And shimmering on the flowing water

We sat by the creek

And listened as the water

Flowed through.

And with the water came

The intuition of a

New beginning.

The reflection on the flowing water came running through

Like the purification of a new day.

Making magic on the canyon walls

I climb to the top

To see that the magic

Not only resides in the canyon

But it also resides in the entire universe.

So being is magic

And magic is being.

Tangerine monkeys diving through the rainforest making there way through the relished earth rallys of dreams ranting at the edges of death. Music fishing through the crowd as we hush and cry and laugh like penguins oozing their way through the plucks of magic in this shudder of drink. I come close to the bridge and smile with laughter as I return to the emerald sky to wrestle with amazement at the rhapsody of the doves cry and as I exist in this body I let go of last years garbage and open with the dawn of a new day and applaud at the amazement of how natural this state is and to conceal this moment and let go as I seek to find that I am shining with the animals as they cry out and breathe the fresh open autumn air and the wheels spinning with forgiveness as I send my holy love to the boy I cried so deeply for and I twist and rush through this sacred place but it is all infinite so I glisten and breathe and find that my breath is fresh with prana and the erotic unknown captures this love, this sorrow, this forgiveness and the voyage begins with the tinniest lickings of a new beginning but what a sour past that I must listen to and circus through the seaswept clover of a wooden boat and winter greets us with the conscious unfolding of a new cycle that I dare not struggle with as I unwind into spring and summer and find that the body has been nutured and I urge to not fear the wrong number as I purr and stretch and open my arms. I rock this new life and asleep I see that dreams are real and the gypsies cling to their children and weep through the cities asking and begging and their hands reach out and cling tight to my aura and ashamed I shall not feel ashamed for I am not crazy and with peace and healing I learn to love this beautiful life. This fragile self does not weaken, but strengthens and rises with bliss as the dawn of a new realization manifests and pulsates through through my heart. The rush feels so high and the blue boat floats through the lake without an anchor. It sails along the sea of consciousness while sharing drips of rain and revealing new places inthe imagination. Creatures of light lay asleep near the sun and moon. They soon awaken to this new planetary galactic age that I imagine to be like Venus. The new earth re-births itself with love and beauty as our hearts open to the music of the stars….

 As I was growing up, I was told on a regular basis to stop slouching and to sit up straight. My parents constantly reminded me that if I didn’t develop good posture, then I would end up with a hunch back as an adult. It took me years to listen and to develop the confidence to sit up and walk straight. I wasn’t aware until my early 20’s that it was my lack of confidence and insecurities that were causing this poor stance. I also remember when I was in the 7th grade there were these two girls from my middle school who asked me to walk down a hallway for them. As I walked down the school hallway, I heard one of them say to the other girl “See! She walks with her head down!” I was a bit embarrassed and for the first time I was told by my peers and not my parents that I had a poor stance. Again, my lack of confidence and insecurities were showing through my posture. Years later, I began my journey with yoga and my posture improved as well as my confidence. I remember when I was living in Colorado my friends and I were at an outdoor concert and as we sat and listened to the live music, one of them complimented me on my beautiful posture. She told me that my back was so straight and that she wished she could have the same posture. It made me feel so confident and secure. I had only remembered being told that I had bad posture and now I was being told the opposite. I am so much more in tune with my posture now that I practice yoga. Whenever I catch myself slouching I can’t help but notice that my thoughts affect my posture. I then begin to shift my negative focus by sitting up straight and shifting my perspective to something positive. It is through good posture that I am able to show an image of confidence and strength. Through the practice of yoga, one can achieve the mind-body balance. The spine is very important to yogis because it is the main energy conduit of our entire body. In yoga practice, the spine is the central channel for the vital life force. This life force is known as kundalini energy. This energy flows up and down the spine through the hollow canal in the center of the spinal cord. This can also be referred to as the Susumna nadi. The Susumna nadi connects with all the nerve plexus as well as the chakra centers. Feelings such as joy, wisdom and awakening all come from having a clear spine. A clear spine allows one to deal with stress and connect to the divine wisdom and natural gifts that exist within. Posture not only affects how one looks, but one’s over all health and well-being. When posture is out of balance one can experience issues such as spinal pain, headaches, moodiness, blood pressure, pulse and lung capacity. I have recently started going to a chiropractor. I was sent by my friend and Thai yoga therapist who had noticed some ailments in my lower back. She had asked me if I was injured in that particular spot, which I then expressed to her that I was not. A week or so later, I began having some terrible low back pain, which then turned into a terrible neck pain. It was hard for me to work, get out of bed or even do my yoga practice. Walking relieved the pain a bit as well as massage, but I needed more. After going for another Thai massage, my therapist/friend referred me to her chiropractor. I went in the following day and he did some scans and x-rays on my neck and back. After a day of waiting for the results, he told me I was developing arthritis in my lower back and that I had a minor form of scoliosis. I couldn’t imagine this to be real considering my active lifestyle and my regular yoga practice of 12 years. He expressed that the arthritis was developing from an old injury that I may have had within the last 7-15 yrs. I knew I had not been injured and later asked him if it could be from emotional trauma. He told me that it could be the case as well. I am convinced that this developed after my dad died. I have been in many emotional states since then where I curl up into a ball and feel numb. I am sure that the trauma has had a negative impact on my body. I will continue to strengthen my back and my posture through the practice of yoga. I will also continue to get weekly and eventually monthly adjustments on my back. After a month and a half of adjustments my chiropractor has noticed a tremendous difference in my spine as well as my back. He told me in my last visit that I have developed a new back. I am thrilled to know that! In the meantime, I too have noticed my body and mind moving different. Actually, I think that my mind and body are doing what they do naturally, just in a healthier clear way. I feel my sense of kundalini awakening stronger than before and I find myself going deeper in my yoga practice. So there it is. Remember to sit up straight and walk with confidence. Remember that your emotions affect your body in a powerful way. Curling up in a ball when trauma hits might feel like the best remedy, but in reality it only affects and traumatizes the body…

Whenever anyone comes over to my apartment for the first time, the first thing  that they notice is I don’t own a tv. They usually look around a bit and then suddenly ask if I own a tv. After hearing that I don’t, I get several different responses. Most people who know me ask how I do it and question my decision, while others give me props for not wanting one.

I haven’t owned a tv in over 7 years. It’s not to say I haven’t lived in places where they exist, but I just don’t choose to watch it. As a child I watched plenty of television and had pretty liberal parents when it came to what they let my siblings and I watch. I grew up with the childhood dream of wanting to be an actress. I once had a dream that I was on the episode “Full House.” I was obsessed with sitcom’s, 90210 and even the very first reality show “Real World.” Through time, I grew away from the obsession and soon after I found my television was off more than it was on. I find that without a tv, I am less apt to laziness and more interested in the outdoors. Whenever I am around kids, I try and educate them that the outdoors is my favorite episode of any sitcom out there. I don’t try and force them to not watch tv, I just simply educate them.

As the rise in Social Media continues, I find myself on a computer more than I could ever imagine being in front of a tv. I get on my itouch for internet, facebook and free app’s anywhere, anytime. I have my cell phone next to me all the time and check my facebook like a fanatic. So, as you see, I am not completley screen free! However, I do get to choose what I want to view and can basically make up my own channels by selecting the browsers that I find most interesting. For one thing, I can’t sit still long enough and another, I get overwhelmed by half the stuff I see on tv, that it’s best I don’t watch it.

I sat in a pub one night about two years ago and as my friend watched various sports games on the flat screen tv’s, I found myself watching an episode of Nancy Grace. It was an episode about The Caylee Anthony case, which for one is the sickest, saddest story I have ever heard. As I sat there and watched this crap, I grew really obsessed with wanting to figure it all out. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. I started googling about it, asking my friends about it and just getting way to into wanting to figure it all out. It got so bad that it was making me depressed. I had to stop. Thank goodness I didn’t have a tv to watch and follow that crap on! ugggh! So within less than a year, I stopped obsessing about it. I knew it was horrific, negative and would only draw negativity into my life if I were to continue watching the news about things that are so depressing. This was and is an obvious reason as to why 1.) I choose not to watch tv 2.) I don’t need to watch the news 3.) I don’t need to know about the bullshttt in the world.

So how do I get my news? Believe me, I know what I need to know and the rest I could give a rats a$$ about……