What's Next?

The Practice, Issue III

April 12, 2024

I have entered my final 3 weeks in Mysore. I'll be leaving on April 30. It's strange because 3 weeks feels like so little time, but when I originally set out on this adventure, 3 weeks would have meant I still had more than half my trip left! I've been trying to savor these last moments with my teacher, these final scooter rides through downtown, these penultimate cow sightings. The beauty and magic of Mysore still feels huge to me -- I haven't become disenchanted with it in any way. I love this city.

And so, it feels bittersweet to be packing up my apartment and whittling down my belongings to the essentials again. I'll be leaving on a new adventure, but as I look forward to that, I know that I will be returning to Mysore again and again. This city is as much my home as New Mexico.

A cow at the Chamundeswari Temple. Before living here, I knew that India was known for having cows in public, but there really are cows everywhere!

I am leaving Mysore because yoga season is over on May 1 and my shala (Sanskrit for "house;" it refers to the teacher's home where we practice yoga) will be closed for the month of May. However, a very exciting opportunity has come up for me as well!

I will be spending the month of May living and teaching yoga on Réunion Island. It's a tiny island off the coast of Africa, but it's owned by the French. Interestingly, it is part of the Eurozone and is considered a part of both France and the European Union. This will be my first European experience -- and I'll be having it on an island near Madagascar. How magical!

Some friends I met last June own a yoga studio there and have invited me to do a residency. I am thrilled to be able to put into practice all that I have learned this year and teach yoga in the way that I have been taught.

What's also exciting is that I will be able to record some of my yoga teaching and hopefully also livestream some classes. I know many of you have been missing my yoga classes and I will be sure to let you know when you can catch me teaching virtually in May. For those who haven't had a chance to take yoga with me, this will be a great opportunity to experience Ashtanga Yoga, an ancient yogic practice that is the basis for most of the yoga we now see in the US.

Me, overly excited by a "potato tornado," at a recent carnival in Mysore

In the last month, I have enjoyed coming back to RISE and refocusing my business to fit my new life. RISE's new tagline is "Nurture Your Magic" and my mission is to help bring meaning to the mystical for people who are new to magical practices and the healing journey. I want to share the knowledge and tools that I have to help others own their magical power and transform their lives. Think of me as your Professor (which is coincidentally my other job) but for all things self-healing.

Most recently, I finished writing a book! I wrote "How to Read a Birth Chart" as a response to the overly-complicated astrology books out there. I want astrology to be accessible and simple; you should be able to read your own birth chart and get important information from it without having to sift through a 500 page book! This guide will help you understand every element of a birth chart and is sure to be a reference that you can return to again and again.