MISSING: My Daily Routine

literally. Im finding myself stuck in this same situation again. Work has me traveling every week, sometimes to the same familiar places, other times to a new frontier. That's all gravy and exciting, especially when I can discover an amazing yoga studio or coffee shop that has that artsy local vibe I love. But more often than not, this causes me to feel stressed and tired. Maybe some of you can relate. Let's dig a little deeper.

“I once asked a bird, how is it that you fly in this gravity of darkness?". The bird responded, "Love lifts me.” - Hāfez

G'day Mate

Coreen and Christina arrived today after a long 50+ hours of travel! We strolled around the Sydney Opera House and then to the Botanical Gardens, eventually making our way over to The Rocks. We grabbed lunch at a little placed called The Fine Food Store. I dined on toasted sourdough loaded with pumpkin and feta complete with a glass full of Pimms (We ordered a pitcher and needless to say, we had a lot of glasses...). It was delicious and the cobble stone alley way was perfect for people watching. Onward to the Bridge and then back to the hotel to regroup. The gals were pretty jet-lagged so we grabbed a quick bite at a little underground Italian place called Fratelli Fresh and went home to sleep.

We woke early the next day and headed to Coogee beach. It was beautiful! Friends suggested we do the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi beach and that's exactly what we did! The walk was breathtaking; we strolled through Clovelly Beach, Gordon's Bay, Waverly Cemetery - the most scenic burial ground in the world, Bronte, Tamarama beaches and finally to The Iceburgs Club and then Bondi. It was HOT that day so we took the liberty to dip into the water along the journey. We stopped at The Bucketlist to grab a bite to eat once we arrived in Bondi. I had my first frosé which was amazing and also had a tuna poke bowl it was so delicious! Afterwards we headed home for showers and to apply lots of aloe. Zero o-zone folks, and everyone was looking a little red.

We decided to stroll across the bridge and walked to Luna Park. Luna Park is a huge amusement park on the other side of the city. While walking across the bridge, Luna Park had set off fireworks for the Sydney Festival that was taking place this week. Afterwards, we hopped the fast ferry back to Circular Quay and grabbed a drink at the Opera Bar.

Today we got up early to pack our bags, strolled to Chinatown, Darling Harbor and then to Lord Nelsons for a draft Cider. Lord Nelsons is one of the oldest bars in The Rocks and also oldest hotels established in 1841. After the 101 degree morning we'd endured we needed a cold refreshing beverage. We grabbed lunch back by the Harbor at a little place called Graze, which is the restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art. This little gem has outside seating in which you can take in the views of the Harbour and the Opera House. We did family style plates and dined on roasted pumpkin, fresh greens, crab bruchetta and Pinot Noir & Chardonnay bubbles! It was soooo great. Just what we needed before heading to the airport to hop our flight to Melbourne.

Oh ya, we also grabbed scrolls from Oregano Scroll which is essentially a sticky bun, but the layers of dough are much thinner -- similar to that of a crepe. YUM. Now on the plane and the sugar, hot sun, and drinks have kicked in -- so it's nap time. All for today, can't wait to see what we get into in Melbourne! Xx

Chocolate Cashew Scroll - Oregano Scrolls

How's It Going?

If you walk into any shop or store here in Oz you'll be greeted with "How's it going?" -- which I adore! So here is how it's been going.

Manly is a fantastic beach town with everything you could want and more. I took the first few days to unplug and get into my groove with yoga and the beach. On day 3 I ventured into Sydney to meet up with fellow Saratogians; Garth and Jenny and Burnt Hill-ian by association Jason. We had a glass of bubbly at the Langham Hotel bar which was beautiful. Picture super swanky hotel with lots of pink and gold, accompanied with a ginger rose essence that wafted through the hotel bar.

Onward we strolled to Darling Harbor and dined at Nick's. The salmon and dill dip was awesome. After dinner we headed to Hotel Palisade Rooftop bar. We ordered some more bubbly and took in the evening views of the bridge and opera house before calling it a night. It was so lovely to catch up and see familiar faces after 3 days of solo time. I must've drank a bit too much as I fell asleep on the Ferry ride back to Manly ... Whoops.

The next day I woke and headed for the Spit Bridge. There is a beautiful costal walk that takes you from Spit Bridge into Manly, so I packed a bag, threw on my sunnies and suit and headed into the hot sun. Along the walk there are numerous beaches to hop in and out of, and I did just that. The walk weaves you through a mix of lush bushland complete with lots of backyard garden spiders - eep, and scenic views of the harbor and ocean. I forget exactly where I snapped some of the pictures below, but I think my captions are roughly I accurate!

Sydney Harbor National Park at Crater Cove Lookout

The walk took about 3 hours to complete before I got back into the harbor and headed back to the apartment to meet up with Allie & Sam. We grabbed dinner at a great little Mexican joint called Havana Beach -- the plantain chips and house mojitos are a must have!! To finish the night we went to North Head to watch the sun set over Sydney. Just another reason to fall in LOVE with Manly.

We woke the next day did a soft sand run in Manly beach, hit up a yoga class at Power Living, and hit the road in Sams sweet '69 VW bug bound for Dee Why Beach. We ate at a cute little cafe named Girdlers and consumed what I consider the best brekky ever. IT WAS AMAZING. Everything from the ambiance to the seating. Homemade kombucha on tap and avo toast to die for. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Post brekky we ventured to Bluefish Point. This was another interesting walk through the bush and trails which snaked along the coast. You'll see an old WWII lookout and radar tower. The views were stunning. We climbed down to see the Rock Pools just below the Bluefish look out. This was a bit terrifying -- the only way down is to hold onto a old rusty chain rope and climb down the cliff. We conjured up some courage and climbed to get down to the pools. As terrifying as this was, it was totally worth it.

The rusty chain (probably from WWII ... I kid, but probably for real) rock route

View of the sand and wind blasted cliffs from the pools

Pit stop on the walk to dinner with Allie! I adored this church door and insisted on a picture.

After surviving the climb back up, we headed to Collins Beach for a quick swim and few rounds of frisbee. Post swim we picked up some wine and went to Manly Beach for Happy Hour. Mix some wine and sun and presto, a bit buzzed we strolled towards town and stopped off for a few other pre-dinner cocktails and finally dinner at Cured Manly; we feasted on cheese, meats, bread, olives, and more wine! What a fantastic night we had! The morning was a little rough, but nothing a little SUP yoga session at flow mOcean taught by Allie couldn't cure in Shelly Beach.

After class we grabbed lunch at a cafe called Pure Wholefoods -- I was craving an Acai Bowl which did not disappoint. In my haste I didn't snap a pic, but trust me when I tell you it was fantastic! Walter is the owner of this cafe and was so lovely, greeting all the ladies with "Hello Darling". The shop has a slew of fresh cold salads, smoothies, and other hippie granola eats. The muffins were even made of almond flour. Let's just say that I was in heaven, and I wanted to order every damn thing I saw. I'll be back again at the end of the month to sample more eats!

The Space Between Breaths

I've officially been traveling for 34 days. It may all seem wonderful, but travel is tough. Don't get me wrong, I chose this path of adventure and of being away from everything familiar for 90 days, but it's not all sunshine and puppy dogs. As exhilarating as travel is, it's also exhausting.

Well, yesterday I hit my wall. I was flying from Christchurch to Sydney, flight time wasn't bad, less than 4 hours, then I had to catch a ferry to Manly, and then I walked (20 mins) to my friends apartment by the beach. Total time between returning the rental car in Chch and arriving in Manly it was a full 12 hour day. Let's rewind for a moment though, as 12 hours of travel is NADA, when I think about the 18 hour flight from Houston to Auckland I survived a month ago. However, let's think about it in the following terms: one month on the road, zero routine, zero familiarity, small comforts few and far between, missing two large holidays, introduce another time zone, and oh yea ... missing loved ones dearly. So needless to say I spent a good portion of the day in tears. I've highly enjoyed my journey abroad thus far, but it also has taken it's toll. I feel disconnected from all those dear to me. The lack of routine is OK, but when it's everyday, it's hard for your mind and body to really react in a manner you'd like it to. I haven't been physically practicing as much as I would like to on my mat either, thank goodness my meditation game is strong. And when I can't commit to a daily asana practice that always makes me feel guilty. I have been very active with hiking, biking, running, and dance parties with Katy but quality time with my mat has been suffering. And yes, I did practice a good deal in Chch at a heated studio, but I needed some real mat time. You know, the kind of practice where you are so in the zone that you completely forget about everything and anything. Letting your breath be your true guide, as nothing else in that moment matters. All the stress, fatigue, and worries, drip away in the same way a bead of sweat falls from your brow. So that's exactly what I did. Since I have the apartment to myself for the next few days I have some quality alone time. So, I rolled out my mat, got some jams going on Spotify, and lost myself for over two hours working every inch of my body, as I moved to my breath, and worked though all the things that have been eating away at me since I left. Pratice felt great, I was convinced this was what I needed to set things straight.

I slept shitty. Yep, about 4 hours of sleep I'd say? I woke early around 6:30 AEDT and rolled out my mat. A few sun A's and B's and then it was time for my morning espresso. As I sat on my friends couch I closed my eyes, and just started to breathe. I remembered what one of my teachers once told me from the book 'Leap Before you Look':

"Become aware of the movement of the breath. Without trying to change it in any way. Watch the breath come in. Just before the in-breath turns into the out-breath, notice the small gap. Then watch the breath go all the way out ... Pay attention to these gaps. Be present in the gaps. And present as the gap."

One breath to the next, one heartbeat to another. If you quiet your mind, you can find that space. I found the space today, and in that space I discovered my stress, insecurities, worries, and sadness that had been plaguing me for the past several days and decades. But, I also found love, courage, and strength. It's funny this time of year people make 'Resolutions' for the year to come. I gave that practice up a long time ago, I prefer to set intentions, which arguably could be considered one in the same. As I thought more about this, it's not about the resolutions we make, but becoming resolute - more determined and focused on those goals or intentions -- call them what you'd like. I know for me I want to let go of fear, but a lot of this trip has to do with fear. I posted on facebook on New Years Day the following:

Last night we wrote down what we wanted to let go of from 2016. When I sat down to think about it I realized that fear had been a huge theme woven throughout the past year. Fear of surgery; fear of traveling abroad for 90 days; fear of falling in love and loving in return; fear of failure; I choose to let that all go. Because when I reflect back yes - I was scared, but I also triumphed all of those fears. FEAR has two meanings, 'Forget Everything And Run' or 'Face Everything And Rise'. Let's Rise!

To state the obvious, we are constantly working to improve ourselves, we can't expect miracles overnight. While, I have made progress in my fears this past year, I still have a road ahead of me. Do I expect those fears to be over at the end of my 90 day journey? I think not, but I hope to have a jump start on letting them go.

After finding the gaps, I made a few calls back home, and set out on my day. I ran a 5k around Manly Beach, went to a fantastic yoga class at Power Living yoga, strolled through the shops, stuck my toes in the sand, and let the ocean breeze caress my face. Oh yea, and I also drank a pint of Lager from a local Microbrewery in town called 4 Pines - who knew Lager was food for the soul? The spaces between breaths can often reveal so much to us.