yoga and breathwork platform LAUNCH!
After soaking up a magical time in Corfu, Greece, I traveled to the Mother Land to spend time with my family and friends. Realizing the connections we have and make are a precious thing we should cherish with our full hearts. I’m sure we all know this, but sometimes it is a good thing to stand still and let things sink in.
The family blessing was expanded immensely with the birth of my sister Sarah’s first son: Atlas Orion. Union creating life, I still can’t wrap my head around the miracle of birth, of life, of humanity. This baby is an absolutely adorable one and I am so looking forward to witness all his steps on our grand planet. Aunty me also spend lots of time with my other niece and nephew, which was delightful.
In the midst of all this I didn’t take the time to sit down and write. While traveling I find it quite challenging to find the space for sitting down in peace and focus on my own projects. I’m often struggling to balance presence with the ones I am with, distraction, and being committed to my own projects. I am learning to get a bit better, I think…
My husband flew in as well and we stayed in a small tent on a camping spot in Amsterdam. The campers are a delightful mix of families cramped in a tent, twenty-somethings who start smoking weed as soon as they wake up, which is never before 10, giggling girls and couples like us. People visit Amsterdam from all over the globe. We rented bikes and biked far, I forgot about the Dutch winds, which make biking especially challenging. We ate kibbeling (fried fish) in a quaint touristic town, where I ran into an old classmate from high school.
A few days later Paul took me to a place we had to visit while in Europe: Switzerland. One of his favorites. At first surrounded by senior American tourists and the Swiss prices of things made me a not so happy camper, but I admit I eventually fell in love with the gorgeous mountains, the luxury life at Lake Geneva, the European flair and mayyyyyybe the Gruyere cheese fondue worked its magic on me. We also visited with lovely friends, making us feel like we were home and from their yard you could hear the cowbells tingling on the necks off all the Swiss Chocolate co-producers. I am so grateful that both Paul and I have the privilege of traveling and meeting our friends all over the world. We try to always welcome everyone with open arms too, whether it’s Arizona or Missouri (often in the former).
The joy of summertime at Lake Geneva
I admit that as I get home there is a bit of an aftershock. I have a love for America, but our relationship has been rocky. I had to step into my own power to not let life shape me, but I shape my life. Take ownership, and grabbing the reigns and working towards the future. Of course empowered by mantra, spiritual practice and prayer. Playing soothing mantras in the house has changed my mood for the better. With three homeschooling teenagers, there can be stress of everyone needing their own space, stress about getting things done or just tense, stagnant energy. I feel the mantras help, even though no one knows I’m playing them very softly. Coming back to claiming one’s power. A friend of mine asked the question: “Where are you giving your power away?” I thought that was a great one to think about.
Another good excuse why I haven’t worked on my Substack is I am in the process of creating my online yoga and breathwork platform. It is called Ajai Community, Ajai meaning ‘Invincible’ in the Gurmukhi language. The invincible feeling post-yoga practice is something I’d love to share with others. On October 1st we are starting with a FREE 11-day yoga challenge: sign up here!
After this there’ll be kundalini yoga three times per week, my friend Karla will host two breathwork sessions per month, there’ll be an online Ayurvedic Magazine, a Divine Deep Dive Masterclass, PLUS an online member Whatsapp group and you get discounts on 1:1’s and our upcoming retreat in Arizona this Spring.
I think it’s going to be amazing, and I’m excited to share this offering!
The Dutch town of Marken, swimming with swans at Lake Geneva, the quaint Swiss train, me living the Euro summer life, copper vats powered by wood stoked fire is how the Gruyere cheese is traditionally made, my niece Ise showing me her renewed school playground + my cute cabin at Vliegenbos campspace in Amsterdam.