I Love Life!
I am someone who lives voraciously and is head over heels in love with life!! Even in uncertainty and chaos. The marking of time in this part of the year and the reflection it allows us is to me a sacred practice. It invites noticing regrets, challenges, accomplishments and celebrations in equal measure and how God continually works for good in all things.
Upheaval creates possibility!
2014 I went to Africa, lost my job and left the church. It was a year of upheaval with ongoing challenges with Riley’s health but also delivered an acute awareness of both the fragility and fortitude of life as well as the opportunity to live joyfully even in uncertainty and to fully embrace a post institutional self directed life grounded very much in the life of the Spirit and in ahimsa and satya (love and truth).
Milestones and Accomplishments
This past year was marked by 2 significant events, the production of Ultramarine Girl, (www.ultramarinegirl.com) an amazing play written and directed by Aspen Mock that was inspired by the life of none other than Riley Allen! Riley was the lead consultant and was able to find a voice in contributing to the awareness of life with a disability, namely spina bifida. This was a huge community effort supported by so many and raised awareness through this creative medium of what life with spina bifida is like and raised money for Make a Wish where we helped to send a young child in our community, Case, to Disneyland!
This year was also marked by the most amazing wedding ever! The blessed Union of Johnny and Megan Bayush! We are so blessed to welcome Megan into our family! She is an amazing soul and I love the way our lives intersect with faith, family and community in many marvelous and unique ways!
This year for both John and I in our life and practice ( which are one and the same for yogis ) have a home studio environment created by John so as to offer healing arts practices such as yoga, meditation, Reiki, creative movement, music, small group ministry and many other workshops and events here in our home studio. We love it and warmly welcome Heidi Niebauer who is also teaching here.
This year also was an intense year of learning and studying trauma informed practice and yoga with marginalized populations. Invested much time and resources into traveling and studying with master teachers in some pretty life altering, inspiring programs at Kripalu, Omega and also ongoing online work with Off the Mat.
2016! Bring it on!
So this year I want to fly! Creating mindfulness based trauma trainings for clinicians, trainings for yoga teachers to make their classes more trauma sensitive. Reiki specials and opportunities for intensive study! I want and need to make more music! With my son! Collaborate with other healers and programs! Expand and grow trauma programs with BottleWorks, Victim Services Inc. Women’s Help Center and the Commission on Hope in the prisons and the reentry component to include a recovery based focus. Nurturing and growing my community based classes at ArtWorks. Travel and teach embodied practices as essential to the delivery of services in behavioral and allopathic medicine so these practices are available to all who need them. I want to dance more. Dream deeply. Engage. Explore. Surrender. Pray. Ignite. Open. Ground. 2016. Bring it on!
