yoga on the road: road trip into fall

The bad news, we had a 24 hour drive ahead... the good news, I had some fun stops to make along the way.

Going from Sarasota to Boston was a long haul! The total drive time was 24 hours, and that doesn't count stopping here and there. After reviewing our route options to get from point A to point B, I realized I had two choices, (1) dread the drive... or (2) make it one of the most fun weeks yet. As you may have guessed, I chose the later of the two options :)

I broke off from the rest of my crew for this little road trip I had planned. Fortunately, we have a chase car (the kashimobile). I was able to take the car on my own this time and was free to make stops wherever I saw fit.

My first destination was Durham, NC. My friends Katie and Doug have lived there for a few years, now, and I had yet to visit. Perfect opportunity! Katie and I met several years ago in my advertising days at Zipatoni. I made so many great friends at that job. Katie and I have a very unique relationship where we can tell each other absolutely anything without even questioning judgement. She is one of those friends that is a lifer, from the start. Probably one of the sweetest people I know. I was thrilled to see her and her husband, Doug, in the place they now call home. As expected, their house was as warm and welcoming as they are. They have a guest bedroom set up that was more accommodating than any hotel or bed & breakfast I've ever experienced. Plus, being Katie's home, it was automatically fabulous. The three of us went out to dinner, had great food and great wine and caught up. In order to make it to Boston in time for work, I only had time to stay one evening with Katie and Doug. But, we all made it well worth our time. It was so good to see them. It proved to me (once again) that true friendships never fail. We had such a good time, with the little time we had. I am so glad I got to see their happy life together in NC. I am blessed to have people in my life like Katie and Doug. Good people.

The next day, I took off when Katie left for work to head toward NYC to see another friend, Jess. Spring semester of 2002, I studied abroad in London, England. I enrolled in the program with several friends from Drury, but ended up meeting Jess there. We were instant friends, similar to the instant friendship I had with Katie. Sometimes you just get people right away. Jess and I hung out together a lot while we were in London. She is a total foodie, so there was always a new restaurant to try or a new dessert shop to check out. Even outside of London, we would travel to certain countries just to check out a restaurant or a certain cuisine. Good way to travel! Jess has an incredible sense of softness about her... a very nurturing spirit. Back in our London days, we would sit at a little European cafe, dream about our dreams, talk about the past... we pretty much covered everything when it came to girl talk. After our semester abroad, we were really good at keeping in touch. We didn't talk all the time or anything, but we would find time to catch up, every so often, so we could stay up on each other's lives. We took turns going to visit each other and made it a point to keep our friendship strong. As with many situations like this, time had passed and passed...and passed, and Jess and I kinda lost touch. We always knew how to get in contact with each other, but sometimes so much time passes, you feel like you don't know where to start when you do talk. Luckily, Jess and I both knew we could pick up where we last left off, at any given moment. Its just that our lives were growing in two separate directions (geographically) and it was getting difficult to keep up. As soon as I figured out I could stop in NYC and see Jess, it was a plan. The email barely even left my outbox when I received a response from Jess making plans for my visit there. Jess is a total city girl. I couldn't wait to see what she had in store for the night. Once I got in town, we ventured off to SOHO for dinner with Jess' boyfriend (Matt) and her brother (Eric). It was like we were living a scene from Sex and the City. May seem silly to many of you, I know... but to us, it was a blast! After dinner, Jess and I broke off on our own to have a martini and catch up. Again, it was like time stood still. Both of our lives have changed so much since we last met, yet our friendship was as true as can be. I am so lucky that I got to see Jess and spend time seeing her life in NYC. She is just as happy and bright eyed as I remembered.

Similar to the day before, I left NYC when Jess left for work in the morning. I timed it just right to end up in Norwalk, CT, in time for Mitchel Bleier's Advanced class on Wed. Just like last time I was there, I decided to pop in unexpectedly. Given that I had never taken such a long road trip, I didn't want to over commit and make plans I couldn't live up to. This way, it was just a bonus to my trip if I made it there in time for class. I did just that. I got to Norwalk a little early, even. I stopped in the coffee shop below their studio to find Mitchel with his adorable baby boy, Beck. We had a bit of time to chat before class. We have all sorts of fun ideas cooking for St. Louis in 2009. Just you wait! It's gonna be huge :) Anyway, we went upstairs for class and enjoyed a vigorous practice. True to Mitchel's style. In this particular class, we worked toward headstand drop backs. So much fun. I will have to play with this with my st. louis yogis during my new class, "The Practice." With the right tools, it can be a lot of fun. I can't wait to see where we can take things back home at STY. There is so much potential with a yoga practice. One of the things Mitchel teaches me over and over again is to work toward your full potential. Try new things. See how it pans out. I love this idea. He is such a great teacher. Definitely someone who inspires me beyond expectations I could ever imagine. What a powerful teacher!

After class, I had just a few hours left until I hit Boston... FINALLY. I was really excited to be in Boston for a few days. It was a total different scene than what we had been around the last several months. The south is great, don't get me wrong, but it was time for Fall. The drive there was amazing. Probably the most colorful beauty I've ever laid eyes on. When the leaves change, its amazing how beautiful they get just before they die off. Just one more example of how everything in nature pulses together. Just like an inhale reaches its peak before you exhale. Like a wave that gets to its highest point before it falls. How fruit becomes so ripe and sweet before falling from a tree. Its all the same. We are all the same, yet all so unique. Its amazing how perfect this world is.

In Boston, we stayed right in the heart of Brookline. Sunie used to live in that area, so we had her pick the hotel. She did an excellent job! I had been to Boston once before, but I spent most of my time in downtown Boston. This area had so much character. I loved that you could walk everywhere and bump into all sorts of fun coffee shops, restaurants and bookshops. It felt the the epitome of "New England." We had some great food in the area.

The event in Boston was packed. We were at the Head of the Charles rowing event on the Harvard campus. What a cool part of town. The area we were set up was right on the water and just blocks from Harvard Square. The rowing event in itself was pretty cool. I had never been to anything like it. Made me want to join a rowing team... but I quickly let go of that idea when I remembered I live in St. Louis, MO :) There were tons of students and families around and everyone was more than eager to do yoga with me. I had classes so full that I practically had to scream, "BREATHE." I kinda felt like a boot camp instructor at one point...but a much nicer one, of course! I can't complain when there are too many people wanting to do yoga. It was a phenomenal event for us.

Lucky for me, Jess informed me of the new Wagamama in Harvard Square. I made sure to head in that direction for lunch on Saturday. Wagamama is this great noodle bar chain that we discovered in London. Its slowly, but surely, making its way to the US. Awesome food. Check it out, if you ever see one!

So, this week was one to remember. There were so many exciting adventures throughout the week, that I can hardly put my finger on my favorite aspect. Each day was completely different. Each experience was sweet and memorable. Once again, this week reminded me how wonderful life can be... you just have to open your eyes and see what's there.