BLOG IT FORWARD: WEEK 7 ANH NGA LEE

I’M WIDE AWAKE (Katy Perry)

Okay, well the title pretty much says it all.  I use to be someone that did not volunteer for anything.  I just waited till I was asked not so much because I thought I was the cat’s meow but for fear of rejection.

Well that was the old me, when I heard about Blogging it Forward it took me a couple of days to decide but I stepped out and volunteered.  Yikes, what had I done…I was literally wide awake wondering if I had anything to write about and figuratively having woken up from living a life that others set up for me.

This journey that I am undertaking started 6 years ago, and has picked up speed since I started living my dream of becoming a massage therapist.  I graduated from the Kali Institute of Massage and Somatic Therapies www.kaliinstitute.com  in May 2011.  I have met some incredible people and am honored to consider them friends and colleagues.

Often times, we find that when a person enters your life it seems like they have always been there.  That person for me is my dear friend Sheri Dias Burgoyne.  I am honored to consider her one of my best friends and business partner. 

I am wide awake and mindfully living my life as authentically as I can.  There is no longer room for hiding behind people, thinking that I am second best and taking what is left over.  Inhaling the positive energies into my life and exhaling the negative energies.

Breathe in, Breath out.

BECAUSE A VISION SOFTLY CREEPING (Simon & Garfunkel)

 

Mindful meditation-letting thoughts come and go as I focus on “The Storm” aka “Kali”.  I enter into a quiet, contemplative state of mind.

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTIAN, FORD EVERY STREAM (Sound of Music)

Greg Ward, my hiking buddy and great friend.  We have done urban hikes in LA, hiked Rocky Peak in Simi Valley, we have gotten lost in Santa Paula trying to get to the punchbowls, hiked in Malibu after being profiled by a Sheriff’s deputy.    That part of the story, I will leave for another time.

To continue to live a life of health, we meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6am to hike the new Ventura Botanical Gardens http://venturabotanicalgardens.com/ourfirsttrail.html trail.  To make it even more challenging, we park in the BofA public parking and hike up the hill to the trailhead.  When we first started I had to take 3 to 4 breaks and I had not gotten to the trailhead yet!  He is such a good friend, he stops and waits for me before telling me to move my ass.  Who needs enemies when you have friends this awesome!

HOT IN, SO HOT IN HERE (Nelly)

I have always wanted to begin a yoga practice and was delighted when my friend/business partner Sheri suggested that I come with her and take a class at Bikram Yoga Ventura http://bikramyogaventuraca.com/.  I knew the class was going to be done in a hot environment and looked forward to trying it out. An hour into the class, I was doing okay and thinking hang on the hour is almost up…when the Yoga teacher said “now that we have warmed up, we will begin our practice”…picture if you will the bubble text above my head stating those famous 3 letters..WTF!

After surviving the realization that I was in a 90 minute class, I completed the class and enjoyed every minute of it.

COME ON LET’S SWEAT, BABY (C&C Music Factory)

As a massage therapist, I began to feel that in order to help my clients I needed to be more mindful of how I was treating my body.  Thus begins my journey of mindfulness and body health.  I got my jumpstart by enlisting the help of my PIC (partner in crime) Sheri and asked her to help me with not only nutrition but personal training.  I told her that I needed someone that was going to kick my ass.  6 weeks later I had lost close to 15lbs and that was the motivation that I needed. 

Sitting in Element Coffeehouse http://elementcoffeelounge.com/ with Sheri, I was introduced to Patrick Fisher of Gamut Fitness. Sheri suggested going to his workout class…yup, she forgot one little thing this class is called The Gauntlet.  I know…you would think I learned my lesson.

In my short time going to The Gauntlet I have had small victories. 

1.      I am able to do a slow jog around the block without walking that is .5 miles!

2.      I am finally figuring out how to do a burpee.

3.      I am still building up to this “cibatta” interval training.  Note to self:  No water till intervals are all done.

Although, I am still the newbie in the group I am having a blast getting to know this wonderful group of people and getting fit at the same time.

PLEASED TO MEET YOU, HOPE YOU GUESS MY NAME, OH YEAH
BUT WHAT'S PUZZLING YOU, IS THE NATURE OF MY GAME
(Rolling Stones)
everyone should have a nemesis (something that a person cannot conquer, achieve).  Currently, my nemesis is the board to the right.

 

Yes, this white board doesn’t have anything on it right now but if you have been to a class that board can be filled with some of the most interesting exercises.

 

 

IS ANYBODY HUNGRY?...I’M ON THE HUNT (Duran Duran)

Quick reviews:

Mary’s Secret Garden- the BOMB!

MammaChia-drinking soft set Jell-O with some jiggley bits.

C20 Coconut Water- the best of them all.

Trader Joes Coconut Milk yogurt-good for the lactose intolerant. 

SO HERE’S TO THE GINGER LEI, I GIVE TO YOU TODAY AND HERE’S A KISS, THAT WILL NOT FADE AWAY (Don Ho)

When I was first heard about the art of Hawaiian massage called Lomi Lomi, I was not interested.  The second time I was asked again about Lomi Lomi and given a DVD to watch.  It was interesting I was doing some of the strokes that were shown on the video but, I still could not cop a clue.

Until finally the Universe hit me over the head (subtlety is not my strong point) and brought a wonderful Kahuna named Oceanna to Kali Institute to teach an Introduction to Lomi Lomi class.  

She shared in the class that… “This practice will bring your intention and strength to a greater level of clarity.  Lomilomi preparation and practice will introduce you to many deeper levels of giving and receiving, in ALL areas of your life”.

What she spoke of that fateful day resonated with me so much that I finally understood that LomiLomi was more than a different massage modality but a way of life.

In the book Wise Secrets of Aloha by Kahuna Harry Uhane Jim and Garnette Arledge, Hawaii’s secret of paradise is Aloha: “the breath of God is in our presence.”

Aloha, the beloved greeting for hello and good-bye known the world over, is a many-leveled, truly multi-splendored healing sound all by itself.  There is in all creation, in Aloha, a bigger, wider, more substantive presence of spirituality than we can, at the surface, see or know.

So say Aloha now to yourself.  Savor Aloha, the traditional greeting.  Generosity offers you a scented white-ginger lei.  You are the welcomed guest.  Aloha overflows with the hospitality, flashes abundance, and offers beauty to all.

As I end this blog, I thank you for taking the time to read it.  Hopefully, have a few laughs seeing that our paths are crossing at this very moment in time.  My spirit overflows with gratitude and love as I bid you Aloha. 

 

Pat FisherComment