BEAUTY is MAGIC * * *

A lucky lady am I to have such artistic friends.  They say you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.  I feel blessed to be around people who have designed their lives around how they see beauty in the world and how much they appreciate the magic in that.  

I've centered my teaching and practice around the breath the past few years (you regulars are like "yes, we know").  I always (ok, almost constantly) remind my students to remember to pause long enough throughout their poses and shapes to feel their breath make it's way through them.  It keeps us grounded in our muscles and bones and gives us our individual experience while we work together as a group.  Feeling our breath move us in our practice gives us a memory of what it feels like to be grounded and empowers us to map our way back there off our mats, when we need it most.

These pics were taken almost exactly a year ago in Joshua Tree National Park over Labor Day weekend.  It's absolutely one of the most magical places I have ever been.  It started to rain just as we were driving into the park so we had to pull over and wait.  It was incredible to see so much rain fall so quickly and recede just as fast.  But it was perfect timing, rain drops hung on to all the Joshua Trees and plants in the park and reflected the sunlight.  All that water made the colors richer and you could smell the earth in that way you only get after a good rain but like times 10.  I think of it often, it's beauty is just unbelievable.  And when I get lost or sad or lose my way I can map my way back to it's colors, the smell of the air, the heat of the desert and it brings me right back to my breath and my muscles and bones and makes me see the magic in getting to experience all that.