connecticut resident wannabe

This is probably the hardest blog for me to write, thus far.  I have so much to say about my time in Connecticut and I don't know where to start...It's hard to articulate how wonderful my time was when I was there.   Every day, I got to hang out with my family that lives there and work with my favorite yoga teacher at his home base.  

My first day there, I went to Mitchel's morning yoga class at Saraswarti's Yoga Joint.  I was so excited to see Mitchel and Tracy's (his wife) studio and take one of his regularly scheduled classes... Usually, I have to travel all over the country to study with Mitchel.  This time, I was right in his every day community.  It was fun to experience what it would be like to have a teacher like him at my fingertips.  Going to classes daily and seeing him interact with his regulars was really inspiring.  The first day, I went to an open levels class.  To be honest, I was a little shocked.  It was probably the first class I can remember where he kept things pretty tame :)  Maybe I should explain that comment...he is a fantastic teacher.  He has this way of opening up the doors to each student's fullest potential.  BUT, for those who know Mitchel, his classes aren't exactly a walk in the park - while still very accessible for all levels.  The first class I took with Mitchel that week,  we did a nice balanced practice - nothing too crazy.  It was fun.  Probably exactly what I needed to see coming from him - that every class doesn't have to be hard or advanced, to go deep into your practice.  Don't worry, though... the tough class came later in the week!  I went to his advanced class on Wed.  Whew!  It was crazy!  I took a spot in the back of a class of about 10 people.  These 10 people were definitely some of Mitchel's top students, who work with him on a regular basis.  Everyone seemed to know each other very well.  True to Mitchel's style, there was plenty of camaraderie and laughing going on during class.  As far as the actual class and the physical practice... hard as hell!  It was pretty inspiring.  Mitchel would give direction while teaching and I would have to stop and look around to see if what he was saying was actually humanly possible... and surprising enough, it was.  His regular advanced students have such a beautiful, strong and fun practice.  I had such a blast playing the "I live in CT" role, that week.  

I have to take a moment to talk about Mr. Bleier.  I met Mitchel when I was a teenager, back in Atlanta at a John Friend workshop.  He was traveling with John at the time, assisting his workshops.  I was incredibly inspired, right away.  His practice was insane!  John would have Mitchel demo poses, as he taught them to the class.  Shortly after that encounter, Mitchel took off on his own flight.  He has become one of the strongest, most clear and knowledgeable teachers in the country, since that first encounter.  There is so much to learn from a teacher like Mitchel.  He has a way of literally, "bringing yoga to life", which is basically the foundation of what we are building at Southtown Yoga.  Not to mention the fact that when working with Mitchel, everything reaches full potential.  There is really something to say about a teacher who can help you be the best at who you really are.  It's a gift.  As many of you know,  much of who I am as a teacher, a student and even as a person, has derived from knowing and studying with Mitchel Bleier.  He has shown me that the impossible is very possible, with the right intentions and hard work.  I am honored to say he is my teacher. 

On top of being with my favorite teacher all week, I also got the joy of spending a ton of time with my family in Connecticut.  My Uncle Jim, Aunt Denise and Cousin Shane live in Branford.  Most of my family resides in St. Louis, so I don't get to see these relatives as much as many others.  I do have to say, though, I have a very strong bond with my Uncle Jim and his family.  In fact, its pretty amazing.  My brother and uncle are so much alike, and they aren't ever around each other very often.  Its crazy how family can be like that.  My Uncle Jim and Tim are cut from the same mold, in so many ways. I loved being around him, one on one, and getting to know him as a friend.  It was the same way with my Aunt Denise and Shane, we really got to spend time together and talk about what's going on in each other's lives.  So many times in the past, our time spent together was in a mass family scene - which is also great, but very different.  We had meals together, shared lots of stories, even went rock climbing one afternoon.  I loved being at their house and in their daily lives.  My Uncle Jim has such a gentle, yet strong nature about him.  My Aunt Denise is incredibly caring and loving... and a fantastic cook!  My Cousin Shane is probably the coolest teenager I have ever met - smart, laid back and open to anything new.  As you can tell, I adore them.  They opened their home and made me feel just as your family should - full of love.  My time with them made me realize how important they are to me and how much I want to spend time like this with them, more often.  I will definitely be back to see them again soon :)

As far as the event, we were at another tennis championship.  The matches were held at the Yale campus.  The people were very eager to learn more about yoga.  The cool thing about working a sporting event is that people usually already have a pretty active lifestyle. My job is just to show them how to incorporate yoga into that lifestyle.  The response is pretty impressive, especially with the athletes.  I am always surprised at their shock value after trying a shortened version of a yoga class.  The most popular response is, "Yoga is not easy!"  Which is a good sign, coming from a competitive athlete.  Usually, that sparks interest and they look to start a practice.  I had a lot of fun with the community of people at this event.

So, in a nut shell, Connecticut was incredible.  The state itself is beautiful, the yoga community is very inspiring and my family there are some pretty amazing individuals.  I have to say, I am a little envious of the residents of CT!

p.s. If you want to check out Mitchel for yourself, he is coming to St. Louis for a weekend yoga workshop October 24-26.  Contact Jan Herzog at jan_easterly@sbcglobal.net to register.  Trust me, you will love every second of it and grow your practice leaps and bounds!

Until next time, 

B

XOXO

aunt denise, me, shane and uncle jim - family dinner

climbing with the boys at cat hole 

working my way up...

after class at mitchel's home base - saraswarti's yoga joint

holding sweet baby beck bleier after dinner

the beautiful bleier family

reconnecting in rochester

Since I stayed in Chicago all week after our event, I didn't spend much time in Rochester before the next event.  We arrived on Thursday and our event started Saturday morning, bright and early.  Usually, we arrive in a new city on Monday or Tuesday and have the event (in that city) the following weekend...so I am a bit off on my usual blog schedule - sorry for the long wait :)

Even though I was only in Rochester a few days, my time there was very well spent.  The first day of our event was great.  We were pretty packed all day, which makes time fly by.  This event was a festival, downtown Rochester.  Everyone who came our way was pretty friendly .  It was a little strange for me to be in that part of NY.  Before last week, the only NY experience I had was in NYC - which is quite different than the suburbs of Rochester!  It was nice, though, to see that NY is more than the image of what we blast all over the media and fancy reviews.  NY has a suburban side, too.  I know it sounds completely generic that I used to associate the entire state of NY with NYC, but its true.  I bet a lot of people don't really see the softer side of that state. If it weren't for this tour, I probably wouldn't have ever known any different.  In fact, we saw two full rainbows, during our time in Rochester.  Doesn't get much softer than that!  

The most exciting part of my time in Rochester was dinner with some dear friends, Saturday night.  My friend Jen and her husband Joel drove to Rochester from Pennsylvania to meet for dinner.  Jen and I met on that Sayulita Yoga retreat also... in fact, Jen is Midori's daughter that I saw in Michigan.  Jen and I were instant friends when we met a few years ago in Mexico.  Our moms would do their thing and Jen and I would venture off on our own, from time to time.  Don't get me wrong - we both completely adore our moms, but it was good for all of us to have someone else to bum around with, when desired.  Anyway, Jen and I always have a blast together, so I was thrilled to see her and equally thrilled to finally meet her husband, Joel.  

We met for dinner at a place called Eros, downtown Rochester. During her high school years, Jen's family lived in Rochester - so she new the good hot spots in town.  Dinner was fantastic, the company was fantastic, and (just as I imagined) Joel was just as fantastic as Jen.  I love seeing two people together that are so happy and such a good fit for each other.   I already knew it would be this way, but it was great to see it in person.  Jen and Joel are the kind of people who can have a very intelligent and stimulating conversation one minute and then laugh hysterically till tears come rolling down your face the next.  I am so grateful I got to spend time with them that evening. It really made my day!  At some point on this tour, we are hoping to meet up again...which would be quite the treat.

Sunday was the last day of the event and it rained most of the day.  I didn't get to teach as much as I usually do, which makes the day creep by slowly.  People were still interested in doing yoga, but with rainwater everywhere, it made things a little difficult.  Sunday evening, Pedro, Sunie and I went to Highfalls Brewery to see a concert.  Tristan Prettyman was playing in Rochester Sunday night, so I had to try and catch her.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize she went on at 6pm.  Fortunately, there were two more great bands playing after her set.  When we got there, John Butler Trio was just finishing up and G Love was about to take the stage.  The show was awesome.  It was an outdoor concert, which I love.  It rained a bit, toward the end, but no one cared.  We just danced in the rain.  At the end of the show, all 3 bands came out and played together, so I was very happy I at least got to see Tristan :)  It was a great night out in Rochester.  We were exhausted from working the event, but it turned out to be well worth it!

Overall, my time in Rochester was short-lived, but packed with excitement and fun.  Its such a great feeling to reconnect with old friends and make new memories.  Traveling the country has allowed me to see and do so many cool things with so many great people in my life.  I am excited to see what this journey brings next! 

Jen and I by my Kashi-mobile

at Jen's friend's place, after dinner

rainy sunday event day

walking into the concert at the brewery

this picture is freaky, but kinda funny 

sporting our kashi gear in the rain

G Love, John Butler Trio & Tristan - all on stage at once!

familiar inspiration

Last week, I spent time in Chicago after our first event back on the road.  For me, I was happy to start the second half of the tour in a Midwest city.  I have always loved Chicago, for many reasons - the city atmosphere, the lake, the people... its the closest "real" city to St. Louis, in my opinion.  

My first night there, I was stoked because Lallapalooza was happening that weekend in Grant Park.  There were so many great bands playing this year, including Radiohead and Bloc Party.  I was hoping to get a ticket when I got there, but that wasn't the case.  It was sold out and the scalpers were sketchy (big surprise), so I ended up sitting outside the venue on a hill in the park - listening from there.  I caught a few songs and decided that was enough.  Lots of interesting characters at that concert!  It was getting late and I walked from the hotel, so it was time to head back.  Would have been cool to see some of the bands play, but what I was able to hear was definitely better than nothing at all.

Our event was on Roscoe street, which is on the other side of Lincoln Park area.  As many times as I have been to Chicago, that whole area was new to me.  I liked the look and feel, a lot.  Everything was full of character and charisma, yet still down to earth.  One of the greatest characteristics of Chicago is the sense of family life - there are families walking around everywhere you look.  I guess can be attributed to the Midwest culture, families tend to stick together around my parts :)  Anyway, this event was a good place for Kashi to be, given the crowd.  Everyone seemed to love what we had to offer.  We were packed all day.  It was nice to have such a popular event, it makes time fly by!

After the event, I had the whole week to play around the city.  It was so nice to be on my own terms.  I was especially excited for Monday night, because I had tickets to see Tristan Prettyman play at the House of Blues.  Over the past two years, I have grown to absolutely love her music.  To see her live, was a huge deal.  I first learned of her music when she did a song with G Love, called Beautiful.  G Love kind of helped bring her up in the music world.  The concert was awesome, just as expected.  She played her guitar and danced around on stage, like she was having the time of her life.  It's always good to see people doing what they love.  She told lots of stories about each song and where it came from, which was cool to hear.  It was a great place to see her play - because since the venue is small, you feel like you are right there on stage with the band.   We were about 10 feet away, max.  During her encore, G Love unexpectedly showed up to play "Beautiful" with Tristan, live.  He was in town because he played at Lallapalooza the day prior, but no one had any idea he was going to make a surprise appearance.  I kind of turned into a teenage girl - I was so excited.  Seeing those two play live, together, was definitely my favorite part of the night. After finishing the encore, Tristan and G Love both came out to hang out with the crowd.  Its always cool to see that even rock stars are just normal, everyday people... they just happen to be really really talented and fun to watch :)  

The rest of the week revolved around the yoga classes at Yogaview.  I know a few of the teachers there and some of the regulars from there go on the Sayulita retreat every year.  I was excited to practice in that community.  One of my teachers, Geri Bleier, happened to be out of town that week, but I was still planning to attend her scheduled classes - since she had great subs.  In fact, the teacher who taught her Wed. afternoon class is a lot of fun. I know her from the Anusara Immersion we both attended in Atlanta a few years back - her name is Dorie.  If you are ever in Chicago, look her up.  She is a great teacher.  The class was a level 3 advanced class - which basically means hard as hell, to my experience.  No joke, it was the hardest and one of the most fun classes I had ever been to.  People were doing things you see in magazines or something.  The community was so dedicated and strong.  I could only imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by people with such determination and diligence, on a regular basis.I am sure they feed off each others energy.  These people were devoted to their practice, that's for sure!  It wasn't even about the poses they could pull off, it was about the look on their faces while they were doing it.  I couldn't believe it.  It was like everything they did appeared effortless.  Definitely inspiring, that's for sure.  I met some really unique people during my time at Yogaview.  Unique in a good way...

I am excited to go back to Chicago more often, after I make it back home next fall. Its a quick and easy commute to some really great yoga :)  I will definitely be making some one-day trips there to work with Geri, in the near future.  If any of you St. Louis yogis want to join me, just let me know!

Overall, I left Chicago feeling inspired and well-connected.  I wasn't really ready to leave, the day we hit the road to Rochester.  There was a sense of familiarity and comfort that came along with a practicing yoga and living my daily life in a Midwest community.  I liked the fact that I kinda knew my way around, but experienced so much new, at the same time.  This tour just keeps getting better and better!

the front gates at Lollapalooza - this is as far as i got :)

a random fountain in the middle of the city where kids were playing 

Tristan and G Love - LIVE at the House of Blues

Meet my boyfriend G Love (hehe)

Surfer/Rocker Chick, Tristan Prettyman

lake + city life + great yoga community = happy brigette

vacation home

For the first time in my life, vacation meant going home for a week.  Quite the role reversal from my past life.  In fact, to this point, every time I've ever taken "vacation" days off work, I would leave town. This time, I couldn't wait to get home for my vacation.  Funny how things work.

I got into town late on a Tuesday night.  The first day I was home I spent time sleeping in, reorganizing and finishing up some last minute errands for work.  Thursday was the first day I really felt like I was on vacation.  Thursday morning I was greeted by my parents with "birthday bread" for breakfast.  It was sweet to wake up to my loving parents, for a change.  The rest of the afternoon, my mom and I spent time bumming around South City (where my house is, in St. Louis).  It was crazy to drive around my neighborhood knowing I don't live there right now.  There are other people living in my house, walking down my street, stopping in at my coffee shop.  It's a really cool part of the city to live, at my age - I do miss it, but I am happy to share it with my tenants while I am gone :) 

Later that evening, I taught a class back at my home base, Southtown Yoga.  Words can't even describe how happy I was to see all my students again.  I had a blast teaching.  It was really cool to to share some of the knowledge I have gained on the road, working with so many amazing teachers along the way.  Class was packed, too...which was a very good feeling :) During class, I focused a lot on on the first principal of Anusara Yoga, opening to grace - which (in common speak) means finding your strength on the inside, while keeping a soft outer shell.  It means finding a sense of humility within a strong practice.  Obviously, it has many meanings and interpretations - these are just a few qualities we focused on in this particular class.  We did handstands, arm balances, headstands, back bending, the works!  It was great to be with my community again.

After class, I met a few friends at The Royale to celebrate my birthday.  Reconnecting with friends is such a rewarding experience.  It reminds me how important those people are in my life and how much love can be among friends.  By the end of the night, it was pouring rain...but, it didn't matter.  We just moved to a covered area, catching up and even enjoying the rain.  There is a sense of cleansing I feel, every time it rains.  I miss that about the Midwest.  I am very thankful that I had this night to catch up with friends.  It made home feel like home again.

My family and Jaime spent the weekend at my parent's lake house, which is just a few hours away from St. Louis.  Growing up, we spent almost every weekend of the summer at the lake.  It was nice to spend time with my family there, during my time back home.  Being there made it seem like time hasn't changed a thing.  In fact, it made it seem like I was back home for good - even though I knew I wasn't.  Being at the lake is comfortable, relaxing and just plain fun.  It was so nice to spend so much time hanging out with the people I love most.  Tim and Ellen are a blast, as always. I just love being around the two of them.  I miss them both so much when I am away.  I wish I could just put them in my suitcase and take them on tour with me.  It's so great to have two of your favorite people in the whole world reside in your immediate family :)  lucky, I know.  So, the lake was fun.  I posted a few pics below - you can see for yourself how great it was.

After the lake, I had almost a whole week to spend time seeing friends and spending time with my family.  Monday night, I went to see one of my students (and friend), Amy, sing at Franco.  A couple of my favorite yogis met me there, which was fun.  After Franco, Jaime and I went to the infamous Monday night bowling league at Pin Up Bowl.  This was a very important stop to make.  I was finally able to meet the faces of her latest new crew of friends.  We had a blast.  Jaime took control of the jukebox, as usual, and we danced around while everyone else bowled.  Just like old times, but a new crew.  They are a fun crowd - always entertaining!

The rest of the week, I stayed with Tim and Ellen.  It was good to be able to hang out, make dinner, and just catch up.  Wednesday, Ellen and I spent the afternoon at their corner coffee shop.  We talked, drank coffee, and talked some more.  One of the (many) great things about our relationship is our shared passion for yoga and teaching.  I love how easy it is for us to relate to each other, on that level.  It's a huge bonus to be able to talk about each other about a part of our lives that is so important to both of us.  Later that afternoon, Tim and I went to Ellen's yoga class.  She is a fantastic teacher.  I love how her wit and charm come out, within her intelligent demeanor.  It was so cool to see her in her prime.  A new side of Ellen to adore :)  The class was really tough, but it gave me a whole new perspective.  I am so glad we went.

My last night in town, my dad, mom, Tim and I all ate dinner together at my parent's house (Ellen was at work).  It felt just like any other night...only I was leaving again for another 3 months the next morning.   It felt much different this time, leaving home.  My mentality was different.  I knew what it was like to be on the road, to be gone for so long.  The second half of this tour is very different from the first - we are headed to the east coast, then down south.  Most of the cities are places I have never been to and don't know much about.  I am excited to learn and continue to grow my practice over the next 3 months.  Coming home reminded me how much I love and miss my family and friends...but, it also reminded me that this chapter of my life is not yet complete.  

I am back on the road, now.  Thank you to everyone back home for making my vacation so sweet.  I look forward to November :)

XOXO

B

sittin' on the dock of the bay...

mom and me on the dock

at dock knockers

a few of my favorite people at my favorite lake hang out :)

Ellen and me waving at the other boats

the birthday choir

a lazy Sunday at the lake

Monday night bowling at pin up

my last night at home...