MOMENTS FROM THE MAT

Photo journal of my life on & off the mat. Ashtanga Yogi. Moments of Love & bits of Beauty live here. I dream of the Sea 🐚 https://www.momentsfromthemat.com

[the-alisaz]

⛰ Disconnecting from our technology to reconnect with ourselves is absolutely essential - Arianna Huffington Back from a technology detox in the mountains✌🏼 Already missing the fresh air, lush green trees, and getting lost in the wide open sky (at Hidden Falls, Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park)

[the-alisaz]

✨Take me back to this moment✨ ⛰ . #banff #canada #cascademountain (at Top Of Cascade Mountain)

[the-alisaz]

💗 Last handstand in China until next time, another adventure comes to an end. I'm going to miss my family in Nanjing, especially my great aunts and uncles. My grandma is the oldest of nine and she always told me stories about how much she loved having a big family. I've always wondered what that would be like. I didn't grow up with extended family beyond my grandparents and now I understand what my grandma means. There is so much love. And that holds so much meaning for me. (at Shanghai Pudong International Airport)

[the-alisaz]

⚡️ Who am I when things are not in my favor? - @timfeldmannyoga with @ashtangadispatch . Wise words from a wise man🙏 This question has been swirling around my thoughts for the past couple of days. And I've realized that I'm trying to be brave enough to live up to how I want to answer this question truthfully & authentically. It's a damn hard process (at Nanjing, China)

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🌒 my superpower is i feel everything & i let it rip me apart every night & still i don’t die. instead, i grow more open & make more room. @vav.Ava (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🙃 Added acupuncture into the migraine treatment rotation today and it was an interesting experience. I felt a decrease in the pressure & pain around my eyes afterwards but it’s too soon to tell if it will have a substantial impact. I’ll be getting acupuncture everyday for the next 10 days, fingers crossed that this treatment does some good🤞🏼 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🙃 Added acupuncture into the migraine treatment rotation today and it was an interesting experience. I felt a decrease in the pressure & pain around my eyes afterwards but it’s too soon to tell if it will have a substantial impact. I’ll be getting acupuncture everyday for the next 10 days, fingers crossed that this treatment does some good🤞🏼 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🙏💗🍦 Things I’m grateful for today: 1. Being able to practice 2. The love I am given from my support system 3. Ice cream, always grateful for ice cream (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

💜 Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. -Ralph Waldo Emerson . Finally able to practice again after a week and a half of head problems, migraines are sooooooo fun 😵 The weather here is definitely testing the limits of my treatment. But compared to last summer, my episodes have decreased in intensity and quantity. That's progress! Life happens, just have to deal with the bad and start the next day with fresh eyes. It feels so good to be back on the mat🙌🏼 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

⚡️ All you can really do when you're young is go with your gut. Go with whichever fire burns the brightest. Be your own individual. Search for your inner truth. Make mistakes, create and romanticize chaos. Learn and unlearn and learn again. Carry passion until the end. - @christipherpointdexter . Currently en route to Shanghai for the day, going after an opportunity to chase after my dreams💗 All good vibes here today, wish me luck!✌🏼 . . . #inspiration #dreamer #littlereminders #goldenhour #quotes #quotestoliveby (at Nanjing Railway Station)

[the-alisaz]

❤️⚪️💙⚪️❤️⚪️💙 Today is my first 4th of July out of the U.S.A. & I’ve realized that I’m really grateful to be American even though I don’t agree with a lot of what’s happening in our country now. All of that madness doesn’t take away all that I love about my country. 🇺🇸 One would think that this is a given, but it's taken me a really long time (& several identity crises) to realize this!🤷🏻‍♀️ (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

✖️ give yourself permission to be where you are. and to still be loved for it. x @iamhertribe . Felt good enough to do my whole practice today (primary + secondary up to ustrasana)🙌🏼 & I celebrated with some handstand play😏 …which resulted in many mosquito bites😫 It was worth it😜 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

⭐️ I used to think that if I couldn't do a whole practice, I shouldn't practice at all that day. It was all or nothing, one extreme to another, not exactly a healthy or safe way to practice. Now I understand that I practice to be in a healthier state of mind, body, and soul. If my practice is half of my "normal" postures for few days, weeks, months so I can recover, that IS a full practice. I'm learning to listen to my body with intelligence and how to separate laziness from seriously needing rest. . If my practice truly is a reflection of what's happening in my life, then my health issues, whenever they arise, should also be a considering factor. . I've got a whole lifetime to practice, there's no rush😊🙏 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🙏 My life for the past week: dizziness, headaches, blurry vision, mental exhaustion, vertigo; symptoms of my TBI, triggered by this nearly unbearable weather. When I can move without feeling like my head is a fishbowl containing tsunami sized waves, I get on my mat and do surya namaskara a & b, meditation, deep breathing, and gentle thoracic opening movements. . I keep telling myself that discomfort is temporary and the practice is a lifetime. Trying to rest & be patient but I can't wait until this is over😭 (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

✨ inside me, i am large. i contain infinities, contradictions, currents and hurricanes of love and fear. there is no end inside me. @vav.ava (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🔥 The essence of bravery is being without self-deception -Pema Chödrön (at Nanjing, China)

[the-alisaz]

🌬 Take a deep breath Feel for what is holding on Then decide to give in, let go What you'll find is space to move deeper @jl.yoga . Had a very charged practice today after a dream filled night of restless sleep. Each breath brought more & more feels⚡️ (at Nanjing, China)