I was headed down a road of partying and purposelessness, when yoga and surfing “saved my life”. It may sound silly, but….

“When I surfed or practiced yoga I had to be present and quiet.”

I moved from Boston, MA where I grew up to Kona, Hawaii solo in 2000. At this time in my life I wasn’t thinking deeply and profoundly about this decision, I just liked tropical weather, turquoise oceans, adventure, and nature. I had just graduated from the Muscular Therapy Institute as a Massage Therapist and could start my career anywhere. Little did I know I had some huge life changing choices ahead of me.

“So stoked, I am living the dream!” I lived in the tropics, had great friends, a supportive family, (Thanks Mom) great career and yet, I was completely lost. Fast-forward a couple of years, I was still bartending on the side of my private Massage practice, and my“rock star” lifestyle continued. My new friends were from the bar, the lifestyle was familiar and at the time FUN! I had a genuine yet superficial happiness, but on a deeper level I was very unfulfilled, lacked purpose, and physically was in a lot pain.

My body was confused as to why I wasn’t listening. I had pain in my body, extreme pain in my right hip; from a past snowboarding injury, I always carried an extra 10 lbs., I lived with a very foggy mind; I wasn’t fully aware of the fog until I lived with clarity, I was moody, had headaches…the list goes on, I was completely out of balance.

Lost, I wandered in search of myself; I decided to learn to surf, after all I live in Hawaii. When I was surfing I had no choice but to be 100% present, the ocean is one powerful lady. I was almost always out of my comfort zone in the Hawaii waters; sure it was fun but I was always at my edge. Slowly I chose to go to bed early instead of partying, so I could get up and feel good when I surfed.

Shortly after my surfing adventures began, I decided I wanted a consistent yoga practice, I had always dabbled, but I knew there was a greater benefit when I had a steady practice, this is when I found Norman Allen. Norman was the first American to be taught by Pattachi Jois (in 1973) Ashtanga Yoga. (link?)(http://www.ashtangayoga.info/ashtangayoga/tradition/way-to-the-west/),
Norman Allen offered Yoga 4 days a week for free, but there was a catch, if you missed a day you had to pay. Talk about incentive and accountability! This worked for me.

I began to figure out that when I surfed or practiced Yoga, I had to be present. More and more I would come out of my yoga class, or from the water and notice that my mind was a little quieter.

In my quiet moments something began to really nag me, like a burning inside, it was uncomfortable I didn’t know what the heck it was. I had a thriving Massage practice on the Big Island; I worked with local athletes as well as professionals around the globe, who came to compete in the world famous Ironman Competition each year. Yet after 8 plus years of doing this I was doing a ton of massages on external level. I’m not saying that this wasn’t awesome at the time it was. I was good, in fact great at my profession, I knew the anatomy, I looked at the body as a whole for compensation patterns, habits etc., really great stuff, but I now know I was waking up to the fact that I was meant to do much more in this world than “just massage” and “cruise,” as they say in Hawaii, this was a doorway into something profound for me.

How exciting!

Not at the time it wasn’t. It was a time of confusion as I stepped into the unknown, my friends that shared the party passion didn’t like where I was heading. Who are you? Where are you going? Oh you’re going to turn into one of those people. So see Yoga and Surfing didn’t save me literally, but they were my muse or my tools to help me get to where my soul wanted me to go.

I wanted to incorporate more into my Massage Therapy business. I considered nursing, it seemed like an organic transition, but I knew western medicine was not where my heart was. In 2010 I made a move to North County, San Diego, knowing that I wanted to learn more. With my new clarity and the help of a very empowering life coach Peri Enkins, I Divinely wandered into the Yoga certification and Ayurveda program at the Soul of Yoga (http://soulofyoga.com.) (Link?)

In my advanced 500 hour Hatha Yoga(http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/yoga-questions-answered/) training I took Ayurveda as my elective. Ayurveda is an old and extremely wise system that looks at an individual’s composition as unique, therefore devises a custom healing and wellness plan, holistically (Body, Mind and Spirit, it focuses, source of an issue not the symptom) and naturally using the wisdom and gifts of Mother Nature, and intelligence system of our bodies. With this new guidance I look at food for so much more than how it makes me look, food is consumed to nourish me at every level, create healthy cells and tissue, reduce inflammation which equates to less pain, clears my mind, gain clarity, find purpose, and share my gifts. This is what I was missing, and what I really wanted to incorporate into my life as well as others’ lives. It felt like true love.

Over the last 5 years I continued to study Ayurveda including a month long trip to India, Pancha Karma (https://www.ayurveda.com/panchakarma/) and other topics that compliment Balance Within; Life Coaching programs, the study of language that I was using, as well as others and the impact of words. I studied the unique language differences between men and woman; which healed many wounds from past misunderstandings. I began to intensely study through Lousie Hay and Carolyn Myss on how my body communicated to me through symptoms and emotions. I slowed down and listened, my body’s pain is a warning, a communication system, not a ploy against me. It seemed I couldn’t get enough, and that to me is the feeling of purpose; loving my personal life, my career, and how I can help others, is all in complete alignment.

I am still basking in all these topics and would love to know everything, but have learned to enjoy the journey, knowing that there is no destination. My continuing passion lies in Ayurveda. I have continued my studies with Vijaya Stern (link?) (http://livingrasa.com) I am receiving more clarity, greater health, and an internal balance that creates pure joy, and great inquiry in all I do. I feel better than ever at 40, more so than I did at 30. I feel better head to toe, the fog has lifted in my head, and I am not in pain on a daily basis. Things come up of course, but I now know how to communicate with my body and connect to what it is asking for. By listening to how freakin’ (as my Dad says) smart our bodies really are, (symptoms) to integrate the communication we receive in a harmonious way (stop tricking the body) the healing in my body created was astounding! My body is smarter than my brain when it comes to body stuff…. (duh!) All my health concerns were being revealed through symptoms, cravings and reactions. It was telling me solutions; I just hadn’t shown the interest or taken the time to listen.

None of this transformation was over night. Just like Surfing and Yoga takes time to get to certain levels, inner harmony takes time and energy. Each time I thought I had reached my peak I began to see small passageways and doors that were being revealed. This still happens to me to this day, but now I invite these doorways into my life and know I have choices for a very positive experience instead of scary and confusing one.

I wasn’t living a life that was built for me, it was cookie cutter and I was trying to fit into a mold. I now live with vitality, a clear mind a healthy and nourished body, I am in integrity with who I am, my innate self, balanced. I continue to build on my passion with more certainty each day, “how I can help more people connect with the natural intelligence of our bodies like I did?.” We have been directed toward external healing through fake and depleted foods, medications, shots, and all the quick fixes, which only works with fixing the symptoms. The best way to vitality, purpose and joy is to create inner balance which is the greatest declaration of the true me, aligned Body Mind and Spirit.