Restorative Workshop Yumminess

This morning after an extremely emotionally challenging week, I had the privilege of teaching a Restorative workshop at Waccamaw Pilates and Sunrise Yoga.  It was lovely, refreshing, relaxing, and completely nurturing for the soul.

This morning as we focused on "Letting Go," something I myself have been struggling with lately. I found myself smiling on the inside and out feeling as though I was in the right place at the right time.....you know, when you get that feeling of  "yea, I am on the right track, I am supposed to here right now."  Life is so funny because you just never know where it will lead you, what will happen next, who you will meet along the way or what challenges you will be faced with.  Sometimes the things that are most near and dear to you are the ones that have to be let go of.  Sometimes the most comforting things in life are the ones that are keeping you from personal growth....it takes a lot of time and strength to realize these things and even more time and strength to begin the process of letting go. 

Breathe deeply.....and as you exhale, let go........

Dead Ends....

When you find yourself at a dead end, either turn around and head down a different road, or just go home for a while and start over.....But don't beat yourself up for trying the road that led to a dead end; if we all knew where every road would lead life would lose all of its mystery. You never know until you try.

Love Is Yogic

Love is an asana



it comes and goes


ebbs and flows


how long can you hold it?






Love is a sutra


it binds and holds


folds and unfolds


connecting at the source






Love is a mantra


it is O! O! OMMMMMM…


waves of bliss


an endless kiss






Love is a journey


it starts within and


where it ends is


entirely up to you


-Dylan Barmmer

BINGO, Beehives, Honey and Other Sticky Situations.....

If you are an overachiever, perfectionist, do-it- yourself kind of person then you can probably relate to what I am about to write about. Sometimes we take on more than we can handle.  I am not quite sure why we do this or exactly what we are trying to prove to ourselves or other people when doing so, but I do know that it happens, and it happens to me quite frequently.  The biggest problem I have is realizing what to do once I figure out that I am in WAYYYY over my head.  I have this tendency to just put the blinders on and push forward; the overachieving perfectionist in me says "keep going, things will get easier," unfortunately this does not always happen. Which is sooo annoying! So what do I do once I come to realize it is not going to get easier, and by continuing down this same path I am not only hurting myself, but the people I love as well?  Well.... after making countless lists and charts and obsessing and crying and laughing and talking to my family and weighing the pros and cons, and meditating, and praying I usually make a decision of some kind.  Next comes the hard part, decision implementation, this can be very similar to walking into a beehive covered with honey, or at least it can feel like it is!  For this, I call my friends and talk for hours until I can get some perspective on my life and all of the 1 million possible scenarios that can go down during decision implementation.  Unfortunately, no matter what, the situation usually remains sticky, and one of the scenarios always involves becoming an all-star BINGO player but at the end of the day I realize that everything is going to be okay, even if I do get stung in the beehive!  Sometimes you just have to leap fearlessly!  Thanks Perrin!

Leap Fearlessly...

After a while you learn the subtle difference



Between holding a hand


And chaining a soul.

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning

And company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn

That kisses aren't compromises


And presents aren't promises.


And you begin to accept your defeats


With your head up and your eyes ahead


with the grace of a woman or a man


Not the grief of a child.


And you learn to build all your loads on today


Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans


And futures have a way of falling down in midflight.


After a while you learn that even sunshine burns


if you ask too much.


So you plant your own garden


And decorate your own soul


Instead of waiting for someone to buy you flowers.


And you learn that you really can endure


That you really are strong.


And you really have worth.


And you learn.And you learn.


With every failure you learn.


-Anonymous

Lights, Camera, Action!!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is right around the corner! I hope everyone enjoyed their time with their family this past week.  I know my husband and I got to spend lots of time with our family and we had such a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are so very lucky to have such amazing families and so many things to be thankful for!  With Christmas in the wings we spent all yesterday afternoon putting out Christmas lights in the front yard. I have taken it upon myself to carry on the family tradition of insane Christmas light displays that my Grandfather began many years ago! Although our yard can not compare to his craziness (since people actually drive in from out of town to see his yard!) we made an attempt!  Check it out! :)

Happy Holidays!

The Games Have Begun!!!

Dancing in the Kitchen!

Thanksgiving Prep, dancing included!

Let the pre festivities begin!!! With morning practice complete for the day we are all now free until Saturday morning to play!  Mom, Nana , Sherrye and I will be running to the Piggly Wiggly on a grocery trip for all of the yummy food we will be making tomorrow!  The men are off at the golf course and the ladies have already began planning....and dancing! 


Oh Mommy! Silly Goose!

 LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Family Time!

Well, the Riptides Swim Team returned last night from a weekend of swimming Augusta!  We had tons of good swims and some more SC State Qualifying times so I was very pleased, but excited to get back home!  To make returning home even better, my mom and grandparents are in Litchfield (about 10min from our house!) renting a beach house all week for the Thanksgiving holiday!  I left the pool in Augusta last night around 6:30pm and drove 4 hours straight to my mommy!  Even though I was exhausted from the grueling weekend at the pool, mom and I had a very special night; watching movies and snuggling on the couch.  I believe we were up until 2:30am, but it was super awesome to spend time together, just us girls!  It just goes to show that there is nothing that can take the place of a night with your mommy! You never know what mom and I wil get into this time with a week together.  Last time we had that kind of time together we took over San Francisco, Ca...look out Pawleys and Litchfiled!

Double Trouble! :)

Tomorrow my stepfather will get here and his brother is coming to join us later as well! I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this week and all of the family time to come.  My husband's family will come in on Wednesday to North Myrtle  and then both of our awesome families will be nearby! I love this time of year!  THANKSGIVING!!!

Arrogantly Shabby

This morning I headed out early to run my 7.5 miles on the beach, it was beautiful!  Who wouldn't want to run when this is what they have to look at ....

Not to shabby, huh?!  Or should I say "Arrogantly Shabby!" 

Vegan Cake Yumminess!

In the oven!

So...this weekend is the one year anniversary of Yoga In Common, and although I can not be there since MBR will be at a swim meet in Augusta, Ga, I have been put in charge of making the Vegan Cake for celebration!  First of all I LOVE to bake, it is so relaxing and simplistic!  I am not a huge chef but as a baker I excel (in my opinion of course!). I love the recipes and the sweet ingredients, the monotonous stirring and then the super yummy final product!  For the anniversary I have chosen to make a 3 layer, Vegan, Red Velvet Cake with Vegan butter cream frosting and the YIC logo on top.  I am not so good with the frosting and design so I have teamed up with my yogini friend, Elissa, and she is in charge of frosting the cake.  I will hand off the cake portion tomorrow morning at 5:50am before Sunrise Class....who knows, maybe one day Elissa and I will start our own Vegan bakery!??  But, for now I think we will just stick to special occasions!  YUM!

3 layers cooling off on my homemade cooling racks!

Sleeeeeepy Tuesday!

This rainy Tuesday is making my eyelids a lot heavier than usual today; but, the gentle drizzle outside the office window is also calming and restorative. I may be moving a little slower today due to the rain while my body uses the sounds and clouds to rejuvenate it from the inside out.  I even got to begin my day by TAKING a yoga class this morning, as Trish taught my usual Sunrise class at Yoga in Common for her teacher training. She taught a lovely class, and even though the sun did not pop up and out during class as usual, I still felt my body stretching and awakening ever so gently.  Sometimes a rainy day is needed so we can all calm down a little and take a few breaths...enjoy this drizzly day on the Grand Strand, who knows, a rainbow may be around the corner!

Good Food, Great Laughs, and LOTS of Dancing!

This past weekend one of my very, very, very best friends, "K-Rex," came to Pawleys!  There is something about having your best girlfriend around that makes you feel as though you can take on the world, or in my case at least the Grand Strand!  The craziness began the moment she arrived at our house; with yummy Mexican food at La Playa followed by hours of Wii Dance and continued throughout the next morning with "MBR's Market Common Madness" dryland activities and Zumba in the parking lot!  Later we hit up the playground near my house and ran around like little kiddos! We closed off  Saturday with delicious Italian food, wine and a very competitive cornhole tournament. Finally, Sunday afternoon, we ended the weekend with a long walk on the beach under the gorgeous clear blue sky!  Thanks for a fabulous weekend "K-Rex," I LOVE YOU!!!

Britters and K-Rex :)

Happy Weekend!

HAPPY WEEKEND!  Enjoy life! :)  

Passionate Personalities

Passion Flower, Flower Passion... :)

pas·sion·ate 

[pash-uh-nit]
–adjective
1. having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
2. easily aroused to or influenced by sexual desire; ardently sensual.
3. expressing, showing, or marked by intense or strong feeling; emotional: passionate language.
4. intense or vehement, as emotions or feelings: passionate grief.
5. easily moved to anger; quick-tempered; irascible.

I have been thinking a lot about different personality types recently.  Through my professions I work with a large variety of personalities everyday.  I have come to realize that most of the people I have the pleasure to meet all share a common personality characteristic.  The common denominator of most of their personalities is Passion. People are passionate to some degree about one thing or another.  Whether is is yoga, family, swimming, running, reading, writing, cooking, or even (in my husband's case sometimes), video games.  Passion is a funny thing though, because it can consume you; it can make you who you are and drive and define your life. Passion can cause people to do crazy things at times.  Passion can also simply lead you in the right direction and define your likes and dislikes which may change over time.  But either way, to some degree or another, we are all passionate about something.  I myself am what some people may consider an overly passionate person (if there even is such a thing).  I just like to think I take passion to the next level!  Growing up I became passionate about swimming and athletics.  Twenty-six years later this still stands true...Although I no longer swim competitively due to multiple shoulder surgeries, I still have the need to be near the pool and am now the proud Head Coach of the Myrtle Beach Riptides Swim Team.  After my swimming career ended, I tried and tried to push away the desire to swim or be around it because it was almost to hard; I was that passionate about the sport.  During this time I grew and developed passions for other things like yoga, running, nutrition, my relationship with family, friends, and myself. But, after all of that growing and exploring of other things, and after getting married and moving, I have learned that in order for me to be truly happy, I NEED to have swimming in my life...and so now I do.  The catch here is that I am still just as passionate about everything else...yoga, family, my husband, running, nutrition, etc....and when you are as passionate a person as I am you give 100% to any and every thing you do; an awesome skill to have but an exhausting one.  I guess that's where the line between passion and perfection begins to blur....Is it even possible to give 100% to everything you do?  It is possible to be your best at it all?  Or somewhere along the line are we destined to drop the ball?..... PASSION- such a funny yet intense trait, what are you passionate about? 

SUNRISE Yoga @ Yoga In Common!

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, I have the privilege of teaching the 6am Sunrise Yoga class at Yoga In Common, at Market Common, in Myrtle Beach.  I am sure many of you are thinking "Privilege?!?! Its 6am, who wants to get up that early?!?!"  Well, let me tell you why...

There is something amazing that happens during that one hour of yoga when you know the sun is waking up in time with your body.  As you stretch and limber up your muscles, preparing them for the day; the sun is slowly creeping its way up and over the ocean and into the sky.  By the time your body and mind are prepared for the day the sun is shining and so are you! It is unbelievably wonderful to spend that first hour of the morning with such beautiful people doing such a beautiful practice. Come join us at Yoga in Common and experience the beauty of the Sunrise class!  Hope to see you there!

Yoga In Common after the Sunrise.... :)



Balancing Acts...

Sometimes we all feel like and elephant balancing on a beach ball!

Hello out there to any one who is reading this blog! This is the first official day of what I hope will be daily blog entries! Writing a blog is something I have wanted to do for a long time; although, have not had the time to dedicate to doing so (not that I remotely have the time now, haha!).  BUT in an effort to maintain my own sanity and share a bit of my experiences, I have made blogging a new priority and outlet. Each morning, I read a blog written by an old friend and yogini in Gainesville, Fl and it brings me happiness and inspiration. Now, I would like to contribute to the world of blogs and "give back" if you will. My hope is for this blog to bring you laughter, peace, inspiration and perhaps, at times even helpful hits and advice...
So to all of you over-achievers, perfectionists, driven, single or married females you are in the right place, because I am one of you and this is my story... 
This past May, I got married to the most amazing man in the world, moved to Pawleys Island, SC, changed jobs, changed jobs again, and then added two more part time jobs and decided to train for another marathon! I bet you would never guess, I HATE CHANGE! Plus, the last time I checked it is only November! Whew!  This year has definitely been one of the most challenging, emotional, and rewarding years of my entire life.  Currently, I am the Head Swim Coach and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Riptides Swim Team (quite the challenge having never been a head coach), A Yoga Instructor at Yoga In Common and Waccamaw Pilates, and a Mind /Body Wellness Trainer at Waccamaw Pilates, and lets not forget a dedicated wife, daughter, grand-daughter, and athlete... quite a full plate all around!  Each day my feet hit the ground between 5am-8am, it is full speed ahead until bedtime and I preform quite the balancing act. Lets face it, sometimes I feel like a giant elephant running on a tiny beach ball!  But, at the end of each day, after all of the challenges and ball balancing, I go to bed the happiest girl in the world with the most amazing man in the world and THAT is the most important thing in my life. Each day, in this blog, my intention will be to share my life, my thoughts, my feelings, and my stories with every reader and hopefully find some peace in Pawleys... :) But for now, I have 7 miles on the beach to cover and a swim practice to run!