Another Beautiful day. Feeling refreshed and especially grateful today as i celebrate little Leo’s first birthday> I hate to be a cliché but “where has the time gone”

Speaking of time, on Wednesday after teaching a very awesome core bootcamp class at Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (i teach corporate bootcamp and yoga during the lunch hours for the last 4 years) i decided to take my kids on an adventure. With school just around the corner and Sienna going into grade 2, i feel like time is escaping my grip, especially as Empowered Yoga and Lifestyle has been taking off. Since January we have had over 30, 200 hr students attend courses in Lethbridge, Edmonton and Grande Prairie as well as some amazing 500 Hr courses including Vinyasa Yoga for Youth with Ryan Leier, Prenatal Yoga with Clare Newman, Yin Yoga with Joe Barnett and Rocket Power Flow. This year has been so full and as summer comes to an end and fall begins to arrive, i am feeling especially nostalgic.

I began the day Wednesday with my freedom sequence, which is an awesome blend of dynamic flow, back bending and deep hip work yin style. My nooner bootcamp class was a sweaty blend of  cardio fun in the sun meets deep core work, meets life coaching, meets power yoga giving birth to full body bliss all against the backdrop of blue sky’s, geese flying high and green grass and trees. I always find the angle of the sun this time of year really plays up the beauty of the landscape. After i packed up my 3 kids in my van i was on my way to Calgary. In Calgary traffic was a bitch and the kids were restless. Enter Ujjaii breathing. When we arrived at the hotel we made our way to the pool for some watersides. Funny i actually remembered being here years ago. I closed my mind as a whirled down the slide twisting and turning, just to see if i could get back to that place in time when i was small. The night was loooooooong with little Leo and after almost exactly 3 hrs of sleep the sun was peeking through the curtains telling my kids it was time to play. We spent the day with my sisters at Callaway park and after a full day of spinning, splashing and almost puking we packed into the van and made our way to Drumheller. I spent the first 13 years of my life in Drumheller, and every year i go back it seems smaller. Another long night with only 3 hrs sleep, my  breath and commitment to having “fun” with my kids was all i could do from going crazy, well there may have been a couple moments where i lost it. My practice today was that of recapitulation and mindfulness.Spending time with not only my family and ancestors but  in Drumheller we also explore the layers of life before our time as we wonder through the  museum and the hills of Drumheller, we visited with my beautiful grandparents, my Auntie Tish and cousin Tarren. I also had the opportunity to hang out at a memorial bench that was built after my uncle Perry passed away this spring. Again i sat there in silence at a place i had spent many hours as a child playing, and just closed my eyes. The sounds of my own children playing and the birds in the background, drawing me deeper into my memories of a different time. The drive back to Edmonton was long, I was exhausted and yet the scenery was beautiful and for the most part the kids were quiet allowing me to drift from memory after memory. Where has the time gone?

After a good nights sleep i woke up this morning feeling refreshed. The sound of Leo crying, every other day jarring me out of my slumber any other day may have been annoying, but not today. Today it was his first birthday. As i picked him out of his crib, i remembered last year holding him for the first time. Where has the time gone? I was in such a rush for this day, and every landmark, day after day after day. Not today. I am awake.

My practice today was a mourning jog, followed up by a deep yin practice on my deck.

I am awake. Life is Beautiful.

Namaste,

Michele Theoret