This week's post comes with a little announcement.  If you have been following this blog at all, or any of my social media posts, you know that for the past 18 months, we have been on tour with Matilda the Musical.  Our daughter was born on the road, just a month into our first tour stop and it is essentially the only life she has known, though she has probably been the most cognisent for these past 6 months when we have had the luxery of being in one place for that time.  We recently had to make the decision whether or not to continue on the tour for the final 6 months or to pack our bags and decide what to do next, beyond Matilda.  When we started this entire adventure, we did so thinking that we would give 6 months a go and then see where we were.  6 months turned into a year which turned into the last 6 months here in Canada and perhaps not surprisingly, we have made the choice to see it through, and take this entire journey full circle right to the very end.  

It may seem like an obvious choice, anyone who knows an actor in their life, knows how important it is to take on employment when the opportunity is there.  In truth, we knew that wasn't enough of a reason to continue on however, as that would just be a choice solely made out of fear.  We've also done this before so it might seem as though doing it again is just a piece of cake.  The difference between the year spent on the road prior to Toronto is that our stays in each city were fairly long.  We were able to be in a place for minimum 2 weeks at a time and in many cases, longer.  This time around however, our maximum stay will be 2 weeks and in most cases, each Monday we will be in transit to the next tour stop.  This is where I take a deep breath.  I will admit, I am anxious and uncertain about this entire prospect.  Moving our daughter, and our dog for that matter, each week from place to place is going to and already is requiring a lot of energy and stamina and WORK.  To most people, and admittadly to myself at times, this just seems like a choice of insanity.  I get that.  

However.  That is one point of view.  There are always two sides to every story, including your own.  While it would be incredibly easy for me to focus on all of the fear, doubt, worry and stress that will be present at times along the way, I know that isn't my only option.  The other point of view comes with embracing the craziness and the adventure of it all.  To see the opportunity that is being given to see and get to know even better, our home country, and quite frankly, this comes at a time when perhaps that is paramount.   As a parent, there is a whole other aspect to making this choice as well.  Justin and I both fully believe in seeing as much as possible outside of what you know and for being a YES to moments of uncomfortability.  We believe wholeheartedly that being outside of your comfort zone is the only real path towards growth and that by cultivating a mind that is open, you create a direct pathway to an open heart for all humankind.  Deciding to take our 18 month old on this crazy adventure, is going to have some very difficult moments, for all of us and we fully acknowledge that...but it may also be an opportunity to instill these values in her by example.  Our hope is that while we are riding on airplanes, staying in different houses/apartments/hotels and getting to know new people and places along the way, our daughter will see that she is part of a bigger picture.  Her life, her actions, her acts of kindess or otherwise all play a part in how this world turns and operates.   As her parents we feel honored to have this opportunity and as responsible adults, there will be lessons along the way that we too, will need to learn or even re-learn and be reminded of ourselves.  We are making the choice then, to be a YES to embracing the uncertainty of it all.  We know that 6 months of time is in reality so short and then upon closing out this chapter of our lives, we will be faced yet again with another uncertainty of what comes next.   I am confident we will take the same approach when the time comes.  

In the meantime, I am stepping on my mat daily, doing a lot of planning and organizing and getting ready for what is certain to be a grand adventure filled with all kinds of twists and turns.  I am greatly looking forward to continue my teaching each Sunday from a new city each week.  I am also excited to visit yoga studios wherever we are and my hope is to share with you all each new space and community that I come in contact with on here.  If you are reading this and are in one of the cities we will be visiting (which I will post below) or know of great spaces and teachers that I should visit and experience, please let me know!!  As I wrote in a post way back on the beginning of this tour, we are living the name of this blog, one hOMe at a time.  You don't have to be traveling every week to do that however.  As each day begins, it brings with it new uncertainties and possibilities for adventure, even in the most mundane moments.  The question is, will  you choose to be a YES for whatever it has to offer?  

I am going to leave you this Sunday with a quote from a book I am currently enjoying every day; Daily OM by Madisyn Taylor.  Each day I open it up to a new chapter, and after I had already planned on writing this blog post, this is what I read (I hear you universe, you've got my back!): 

There are long and short roads that are sometimes curved and sometimes straight.  Enjoy and learn from the adventure.  Often when you look at nature, the beauty is in the unexpected.  No two plants or minerals are exactly the same, and even the smallest buds curve gracefully.  The winding path is often th emost interesting one.  The lesson you can take from that is to avoid becoming attached to what "needs" to happen and remain flexible as you continue on your journey.  If you are determined to achieve certain goals, you will do so, no matter how many twists and turns you must travel.  

Have a beautiful and blessed Sunday everyone.  Love, the gypsy-mama-yogini


Cities we will be traveling to in 2017
Albuquerque, NM - January 12 - January 15th
Costa Mesa, CA - January 17th - January 29th
San Diego, CA - January 31st - February 5th
Tempe, AZ - February 7th - February 12th
Salt Lake City, UT - February 21 - February 26th
Portland, OR - February 28th - March 5th
San Jose, CA - March 7th - March 12th
Las Vegas, NV - March 14th - March 19th
Sioux Falls, SD - March 22nd - March 26th
Minneapolis, MN - March 28th - April 2nd
Cinncinati, OH - April 4th - April 16th
Atlanta, GA - April 18th - April 23rd
Fort Lauderdale, FL - April 25th - May 7th
Orlando, FL - May 9th - May 14th
Providence, RI - May 17th - May 21st
Raleigh, NC - May 23rd - May 28th
Lincoln, NE - May 29th - June 4th
San Antonio, TX - June 6th - June 11th
Fort Worth, TX - June 12th - June 18th
​Tulsa, OK - June 20th - June 25th

Please let me know if I will be seeing YOU in any of these cities!!  Or if you are a studio owner looking to host a workshop while I'm in town, feel free to contact me here!

"You're either in it, or you're IN THE WAY".  This is a direct quote from one of my teachers that she chose to share this week in one of her weekly videos.  She had heard this in a class that she took earlier from another yoga teacher and friend.  This is one of the things I love about the practice of yoga.  Usually the things we are hearing from our teachers are words and nuggets of wisdom that at one point in time they heard from someone else.  What resonates with us, we transform into fuel for our own practice and teaching.  But I digress, back to the quote which in a very big way this week, is what I needed to hear.  

  Last week I skipped blogging.  I didn't really mean to do it.  There was a moment in time when I tried to tell myself that it was a totally purposeful and necessary act, but as I sit here now I can say in all honesty it was very much just because I was being lazy and in my own way.  One of the reasons that I started this blog and teaching weekly online classes was so that I could create an opportunity for myself to regain some recognition of who I am outside of being a mama.  I knew that if I commited to doing something that I loved and was passionate about on a weekly basis, my attitude in my daily exisistence would improve greatly.  Basically I was seeking accountability outside of my immediate obligations to my family.  Like anything new, the first few weeks were filled with excitement and easy inspiration driven by the "newness" of it all.   Every Sunday morning has been such a positive experience for me, in that I walk away from each class ready to take on the day and the week ahead (which I hope is how you are all feeling as well btw!).   Like anything new however, it reaches a point when its shiny brightness wears off and the reality sets in that that level of excitement, 100% of the time, is totally unsustainable.  

   The reason that this quote hit so close to home this week is that the concept is so simple.  Are you in it, meaning present for your life, your people and the goals you have set for yourself?  Or are you in the way and finding ways to sabotage those goals and relationships with either yourself and others by making choices that contradict what it is you want? The simple truth for me is that I am in my way because I am not really doing the work.  It has been an issue in my life for a while now.  I tend to choose to do things that I am naturally good at, which is wonderful.  Although something might come easily to me, I tend to "ride the easy" rather than digging deeper and working harder to make something that is good, great.  I often lack consistency and therefore I am in the way of my own possibilities towards growth.  

  The very tangible way that I see it playing out is in how I practice yoga each week.  On Sunday I am ready to get on that mat, and because I am teaching while I practice I am extremely present for myself in that hour of time.  As I move through the rest of the day on Sunday I feel alive and ready to bring on a new week.  On Monday I am still riding that "high" and don't usually practice on that day since it the day our family gets to spend time together and Justin is off.  No problems there.  Tuesday-Thursday I either practice or I don't but I don't have a real commitment going one way or the other.  Friday and Saturday are usually the days that I am in a mad scramble to come up with some  dose of inspiration to prepare for my class and blog post on Sunday again...and so it goes, week after week.  Rather than consistently doing the work that will not only benefit my teaching but my daily life, I continue to get in my own way by not committing to being accountable on a regular basis.  It's like I'm constantly studying to ace the test, but not really studying to gain real knowledge.   

  I am most certain that in everyone's life, when really examined, this kind of behavoir exists in some capacity.  Whether its in your relationships, your work, or your personal growth, we all have something that we are standing in our own way of.  I am also certain that just as maintaining a 100% level of excitement all the time is impossible, failure is inevitable.  Failure is and will always be a part of any process.  How often we continue to fail at the same things and whether or not we recognize why we are failing, however, are totally within our control.  

​  So in an effort to delve deeper and create an opportunity to be more consistently great, I am heaping more commitment and accountability onto my plate.  I am thinking that perhaps the problem is also the solution.  As I write this, it is Saturday December 3rd and on January 3rd I will turn 34 years old.  In the last month of this current year in my life, I am committing to stepping on my mat every single day.  Whether its for 15 minutes or 90 minutes it doesn't matter, but even as a mom of a young child, I am certain I can make it happen.  I am writing this here, so that those of you are reading this can be my accountability factor.  Feel free to check in and ask how it's going, either below in the comments, or on Facebook and Instagram.  On the other hand, if there is something that YOU know you are currently standing in the way of in your life and would like to make a commitment to change, please comment below or message me directly and tell me what it is.  We will be talking about this a lot in the One OM at a Time online group, so feel free to sign up here for some extra love and support!  So today I ask you "What are you in the way of?" and "What are you going to do about it so that instead you can be IN IT?"  Love you all always, Namaste and Happy Sunday!