Bad Ash Adventures Lead to Italy!

Ciao, Hello, Aloha, HOLA beautiful souls! 

Big announcement first... I’ve been working the last 6 months on getting everything into place for an Italian Wellness Holiday, Summer 2018. (If anything, go check it out, because it’s so stinking rad!)

While I have hosted retreats before, mainly geared toward yoga asana, I have begun to explore a retreat, holiday aimed towards people wanting to have a lifestyle travel experience.  Italian Wellness Holiday is going to give persons a glimpse into a similar style to the life I have been leading, as the “traveling fairy” that I have become, over the past four years I've been teaching yoga… Yoga is a lifestyle, and I love asana practice, so there is no doubt that it is a part of the retreat, but this holiday is about living in the moment, which is yoga!

I have been inspired by a beautiful woman, Celia Owens, to take my love for travel & life on the road to Italy. Together we have developed the Italian Wellness Holiday.  We are inspired to give people an authentic experience of living in Italy. It’s one thing to vacation, but it’s another to truly live in an area… to absorb the culture, and feel a part of it. With the Italian Wellness Holiday, you will have this experience, and of course with the perks of actually being on vacation. :)

WHAT DOES THE RETREAT INCLUDE?

Accommodations

Daily Morning Yoga & Meditation Classes

Day Trip to Gneo Fonteo Beach & Umbrella Rental

Day trip to Rome

3 Qi Gong Classes

Travel oriented Art Classes

Daily Breakfasts

Arrival & Departure Dinner

Refreshments & Lite Snacks

Authentic Italian Cooking Class

Transportation To & From the Airport

Presenting my partner in the Italian Wellness Holiday, Celia Owens!

Celia has 7 years of experience living in Val di Comino and Rome, Italy, and has a wealth of knowledge to the area and the country. She is a  lifelong artist and art teacher, world traveler, and practitioner of qi gong and yoga.  Celia also has education and experience in Drawing and Painting, Theater, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, International Peace and Conflict Studies, Hospice Care, Qi Gong and Yoga, Permaculture Design, House Design and Building Methods (frame, straw bale, adobe), Meditation, Buddhist/Baptist/Episcopalian Practice.  What can I say? The woman is incredible, and I am psyched to get to work with her. Celia is such an exciting host, and she will be incoporating so much into the holiday! Read more about Celia here.

What else have I been up too?

This past year has taken me all over the world; Fiji, Australia, India, Hawaii, and most recently Costa Rica. I’ve been pretty busy with trainings (teaching & taking)... above is a photo from the Costa Rica program I taught, where 13 incredible beings received their 200HR Teacher Training certificate. Such a rewarding experience to be with such incredible people learning, growing, and exploring the magical world of yoga all together.  I am forever the student, and feel so grateful to all the people that I come in contact with that teach me something new about myself or the world. If you’ve never taken a 200HR training, it’s something to think about regardless of whether you actually want to teach or not. Please reach out to me if it is something you are thinking about, I would love to recommend a program for you or talk to you if you’re interested.

Handstanding on amiga's rooftop in Jaco, Costa Rica. 

Beyond getting everything in order for Italy, this next year is a mystery to me. Not quite sure what is in store, as plans have changed a bit… When life gets turned upside down… just go with it. :) (Note I’m still pursuing #365DaysofHandstands … follow me on Instagram to see my progress @badashvoice … it’s been a while, but I’m still plugging away… lol) … However, I do know that I will be teaching in Illinois on and off for the next few weeks at The Breathing Tree in Canton, and back to Maui this Winter.  My travels take me all over & I’m booking workshops, privates, and classes all along the way, let me know if you know of somewhere I should go or if I should come visit you!

Kids Yoga THANK YOU NOTES... Adorable & Hilarious.

What an amazing day that I had at my old elementary school, when I taught yoga for kids age 5-9.  Many of the children sent me Thank You notes shortly after, and I can't help but share.  Hopefully it puts a smile on your face, and touches your heart like it did mine.  The fact that so many of them could get into yoga makes me want to do it more.  Lots of love kiddos!

Midwest Yoga Tales

Well I've been back in the Illinois for a month now, and I'm busy as a bee. My main purpose for my travels to Central Illinois; my sister is tying the knot, and I want to be a part of it. When you live the life I live, you tend to miss out on a lot of the family birthdays, parties, happenings, and I wasn't about to miss all of my sister's events leading up to her big day.  And of course, while I'm here I'm going to be teaching yoga classes around the area.

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The bride to be, my sister Kiley, and me headed to her Bachelorette Party in St. Louis on a sunny Midwest day.

I'm so excited to be back at The Breathing Tree in Canton, IL for a guest teaching appearance. Fellow yoga instructor and childhood friend Nathan Taylor has opened this amazing space in the quaint square in my hometown, and I'm excited to be able to teach as many classes as he will let me. See my schedule here.

Along with my drop-in classes at The Breathing Tree, I also was able to do a speciality Yoga & the Voice class at Heading OM in Peoria, IL.  Thank you to the amazing students that were in attendance.  Yoga & The Voice is a speciality class based around the Vishuddha Chakra that I have working on and have taught several times.  Focusing on our point of purification and creativity, this class has been a wonderful chance for me to strengthen my own voice and join with others in harnessing this powerful energy.

I will be at Heading OM again on the evening of Monday, May 23rd to lead a guided Chakra Meditation.  I have been working with the chakras quite a bit in the last couple of years, and am excited to incorporate this into my speciality class repertoire.  After all, when you teach, you are able to better learn.  As a teacher of yoga, your job of learning and being the student never ends.

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Also, while I've been in the Midwest, I was able to make a quick trip and venture to NYC with my friends and fellow yoga instructors, Mali Shields and Kat Wood, for a workshop with renowned yoga instructor Jason Crandell. I must admit that I haven't known much of Jason until my friend introduced him to me a year ago. The 3 day workshop was geared towards yoga instructors and coming back to your personal practice, which as an instructor you can easily lose touch with your personal practice as you are wrapped up in teaching.  Each day we were treated to a 3 hour asana practice, that I must admit kicked my butt, but I was grateful for it.  My personal practice easily goes off kilter when I'm traveling all the time to teach, and spending more time focusing on what I'm going to teach, how to make my classes more challenging and interesting, rather than coming back to the mat and focusing on myself.  Along with the personal practice, Jason has motivated me to get back to my blog, and adding content to my pages, as well as getting back to my steady e-mailing of my students, which seems to have fallen off a bit in the last year.  Needless to say... I think you'll be hearing more from me in the coming year.

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Jason Crandell demonstrating an adjustment on revolve triangle pose, during his 3 day retreat in NYC.

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Yogis & bad ass handstanders Kat Wood & Mali Shields really lit a fire under my bad ash to get my handstand going. :)

Drawing inspiration from my marvelous friend Kat Wood and Jason's course, I've decided to start conquering the handstand.  Yes, I practice the handstand and at some points can nail it, but it's not a consistent asana that I have in my practice.  I want it to be, and having a goal like this is a good motivation to have in general.  My friend Kat (follow her on Instagram) is near completing 365 days of handstands... She amazes me and I am inspired to do it myself.  So prepare yourself for a year of me trying to master being upside down.  So it begins... see my video below... 

Having some technical difficulties getting my video up... until I get it on my site, see it on Instagram!