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Deb and Mastin.
This week has been full of new and exciting things here at Blue Sun. First, which I’m sure you couldn’t help but notice, is our brand-spankin’ new look. For the past year or so Wendi and I have been sitting on a redesign, but the hardest part was gaining our own clarity on what that look would be exactly.
It wasn’t until we got some feedback on our ezine that we figured out how to do the site. Welcome to the Hub for Blue Sun Studio. Consider this the gateway to all things Blue Sun. From here you’ll find links to our coaching, inspiration, writing and storytelling sites. Something for everyone!
The second big thing this week was more of a personal thing. I stepped way outside of my comfort zone.
About a month or two ago Wendi pinged me on IM and said, “Mastin is coming to Las Vegas! You have to go!”
For those of you who don’t know who Mastin Kipp is, he’s the driving force behind The Daily Love, an inspirational blog.
My initial response was, “I’ll think about it.” Why? Because I wasn’t nearly as excited as Wendi was about it. This was at the beginning of our own Journey to the Center of Your Heart workshop and I was still of a mind where my inner voices were poo-pooing everything my coach (Wendi) was tossing my way.
Eventually (like the next morning), I caved. I woke up and decided to dive right in. Sorta.
“So…they say there’s going to be yoga. I haven’t done a lot of yoga,” I said.
“Don’t worry, it’s Kundalini Yoga. More breathing exercises than difficult positions.”
Okay, breathing I could do. Not much different than meditation.
“It’d be good to see what he’s doing. That could help with our own workshops.” I said, still trying to convince myself.
Wendi agreed. And for the sake of research, I signed up.
I have to say, I felt a little guilty. Wendi was so excited, I could feel her jumping on the bed from 2000 miles away. The voices in my head kept saying, “This is her thing, she should be going.” But a ticket and travel just wasn’t in the budget. I had to be the one to go and represent Blue Sun.
I swear, I was more excited about going to see The Desolation of Smaug last Sunday (in IMAX 3D!) than I was about going to the seminar.
Another twinge of guilt.
I was anxious, blew off work all day today. Slept a lot. Hey, it was better than cleaning out the fridge, wasn’t it? 5pm rolled around, I got dressed in comfy clothes, grabbed my Zafu pillow and yoga mat, told Pete I was going to a meditation seminar (“Medication seminar?”, “No, meditation seminar”) and off I went.
In my mind, I was expecting some HUGE event with hundreds of people in a casino ballroom.
The reality was a small yoga studio, (The Grateful Yogi) on West Charleston. In some ways it reminded me of the dojo I studied in back in NY for ten years. Small, peaceful, candlelight and pillows, the scent of Nag Champa permeating the air…our dojo never had that. In fact, it had a frayed rug, a wall of mirrors and smelled like sweat…but the essence of sacredness was the same.
Everyone was super friendly and there were only about 20 attendees altogether. I found a spot near the wall across from the stage set up in the corner (complete with a digital fireplace!).
For the first hour, Mastin talked to us about what we were going to be doing…then he handed us off to Natalie, the Kundalini instructor.
Now, remember how Wendi said that would be no problem, it’s just breathing?
Wrong.
Wrong, wrong.
It was a solid hour of yoga class. My knees cursed her. My hands cursed her. I kept thinking, please let this end soon. I know it’s supposed to be good for me, but God, oh God, please let this end soon.
Eventually, it did end and I survived, but I’ll tell you, by the end of the 5 hour night I was desperate for a chair.
After the yoga portion, Mastin took the floor again. So many of the things he talked about were the same topics Wendi and I cover in our own workshop. I have to say I felt right at home, that I got what he was saying. While none of it was new to me, it was confirmation on everything I had been learning from Wendi (the woman knows her stuff!).
For the last portion he brought up volunteers to tell their stories, and the one story he was looking for was the worst one in the bunch. By that he meant he wanted to hear from the one person who thought they had the worst, most terrible story to tell about what they were going through.
The woman who volunteered started out thinking her’s wasn’t the worst, but after some deep digging into her heart, it was. Not a dry eye left in the house by the time all was said and done. It was good, we all learned something. And there was love, lots of love. Love everywhere.
And you know what? At the end, Mastin came over to me and said, “Good job with the yoga.”
Well, that just made my night. Thanks, Mastin. Guess that karate training carried over, ’cause I didn’t let a little pain make me quit.
For all of you out there, I would highly recommend going to see Mastin if he comes to your town. And Wendi? He did go to Chicagoland…we just happened to be in LA at the time! He said he’d be going back though—and next time YOU’RE going!
And if you can’t go see Mastin? Then be sure to sign up for our February session of Journey to the Center of Your Heart, because I will tell you this, people, it’s all about taking action. You can read all the books and watch all the videos in the world, you can set a bizillion intentions, recite an infinite amount of affirmations, but if you don’t TAKE ACTION, you won’t grow. Get out there and do it, whatever that “it” is.
And if you don’t know what that “it” is or where to start? In the words of Dori, “Just keep swimming.” Eventually that current will take you somewhere.