Here’s the deal.

We get injured when we are going through the motions, but not truly present.

Or when we try something new and throw our bodies in too quickly without proper guidance or space to accomplish the task mindfully.

Or when our minds run ahead to the next step, or worse, go numb with fear and we step out of the driver’s seat completely.

I practice AWAKE and intentional movement that captivates my whole attention.

Each vertebra getting its time to shine. Smart feet underneath me receive messages from the earth and respond back.

It’s a conversation and I ask my entire being to show up to the party

I’ve built trust in my hands over the years and now I can balance on them just and easily as I do my feet.

Use everything and overuse nothing!

It doesn’t really matter WHAT I DO. What matters is HOW I DO IT.

Power, title, money, and position will come and go, but it is how we treat what we value the most that will live on in the hearts and souls for generations to come.

Got that advice straight from the source.

Over and over again, every time I ask, “What should I do now?”

The answer is, “It’s not what you DO, Chels­­, it’s how you do it.” #truestory”

“Love and Pride can’t occupy the same space, baby. Only one will make you free.”

It’s a lyric of a song by Sara Groves

She is local to my hometown in Minnesota.

I’ve been listening to her for most of my adult life. She always speaks right to my heart.

I find balance by having good people in my life that hold me accountable, hop in the trenches with me when I need some company, and go buck wild with me when I pull myself out. 🙂

That mixed with ample alone time in nature to reflect, listen, and give back.

Sleep. Make time to recover and your body will thank you.

That and water, water, water.

Carry your favorite water bottle with you.

If you have to stop at 7/11 for a water, you probably will end up at Starbucks instead and grab a coffee because you are dehydrated and feel sluggish.

You think caffeine will do the trick, but really it will just slow you down more afterward.

Get hydrated and your energy will pick up as well.

I get up and I move RIGHT AWAY. Before coffee, before breakfast.

I have a dog so that helps motivate me to get out of bed. We get out into nature, run through the grass and the mud barefoot.

Give thanks for the gift of another day, play.

Then take a sit, listen. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 1 hour.

Whatever I can offer to this practice is good and useful.

Some days I have more time than others, but the practice of playing and listening right away in the morning sets my feet on a clear path for the entire day.

This quote makes me feel powerful:

“Michelangelo was once asked ‘How do you create a great sculpture, the David or the Pieta?’

And, he said that in his mind God had already created the sculpture. His job was to get rid of the excess marble.”

I am challenged frequently

On the road teaching and performing, I live a life with few comforts of home.

I like it this way for this season of my life because I get to meet amazing people who teach me so much.

It keeps me plugged in and hungry for guidance.

But alas, I am not bullet proof.

I struggle, I doubt, I get crazy lonely out on the road.

I rescued a dog and she helps ground me a ton, but community and accountability are top priorities for me right now.

I have amazing people “on the team” and it’s simply a matter of making it known that sometimes I need help.

So to answer the question: Asking for help challenges me greatly. It is a daily practice just like handstand training. ;)

I was told a long time ago that teaching yoga is not a performance, but an act of service.

My work is to get out of the way so that I may be a pure conduit for the divine energy to flow through me.

So, basically­­, it’s not up to me—­ something far bigger is at play here and I am merely the hands and the feet and the voice to carry it forth!

Bahiana By Barbatuques

Just listen and I dare you not to dance.

Close your eyes.

Turn off your music and get quiet. Listen to your breath.

Step forward and back using your inner eye, your memory, and your intuition.

See the color and feel the texture of your breath with your imagination.

Be open to lingering where the body wants to linger.

It will radically slow you down and wake you up to the little treasures.