Bali 2.0

I am SO thankful I got to visit Bali again!  I decided to go on another yoga retreat, and everything aligned perfectly.  

One Saturday I decided to take a yoga class and dance class back to back.  Dance was first, and I was met by a young fiery exotic presence (the teacher).  I met Nikki Baksh for the first time and I was impressed.  Dance was so wild, so good, so free, and next up was hot yoga to stretch it all out.  Little did I know Nikki was also the yoga teacher!  WOAH.  This hip hop infused beauty with yoga talk and feels.  I think I have met who I've always wanted to be!  

After class Nikki mentioned she had two spots left on her Bali retreat.....  I was OVERDUE for a proper vacation, and little did I also know this Bali retreat would be just that.  

9 random souls met at Hotel Komune in Bali, Feb 15th, 2018. All strangers, yet all friends of Nikki. The week was set with excursions, a cooking class, sunrise hike, holy water temple visit. Umm yes, please. Yoga was held at an outside shala, where the deck overlooked the ocean waves. Every morning class was filled with incense and a nice breeze. Namaste for real.

#Rutherforddoesyoga too :)

Between yoga we lounged at the pool, and with 3 meals a day included (with a juice) we did not miss one. One of my favorites was the super club sandwich!

The excursions were spectacular.  My favorite was the sunrise hike of Mount Batur!  I've never done anything like that!  We left the hotel at 3am, and it was a two hour hike up - one way!  I must say it was pretty tough, but totally worth it.  The way up we all had flashlights so all you saw was a twinkling line of stars moving up the mountain.  When the sun came up, the monkeys came out to play, or take our food rather. 

Visiting Tirta Empul was also very special.  It's a holy water temple.  I went the first time I was in Bali but this time we actually submerged ourselves in the water for the water blessings! 

   

We also visited this coffee plantation in Ubud that makes coffee from cat poop?  Some tried it, but I'm good.  I already have a cat and am way too familiar with their litter box situation.  Ugh.  But at this coffee plantation was this really cool swing!  The surroundings were lush green rice patties and the swing went SO high.  It was cool.  You were strapped in, but with how hard the guys were pushing you my butt would almost slide off the swing every push!  Talk about exhilarating.

   

Bali is a special place.  I highly recommend Hotel Komune if you're looking for a place to stay in Bali.  It's not close to the hot spots like Kuta or Seminyak.  But is a nice chill place where you feel like a local, there's great surfing, and great accommodations and food for a reasonable price.  Oh and did I mention its on a black sand beach!!  They have two pools and two restaurants, and a cute surf shack with snacks.  The staff is also exceptionally nice.

HAPPY AND SAFE TRAVELING! :)

Nine Days Until Bali!

I never thought I would be this excited to visit Bali again!  My first trip to Bali was three and a half years ago when I decided to quit my job and travel the world!  I had no plans other than to not come back.

I came home after 3 months.

Bali was actually the last stop on my Southeast Asia tour, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and then Bali.  By the end, I was tired.  Tired of what exactly I wasn't sure.  But I knew I needed a new direction.  I needed to go home, get back to work, make a plan, and execute on it.  I had a house in Bali paid for the month and I left one week early to fly back to the states.  My original experience of Bali sounds sour, but I was in such a transitional space it took away from the beauty I did see but didn't register at that time.  Fast forward and it's interesting to see yourself grow.  :)  Now I'm living my BEST life in NYC and thankful I get another chance to experience Bali!

The universe aligned me to retreat with a bad ass human, a bomb ass dancer and energetic yoga teacher who stopped me in my tracks the first time I met her.  Stay tuned, no doubt our combined vibrations of 5,000 gazillion will make for a magical trip.  !!!!!

Arriving at 5:20 p.m.

Tonight was my first yoga class since Thursday, (I'm still on my post Thanksgiving workout kick), and I was so excited to be there!  The first thing I thought when I laid down on my mat was, I've arrived.  That thought surprised me, mainly because it was 5:20 p.m. and I'd been up since 7:00 a.m.  I worked all day, and not until 5:20 p.m. I felt like I had arrived?  Huh?  Was I not awake all day? Maybe it's like I wasn't awake on the inside?

What an unexpected moment of perspective.  To realize how much time I had been awake, but not feeling like I had arrived.  What does that mean?  Maybe it's just as simple as yoga being my happy place and finally, I was there?

Maybe.  But why don't we feel that alive, all the time?  We should!  This is not a dress rehearsal folks, we only get one shot at this life.  Often we get so caught up in our mundane tasks and patterns we forget to actually LIVE.

I just finished "tuesdays with Morrie" which basically outlines that exact thought.  It's about a middle aged man reflecting back on his college years' fond memories of his favorite professor.  He finds out this professor has a terminal illness and decides to visit him, not knowing the rest of his life would be forever changed.  I don't want to ruin the ending, but the principal is that life is short, and we often don't do what we REALLY want until we know we're running out of time.  Until we know our chances are diminishing.  Isn't that so ridiculous.  We're all guilty of it.  It's easy to get caught up in your lucrative career because it provides you a great lifestyle, when really you would love to be an art teacher or back up dancer.  You create a life (and bills) up to your pay check and it's just too hard to turn back from it.  Yeah, that sounds real familiar.

Anyway - I just wanted to share, because hopefully this is inspiring to someone.  I'm definitely inspired.  If we could all live to our full potential, and follow our real passion and not be afraid to let our authentic light shine on this world, it would be a much better place.

Working on brightening my light, grab your sunglasses folks!!  ;)

Cabo!

Finally I got to visit Cabo San Lucas! 

For years I dreamt of going to Cabo and had eyed staying at the Riu Palace, but when my best friend Clinton checked out Costco Travel we changed our plans. We stayed at Los Cabos Marquis and this hotel was amazing! This adults only resort was perfect, with impeccable service and views.

So Clinton and I have been friends for 15 years! We had such a blast cutting up, eating and drinking all day. This was our first drink when we touched down in Cabo, a mango frozen margarita with tequila! Little did we now this would be the drink of the week!

This resort, was spectacular. The building, the grounds, the view, all breathtaking. In every turn you saw a new angle of paradise. This was the first morning I woke up and caught the sunrise.

The resort was located in a small bay, one side with endless water views and the other with rocky edges. We took a walk one day down to the rocks. :)

That walk was our only exercise. Everyday our routine was breakfast, pool, drink, drink, order food at the pool, drink, nap, drink, repeat. Below are the "fish tacos" I ordered. They were pretty good.

Now of course I can't go to the beach without taking yoga photos!!!! That would just not be right!!! :)

We met the coolest people there, from all around the world but surprisingly quite a few from the south! What a small world!!!!

The pools at this resort were awesome! They overlooked the ocean and all day you got that "infinity pool" view - incredible.

We never left the resort so I can't recommend anything else in Cabo this time around. But I would totally stay here again. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to get away from it all.

My Toughest Competition

I found her. She's challenging, she's tough, she's stubborn. She's fierce and today she stared me straight in the face. She's my biggest opponent. Her bitch face has so much grace, it puzzles me. Yet facing her is the most rewarding opportunity. 

I met her today on my yoga mat. 

She is, ME.

Today I realized my biggest challenges are presented through myself. When you're finally willing to face yourself, to face your fears and realize your biggest challenges, you are already one step ahead of moving through them.

We're all in different places in our lives, with different dramas, excitements and "situations" going on. Today I realized my match, the militant contender I know painfully well that often hides in my shadow. Today I met her face on, she finally stepped out of the shadow and I can't wait to meet her again.


“It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

The Day Before Your Life Changes Feels Like Every Other Day

A couple months ago when I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand I met an American girl at our posh hostel. The day I arrived I went to check out the pool and I saw a "white girl" across on the deck. As soon as I heard her talking I knew she was from America! We said hello and shared where we were from. Turns out we both had connections back in my hometown! She was actually about to move there! We hung out a little the week I was there, hanging by the pool and at this awesome jazz bar down the street (like a 20 minute walk down the street). She was glowing from her recent yoga certification in Bali, and could not stop raving about it.

It was a fun week. We were actually staying in the same room, and with us both being named "Elizabeth" it made for some funny moments. She actually went by EB, thankfully, or "the first Elizabeth" because she was in the room before me. LOL. Soon enough we parted ways and kept in touch via FB, targeting to meet up in the coming months back home, too.

About a month ago EB was in a bad diving accident and she is paralyzed from the chest down. Even with insurance the cost of continuing care, rehab, and home modifications are expensive. I just wanted to share in case anyone wanted to help.  Click here to read about and donate to her cause.

https://m.helphopelive.org/campaign/5473?3.8.753


It's crazy that life can change in the blink of an eye. Love. Listen. Laugh. Clap. Travel. Love more. Love harder. Never let your passions die, let them take over your soul and body. LIVE OUT LOUD!

And SMILE, it's contagious.

Bali

I'm sure everyone has heard of Bali, right? Oh it's the most luxurious, peaceful, beautiful, most zen place on the planet, right? Well, depends on who you ask....

My three weeks in Bali were cool. We rented a house, or "villa" as some like to say, in the Seminyak area of southwestern Bali. We had a private pool, a maid every other day, and a kitchen where we could cook our own food whenever we felt like it. Not too shabby!

We could walk to the grocery store and convenience store, and could run or walk a mile into town for shopping, restaurants, etc. But that mile walk, frequently, and once it turned dark, was just not going to work all the time. So taking cabs everywhere was the norm, and they were on our speed dial. Here's the view of our walk into town.

So, what did we do?! Some days we relaxed by our private pool. Oh the perks oh having a private pool. Correcting my tan lines was first on the priority list! :)

We actually had a few friends come and visit us often at the pool!!! Aren't they so cute!!!!

Other days we went out shopping in local Seminyak. It was such a cute little town with plenty of bars and restaurants to explore! There were actually a couple of large impressive venues, Potato Head and Ku De Ta. They reminded me of Vegas! They were modern, huge, busy and expensive! LOL. It was a great place to mingle and chill, and that is exactly what we did!

Other days we checked out different beaches. Honestly I don't remember which all ones we went to. I know one was Dreamland Beach. LOL.

The beaches were great, don't get me wrong. But I think my expectations were VERY high for Bali. Your whole life you hear about Bali, almost imagining it looking something like heaven. And to me, it looked like a normal exotic beach. We had a great time though! The one main difference I noticed in Bali were the waves. Never have I seen such large, strong and violent crashing waves!  Here are pictures from some other beaches we visited.

I did get to see my first black sand beach!

Being a yogi of course I HAD to get some yoga pictures on the beach! 

A couple of days we went to check out the town of Ubud. This town is known for its energy, cool shops, restaurants, etc.

We actually set up appointments to meet with a couple of energy healers there. Check out one of my interesting encounters here. It's so cool to meet other like minded folks who recognize the depth and energy of the nature that's all around us. Those experiences I will never forget.

Of course a night or two out on the town was a must!!!

One blissful moment I will NEVER forget dancing in the rain at a nigthclub.  Read about it here.

I actually ended up leaving Bali a week early, yes, for real. I am in no way "bashing" Bali, because it is a special place. Three weeks was just enough for me. :) I think staying at a resort on the beach will give you a different experience than I had. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a bad time, just was nothing like I had pictured it in my head. I was able to relax, lay out, beach it, shop, eat at cool restaurants, etc. It was fine! I'm glad that I can check Bali off my list. But I'm also glad that I realized I don't have to travel halfway across the world to find "paradise." It can be a lot closer than you think. ;)