Time Flies!

Can you believe it is already a week from the start of Independence day weekend? I hope everyone had a great independence day last week! I am still hyped up about last weekend and felt the spirit, staying in NYC. I saw lots of fireworks (always magical) and felt the love at a close friend's wedding in our red dresses, to be festive.

It is crazy how fast time flies. Exactly a year ago from the 4th of July, I was visiting a friend in the UK, where there is no real independence day holiday but I still saw fireworks and felt the spirit. I was with friends spending the day at the Henley Royal Regatta, famous crew races, as it was celebrated with fireworks at night. 

Following the Regatta Races, I travelled the coast of England and visited my Au Pair, Paula, who stayed in my home caring for me when I was 4 years old and she was a teenager. She resides in England and It was the first time I saw here in over 20 years! I never forgot her but we reconnected on Facebook where we stayed in touch and I had been waiting for this day to come that I visited her for so long and it was better than I imagined! I got to meet her own family and children and we instantly re-bonded but this time as adults.

These are the special memories that always leave an unforgettable place in our hearts. Time flies so keep making the memories as the years are preciously speeding.  

Festive Red Dresses! The Mother Of The Bride Wore Blue For The 4th Of July Wedding Weekend

 Flash Back Friday To One Year Ago Watching The Henley Royal Regatta Crew Races

Feeling The Independence As We Toast

My Au Pair, Paula And I, Re-uniting In England, Her Hometown

Throw Back To The Early 90's, In Long Island, NY, In My Family Home, Reading To Me :) 

Retreat Yourself

It is officially summer solstice, although it feels like summer has been in full effect since our sunny weather starting mid May. It has me thinking of all the fun things I have already done since. Wedding season and long weekend get-aways are constant this summer, so I decided to start off a few days before summer charging my batteries on a weekend yoga retreat led by, Carrie Schneider, Author of "American Yoga". This retreat was held at Menla, The Center for Health and Happiness, in Phoenicia, NY.

Carrie has the ability to look around a room while teaching yoga filled with at least 30 students and instantly tell what someone is capable of doing with their bodies, even if the student isn’t sure of it themselves. She takes her students to the next level and removes doubt and fear from the mind which gets in the way of progression. I had things pulled out of me I had no idea I was holding in.

The grounds were filled with nature as we were in the middle of the Catskills. There were deer, baby deer, colored butterflies, chimpunks, ground hogs, wild turkey, bears and snakes that were witnessed.

Food for the weekend was grown at Menla’s onsite garden and was all fresh vegetarian food. Talk about garden to table! It was phenomenal and so easy to get used to!

The Mahasukha spa, meaning “Great Bliss” was the highlight of the retreat. I indulged in one of the best massages I have ever had, detoxed in their sauna, steam room and infrared sauna, feeling lighter than ever. The spa was peaceful and painted with beautiful Tibetan art. Each spa worker bought a different energy to the table and they all focused on different specialty spa treatments. They do not make massages like this in NYC! Everyone there was so happy and calm.

I came to the retreat stressed, fast paced, with some unknown self doubt and I came out relaxed with clarity, more positivity, gratefulness and remembering why we need to take a break and check in with ourselves once in a while.

See http://carrieyoga.com for more retreats

 The Mahasukha Spa 

 Dinner is Being Grown

 Good Luck Sign 

The Sanctuary for Meditating

The Inside of the Sanctuary...What a View!

 The Zen Buddha 

Bambi

https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/walk-in-love-15691261 

Yogi In Heels

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Last week wrapped up the Annual June FFANY (Fashion Footwear Association of New York) Shoe Expo at the NYC Midtown Hilton on Ave of the Americas. FFANY's Shoe Expo has floors and floors filled with different booths and exhibits of shoe brands and it is every shoe lovers' shoe heaven. There is every style you can possibly imagine. Athletic, club wear, platforms, stilettos, boots, weather shoes, comfort shoes, sandals, bridal, Etc.

Private show rooms are expanded to the Warwick hotel and other local hotels for meetings. Every shoe brand and retailer you can think of comes together and promotes their lines, including new and well known exhibitors. I have been to nearly a dozen of them as they happen four times a year but this was my first as an official certified Yogi. 

I am a Marketing Manager for a footwear magazine, Footwear Plus, by day and Yogi by nature. Combining two of the things I love (Fashion and Yoga) gear towards a happier me, keeps me creative and following my heart. 

I should do a collaboration of yoga classes in heels ;)

 The Never Ending Shoe Wall

 Side Angle of More Shoes on The Wall

Explanation of How to Purchase Shoes From the Shoe Wall by Snapping a Picture and Contacting the Brand Representative. 

The Yoga Belief...To Work In, So It Works Out

“What do you want to get out of this certification program?” That was the big question on the application for Yoga Shanti. “To become the best self I can be”. This is the answer that started my spiritual journey.  What a New Yorker thing to say, we are always striving to be the best. 

I applied in July 2015 for my first 200-hour yoga teacher training to start in the fall of 2015. Wednesday May 25^th, I completed the training and received my certification to teach. On top of the 200 hours, I had to observe 5 classes, assist in public classes and pass a tough 3-4 hour anatomy exam before my graduation ceremony. Weekend trainings started in September 2015 and classes ended in March 2016. I spent my weekdays at my full time job. I had no idea what to expect for the graduation ceremony but I imagined it would be unique. Everyone was called up to receive the certification and got cleansed with sage, by yoga genius, Rodney Yee. Jenny Hudak, swirled some lavender around us, which added such a fun spin to the night and made us feel like we were officially accepted into the yoga community by our gurus.

Yoga is a never ending practice, yet a way to explore the surprises of life that lay deep within. Yoga has taught me there is so much more inside all of us that we ourselves don’t know. It is up to us if we choose to find it and go deeper. While I am a confident person, there are still more layers to keep peeling off. Going out of my comfort zone on and off the mat is what betters me each day. We are constantly losing and finding ourselves and yoga keeps us digging for more, yet keeps us grounded. 

Yoga is about being present in the moment and connecting with your breath and body. Many people think the practice of yoga is physical, seeing it as a ‘work out’, but yoga is so much more…. It is also a ‘work in’. Student’s meet physical and mental challenges on their yoga mat but by looking inward, the challenges will work out and have a more positive outcome off the mat as well. Meditation practice is just as important as the physical aspect of yoga. Meditation plays a huge part of self awareness and our minds can be our strongest muscle. 

I have always dipped my feet into many different things since I was young. I would try one thing and get bored and move on to the next (sadly, similarly to my dating life in NYC...laughs) I tried one flute lesson, a few piano lessons, dancing, I acted and sang for a while but never stuck with just one thing. It took me until I was 25 to find yoga and now, four years later I know that this will be a forever passion. The unknown does not always have to be scary. The journey of exploring makes it exciting and constantly new.  It is up to us how much we want out of life and we contribute to our destiny. Yoga keeps the possibilities limitless and the life within each of us glowing from the inside out. 

Yoga Shanti's Graduating Class of May 2016

Cheers to the Yogis

The Beautiful Practice Space 

 Holding Up the Certification

Welcome! Walk In Love, is inspired to remind us all to love the life we live and act on what we truly love, while letting nature take its course on your life path. Not rushing to instant gratification and acting on impulse but rather walking. Enjoying the current moments in life by doing your favorite things and living life to the fullest to get there.