Has it really been five months since my last Off the Mat post? I'd originally planned for these to be monthly updates, but I guess we're going quarterly now! Last night, I got back from a whirlwind of a two week trip - more on that soon - and I am really feeling run down, but I'm doing my best to stay afloat. I've got a broth simmering to keep my immune system up, and just trying to take one thing at a time before I hope on a plane next week for a workshop in Munich and our Italy Yoga Retreat. In the meantime, I'd love to share what's been going on in my life off the mat since the last time I did an OTM update.
December
December went as quickly as it came. On Christmas Eve I attended a Feast of the Seven Fishes, which I loved. Blogging is weird in that I want to share things with you guys - especially things that show that my life isn't perfect because on social media, I know it can often come across like that - but I also need to respect my family's privacy, so I'll just say that Christmas Day had a bit of drama which resulted in not being able to see a prominent family member. Huge bummer, but Buckles dressed up to cheer us up, which you can see he loved, lol.
January
January highlights included us getting new merch like this Namaslay® muscle tank, a blue crop top, and an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. In January, I also helped throw a baby sprinkle, which was so much fun.
Road trip to Tennessee
I also took a quick weekend road trip to Tennessee (that's a long drive for just a weekend, I don't recommend it!). I was out there to scout a potential US-based yoga teacher training venue. I'm still on the fence about it, as there was only one communal bathroom for the entire place, and the stalls were separated by curtains, and there was just one large communal shower. I feel like we might be able to get around the communal shower thing (we could schedule times so people could enjoy a private shower), and it would only be fifteen people max, but I'm still undecided about it and leaning towards no. They're putting in a second private bathroom (no stall) so I guess that would give people a little more privacy, I suppose. I just don't know. Other than that, the venue was so incredible, but the curtain thing bothers me. What do you guys think? Not a big deal? I wanted something within driving distance of Connecticut so I could bring Buckles, and I was hoping for something that was a little more laid back like this place (ie inexpensive overhead means less expensive for participants), but the curtain thing feels like a deal breaker to me. Meh, for now I'm just going to focus my energy on the first yoga teacher training we have planned, and go from there.
February
Welcome to Panama
February was my birthday, and I celebrated by getting myself a new car, which felt like such a big deal because when I was first divorced, I felt so scared that I wouldn't be able to make it financially on my own, and now I am in the best position financially that I've ever been in. I credit that to the law of attraction, which I know so many people think is hokey, but man it really does work!
Panama
I also took a scouting trip to Panama. One of the things I look for when scouting a retreat venue is how easy it is to get to because a lot of our participants are solo travelers, many of them first-time solo travelers. For this place, we literally had to take a plane, car, and a boat, so I would rate it pretty low on the Easy To Get To scale, but it certainly was gorgeous!
March
YBC® workshop in San Francisco
March marked the beginning of a huge travel schedule for me, and also the date to send Buckles off to Michigan to stay with his dad. My travel started with a workshop in San Fran, then a workshop in LA.
Welcome to Dubai
From there, Lauren and I went to Dubai where I was one of the headliners at the xYoga Dubai festival. We filmed our first travel vlog there, so check that out if you haven't seen it! That was a whirlwind of a trip - I was only there for four nights, and it took a billion hours each way to get there, so it felt like a crazy trip.
On location in LA
At the end of March, I went back out to LA to work on a secret project with a major company. It's the biggest deal we've done to date and I can't wait to share more soon. We'll have the behind the scenes Week in the Life video from this trip up on the blog tomorrow, so please check back then!
April
In Kauai
The beginning of April found me in Kauai, an island in Hawaii, where I went for another scouting trip. My week was very full looking at different options for venues for potential retreats, and trying out different activities like hiking and a helicopter tour to see what might work best for our retreat goers if we end up planning a retreat there.
On a more personal note, March and April were a little tough for me. My grandmother was hospitalized unexpectedly (she's ok now, but not in great spirits), and my dad, who has been battling cancer for the last year or so, got news that they'd like him to start radiation. While I dislike bringing up the negative things I've got going on in my life, I like sharing the "real-life" pieces of my life as well, because I know it's easy to forget the feed you're looking at on social media is highly curated. Everyone's got stuff going on, and we're all just trying to do the best we can with what life presents to us.
So that's what's been going on in my life. I'd love to hear what's been going on in yours down in the comments section below! What have you been dealing with? What experiences have you enjoyed over the last few months?