Posts Tagged ‘connection’

Dance Travel Connect Love Alaska

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Anchorage, Alaska

Alaska moonlight

Alaska moonlight

When I arrived in early April, the snow on the ground had started to melt and yet within days of my arrival there was a new dusting of snow.   As my time evolved, so did the  scenery transform from white into brown and gray.   Not so beautiful but raw and barren.   As spring emerged  in mid May,  green buds appeared on the trees and grass shot up literally overnight.  Once again, I was reminded of the contrasts in this huge, unruly place.

I am not allowed to talk about the  military work according to my contract, but what I can say is that I continue to have the highest regard for our men and women in uniform who are dedicated and committed to serving our country.    It always feels like an honor to give a little to them as they give so much for us.  Now, as a family member myself, I know what it is like to sacrifice and I know what it is like to live between fear and pride.

TRAVEL.     My weekends were filled up mostly with travel to beautiful places.     My life in Anchorage 30 years ago was but a distant memory, set in a time when I was younger and wilder.   I was shocked to realize that my brain could only remember street names and a few businesses here and there.   The rest was like amnesia.   What I discovered is that Alaska is still wild, just like a part of me.

glacier-large I decided to see as many glaciers as I could …26 in one day…that’s what the tour advertised and they did deliver on their promises.    There was stunning scenery after stunning scenery and I tried to focus on the fact that so few people actually get to see what I was seeing.  Lucky, lucky me.

Seward.  Amazing little fishing town.  Quaint comes to mind.   I took the whale watching cruise and a delightful day watching seals, otters, bald eagles, puffins (they are so cute) and a Mom humpback and her baby splash and blow in the distance.

Seward is a gorgeous fishing village

Seward is a gorgeous fishing village

Denali, highest peak in N. America

Denali, highest peak in N. America

Then there was Denali, otherwise known as Mt. McKinley.  Our highest mountain in North America… 20,320 feet high.  In her majestic ways, she alluded us most of the time, creating her own microclimate, mostly hidden behind swirling clouds and snow.

Denali National Park and Preserve...such a unique place,  a sanctuary where animals live truly in their natural habitat and us humans get to have a peak at them from a bus tour where we had to keep everything inside the bus except our cameras.  No hands or arms outside the windows.   And quiet so as to be guests in this sacred, vast territory.    No cars allowed.      There were  caribou, moose standing on the side of the road, dall sheep, a red fox, a nest of falcons, a lynx, bald eagels …And the biggest gift of all…. Ms.  Mama grizzly bear and 2 cubs walked straight up to the bus and laid down.   Thrilling and shocking.  I was grateful to be on the bus and not hiking.

MaMa grizzley and Cub

MaMa grizzly and Cub

DANCE. I decided to take up belly dancing and became shocked to find out how many things have to  happen simultaneously in your brain and body at once….hips moving, arms in another direction, and those tiny cymbals called zils on my fingers clacking to the beat of drums.  My teacher was sophisticated, passionate and she had two tattooed eyes that were watchful as we danced behind her.  carries-eyes-largeCarrie.

BellyDancers

BellyDancers

I bravely enrolled in an Indian Temple dance class and was mesmerized by this beautiful woman who has spent her lifetime learning the art of Indian temple dance.

And then I tried Bikram yoga.  This, of course, is the hot 102 degrees insane type of yoga.    In one particularly challenging class when  my lungs pleaded &  screamed for a meager bit of cool air, I heard myself say ” if my son  endured Afghanistan in 130 degree heat with full 125 pound armor on, then I can suck it up and finish a silly 90 minute class of heat.”    I calmed down after that and am happy to say that I made it through several classes without throwing up or running out of the room.   Anchorage Yoga.

CONNECT.        The friendliness of the Alaska people is equal to their big hearts.  Once, after my yoga class,  I was blow-drying my hair (trying to recover)  and a very compassionate woman from the class invited me to her home for dinner after realizing I was living in a hotel for 2 months.   I met her charming husband, her delightful kids and neighbors and felt so included and grateful for family connection again.   She knew me for 5 minutes only and invited me to share her family, her home, and her friends.     What an amazing surprise that people can still be so trusting of a complete stranger.

LOVE. I love the beauty of Alaska.  It is wild here, it is big, and it is a place of deep contrasts.  It’s not like any other place I’ve been.

Love....I missed my husband and I missed my family while I was away.  And so my love for them grew even bigger and I became extraordinarily grateful for these people in my life.    There really is no place like home.

I am off again to Alaska in a week.   For a month.  And then to Japan for 2 months.  And in between the hot summer nights, I will find myself on a beach in Mexico, dancing and celebrating my son’s wedding.     How lucky can you get?

Dance Travel Connect Love.   Not a bad life.

Mama Grizzley

Mama Grizzly

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A Valentine’s Day Couple’s Retreat

Saturday, February 20th, 2010
A couple under blue skies

A couple under blue skies

The sweetness of the retreat lingers as I drink my morning coffee and surround myself with unopened emails and a newsletter to write.   I remember this time a week ago, my thoughts were in savoring  the sun against the patches of snow and deep blue skies as we hiked to the top of a mountain in Colorado.  The couples retreat was full on.

At the Mountain Park Environmental Center,  Helene and Dave Van Manen led us up the mountain on a two hour hike all the way up to the lookout point.   He is known to many as Ranger Dave and she as Coach Helene.  They work daily to educate children and anyone who listens about the conservation of this beautiful land.      couples-on-retreat-large2

It’s a stunning place for a retreat, the HorseShoe Lodge, where rooms are  comfortable and delightfully decorated.  We stayed in the Canyon Echoes Room which was warm and welcoming.   My second time here and I felt very much at home, surrounded by stillness and comfort.

We five couples (six including Helene & Dave, our leaders) met the night before.   I knew we were lucky to be on this retreat with Helene and Dave, a couple who are brimming with fun, love and commitment to each other.    They offered the weekend to couples as a time to rest and renew and be with each other in this special environment.  Three other retreat coaches also came on retreat:  Diane Mueller, Elizabeth Barbour, & Angelika Ekert-Scott.

Couples yoga in the afternoon.  We did tree poses together symbolizing how we balance each other.  I realized while in the middle of the pose, that I couldn’t balance on my own but that I needed to be mindful of my husband’s movements and then how he and I had to work together to stand tall in the tree pose.     The blend when we got it right was reassuring, a strengthening metaphor of how  a couple must adjust,  giving and taking.   I felt the true awareness of being in the moment and focusing on myself as well as my partner’s needs.

Couples Tree Pose

Couples Tree Pose

Food.  So delicious.  Bernie, the chef, at the Horseshoe Lodge was magnificent.  Yummy, healthy salads, warm nurturing soups, and an eggplant entree to die for,  Mary’s (his wife’s) oatmeal cookies.  Such a treat.  I felt pampered and nourished at each meal.

Saturday night. The ending of a spectacular day.  I felt myself relax and lean into my husband’s arms as we all sat on the floor and listened to Helene and Dave sing.   The blend of their voices together and Dave’s guitar was like a soothing elixir to our bodies and hearts.  All couples sat on the floor wrapped around each other, listening, sometimes singing along.   The music restored us further into ourselves and our relationships.  The music of Dave & Helene.

We realized that snow was gently falling outside as we snuggled in more towards each other.

A sweet Sunday morning.    The snow seemed to glisten  in the sunlight between the pine trees surrounding the Lodge.  Breakfast of yummy oatmeal, raisins, nuts, & bananas  and then we were out on another hike up through the canyon.   It was easy to be walking sometimes in silence, other times connecting with others.   Some couples stayed back.

Couples in the Canyon

Couples in the Canyon

Sunday afternoon:  I indulged myself in a massage by Carol and landed in never, never land somewhere in my head while completely relaxed.  Others were napping or journaling or reading.

Goodbyes were said, some of us lingering, staying an extra day.

And then, we were off the next morning on a three hour drive to Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa,  through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The wide open ranges with mighty mountains in the background covered with white pristine snow lay before us.  The pastures were also covered with snow and the occasional cow  fronted these ranges.  The beauty was stunning.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountain range

The Sangre de Cristo Mountain range

After driving through stunning scenery,  we were at long last at the hot springs and soaking in a choice of several hot tubs fed by hot springs.  Relaxing once again.  The spirit of the mountains called to me.  As I looked out our window from our room,  I noticed there were small sand dunes covered in snow!  Very beautiful.

Coach Diane

Coach Diane Mueller

Blue Skies & Snow

Blue Skies & Snow

Driving back to Denver, I thought what restorative and magic powers await us when we take the time to give to ourselves.  It doesn’t have to be a grand adventure like my husband and I experienced, just easier  when you walk away from your house and all the to do lists and the busyness gets put on hold…..it’s just easier.

And now back at home, and seeing the young,bright yellow daffodils blooming in my yard, I drift back to that peaceful,  unique  feeling of balance.   I am rested now and ready to begin again.  I am very grateful for this special experience of being on retreat with my husband in such a beautiful land.

What I’m thinking is that it’s not where you go or how far you go, it’s important to take the time to just be.  And a retreat helps to us to get away from all the endless lists and overwhelm that is so easy to fall into.  I will remember the snow and the blue skies of Colorado and I am grateful to have had this unbelievable opportunity.

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Paying it Forward

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

People told me this would happen.  Not being able to think of what to write in a blog.  Hmmm.  Here I am determined to deal with and beat down the “Mr. You Can’t Write” saboteur that keeps lurking around my blog.    Actually, the more I think about it, the more the rebel in me rises and I am determined to not let the saboteurs take over.   I will write, dammit! (she says in a Scarlett O’Hara way.)

And this on the eve of announcing my live blog.   Okay, Jo, so just throw off the stupid restraints and  write.  Talk about the name of the blog, at least.

Dance Travel Connect Love.  That’s the name of this blog and it goes around the dancing women logo.

Dance Travel Connect Love (R)

Dance Travel Connect Love

And what it means is that I will be gathering women to dance with me, travel to exotic places for retreats, connecting with each other and their own hearts.  And then there’s love.  Always, it’s about love….love to the other women in other countries and to the people along the way in our lives.  It’s about loving ourselves, too.

I keep thinking that there are rules to this blogging and there probably are.   But so what….I’m probably not following any of them.  I’m just finding my way and I am writing.   I really do have something to say but I don’t want to pretend, I want to be authentic and worthwhile for people to read.

I had a special treat today.  A former client lovingly told me that because of the work we did together, that she was where she is today in the world.  That she had realized some of her own dreams directly through our work together.  She said   “I heard you talk about your own dreams and it made me realize that I could have mine, too.  And then you encouraged me to do a vision board and as a result, I am now in this house that I love so much.”    I paused for a moment and thought to myself, well,  Jo, you said the same thing to your coach a few years ago when you were so grateful to her for the growth in yourself.  There is nothing, nothing better than having someone really “get you.”   And having someone give you that unconditional regard.  Good lord, if I’ve done that with my clients, I feel proud.  And today was a pure demonstration to me of how it works.  We really do pay it forward.  Each time we are with someone and we listen and we inspire them with our own boldness, they get to do it too.  How cool is that?

So here we are.  I did it.  Wrote another post.  I figure that if only one other person reads this and felt inspired or touched, then it’s worth wrestling the saboteurs.  Thank you, dear readers for getting through this.   Let me know what you think about what I’ve written.

Questions to journal on or think about:   where are you being a role model for others?  Who has helped you along the way? Where are you paying it forward?    It may be time to send them a silent thank you and/or it’s time to recognize how you make an impact on others.  Pay it forward and see what happens.

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