I stubbed my 'other' toe just to make them matchy.
Which means that one IS stubbed. Yes.
Sexy blood blister and this time I went for ripping of the skin.
I wait for things to happen about 3 times before I 'get it'...
so long Havanas. It's been swell.
And then I always wondered, while washing my blender...HOW, I didn't ever cut myself.
Thoughts become things (it's a mere puncture wound)
Send medics only if they're tan and buff please.
And a new paring knife that works well as a nail file - ouch.
Vive la aloe plant that I'm slathering.
All
over
my
body.

AND that folks, is a well rounded almost dangerous weekend.
Do you think the Uni is trying to tell me something...anything??
How about "pay attention"! slow down.
Gentle...

Not so gentle massage trying to create some space in my hips.
They're beyond tight.

the body has all the wisdom we need.
So I step onto my mat.
Ground the four corners of my feet, where are my shins?...lengthen the spine...open the heart...space in the hips.
then it dawns on me...if there was a person beside me, vocally speaking this out loud I think I would chuck out a Jackie Chan on her...him? it?
I can get so caught up in THINKING that I have to know all the motions (that I know!)...I just gotta trust that they'll ripen themselves out of my sweet and gloriously svelte yoga pod.
The more I try to 'get it' all, the more I'm missing the juicyness of the practice.
If I breath and move I'm fine. If I'm aware and feeling...amen.
If I'm totally surrendering to the moment and allowing ME to just experience.
that's kinda living.
Probably spacious.
and I can take my fuckin ridiculous thinking hat off...

Just like fueling my body with nutrients - I don't even think about it.
Which is how I end up with a stupendous tofu and red cabbage stir-fry (cabbage cringers seriously you don't know what you're missing on a palate and cellular level!)
Which is also why juicing is NEVER a chore! Celery, beet, carrot, and apple rainbow reverie...
AND...making it to the meditation mat.
A must.
(and yea that's my 6:30am view above...ommmmmm)

...imagine practicing *life* from this amazingly awesome and KNOWING place.
that you know.
what you need to know.
when you need it.
And often the more you THINK about things, the more you'll just fuck'em up.

If you're over thinking in one area...
You might not think twice about sticking your hand in a blender.
with the blade.

happy almost monday...(sometimes I work Sundays just so I can have Mondays OFF!)
xo
jodi renée

Labels: food, inspiration, juice, meditation, on life

A commitment to mediating.
For oh...40 days straight. Starting at 20 minutes.
Actually those commitments aren't usually very hard for me. I've tossed in yoga though just to make things a little bit tougher. And it's not the physical practices of both that make it tough. It's actually carving out the time.
I find when I don't do them both first thing in the morning. It gets impossible to do them at all.
Funny how I'm more concerned about others reactions when I want to park my lotus ass in their basement digging for my inner peace.
I mean...their reaction is really none of my business. Out of my control.
So why even give it a second thought?
Thoughts, thoughts...too many thoughts.

I'm committed to both these practices and filling my days up with things that make me come ALIVE...

I've been feeling disconnected lately. There's a whirlwind of change going on that many of you don't know about. It's pretty huge for me and did I mention chaos? I feel like Dorothy sometimes and wishing those ruby reds would take me back "home" (red bottom Louboutin or Jimmy Choo's are a good substitute).
Home...home.
And seriously...where IS home? The symbolism with all this change?
Finally the inside-hall-pot light comes on - it's 'here'....within.
A never ending search for home, that comfort...that FEELING.
Not that thing, the person or place. It's the...FEELING's we're after.
And unless you find it within,
you're never going to find it anywhere else...outside of you.

What the funk does this have anything to do with me practicing yoga and meditation daily?
And how on earth does this tie into all the beautiful (and yummy) images above.
Aha. This is where everything connects. Like the movie you never really 'get' until the very end.
(well I hope this isn't like the book that you never figure out...thanks The History of Love)

If you're feelin lost...
YOU are not.
You've just lost your way. There's a difference.
And often we need to veer away from the path to remember where it is that we're going.
Maybe we even need to change direction...or ask (Mapquest ain't always right you know...or...umm...the driver).
The body is the best compass that we have.
Yoga connects breath and movement.
In meditation we close our eyes.
Turning inward...moving and observing. The answers are ALL there.
We just have to give ourselves some time...patience.


I might not have all the answers.
And this commitment to a daily practice IS the answer.
Along with filling up my days with the things that I love:
*yoga (go figure)
*meditation...yeaaaaa. I actually do kinda love it
*amazing food that fuels me AND my body - kinda like the delicious Kerr Street Cafe eats in oakville (see scrumptious salad pic at the top of this post. Paired with an uberlicious Vanilla Mint tea)
*amazing people
*great conversation
*fresh air
*my anything nature fix
...those are just a few.
And I find when I can get MOST or all of these things into my days. I feel full.
Kinda like yesterday.

What are the top 5 things that make you come alive or that make your day seem full and/or complete? Can you commit to implementing all of 5 of these things daily? Would love to hear from you!

Thanks BluBoho babes for our amazing and inspiring lunch date yesterday. Love that my amazing people are all connected (and adorned quite the same! Stunning model family above - ok they're not models they're real people, more beautiful because of it! Is wearing my FAV Chan Luu bracelet wrap which you can pick up at BluBoho fyi...)
Not to mention THIS family goes down in the archives of 'favourites' for so many reasons. That's entirely another post...
Beyond grateful.
Getting empty so I can fill up again...
Madly loving xo
jodi renée

Labels: BluBoho, Kerr Street Cafe, lifestyle, Oakville, on life

From Maui to Bali...surf to soul. Last minute splurge to serious anticipated investment (please change my life...that's not to much to ask...is it?)
These last 6 months have been some of the most challenging, frustrating and revealing...of my life.
And I wouldn't change it for the world.

In and out of the Dr.'s offices, weekly visits to chiropractors, massage therapists...acupuncture and herbs. My body was falling apart...my heart breaking. How could 'everything' I love cause me so much pain? How did I get to this point? Chronic neck, shoulder and upper back pain...daily migraines. Running, simple walking...even yoga would create so much tension. So obviously any time spent on the computer...did the same. Every 'thing' that filled my soul...
I was convinced that photography was no longer my 'path'...my 'purpose'. An unhealthy love/hate (that's a super strong word...let's use loath) relationship needed to end. And soon.
What now? I was beginning to feel paralyzed.

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are"
~ Bernice Johnson Reagon

REWIND...
Growing up, I remember ripping images out of magazines - images of people, couples, kids...pure emotion, raw feeling. I didn't know at the time what these images meant, all I knew was that the 'feelings' I had looking at these images...I wanted them. Amazed that ONE 'still photo'...of strangers! ...could take me somewhere. To that place, with that person...time has stopped. Hear the laughter, feel the movement. Mom swings you around, the fresh air on your skin, the trees a blur as you circle around and around.
In it's simplest of moments, life was pure bliss.

If I could never fail....If I could do/be anything. These were the prompts of so many journal entries growing up...If I could never fail, I would be...A photographer.
Visual journals backed this up with the SAME IMAGES that plastered my walls.

FAST FORWARD...
...the exact same images that now fill my website, my Blog. My clients walls.
A dream come true? Or had enough passion, desire and intention created a 'glimmer' of 'belief'?
Wow.

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it" ~ Will A. Ward

And making a 'career' out of this dream, this passion, requires constant FOCUS.
At some point along the way...I lost it.
And myself.
Some of the most exhilarating, remarkable and unforgettable times of my life. Unbelievable people, places and experiences. Pushing limits, pushing myself. So it's not a surprise that eventually...
Anxiety and possibly depression followed. Artists...to the degree that the light and creativity shines, the darkness exists...
(just a small comparison to the greats! ...but it's not like I'm crazy. Well...mildly crazy. Like a salsa that's mild. Has a kick but definitely not hot...hmm...but I do think I'm spicy. Okay, so if spicy is crazy then I'm IN!) ...see what I mean? The side that not many get to see (don't worry it will unveil itself!) ...comparing myself to the likes of crazy artists and a tangent of Salsa ensued...? Voila. Mad-Hatter Aquarius/photographer...this is moi :)

Back to the dance! ...stepping back, jumping in.
Something didn't feel quite right. My body was 'talking' ...I wasn't listening.
But it starts to yell (and if screams, well...you may have gone too far) ...

Up in the air. Maui bound. Sun, sand and surf. Indulging...perspective...clear-your-mind kinda va-cay.
There would be enough time to worry about slipping into old patterns and behaviours...
Perhaps unknowingly I had been cast into the movie that was now my life.
Up in the Air (crossing fingers that Mr. Clooney would be my seat mate. Obviously me window, him aisle so that way every time I had to use the bathroom, which is usually once per hour, I would have to 'excuse' my way past him! On a 12 hour flight...amen)
...En route to Bali. One month. Intense yoga training.
Up in the air...
Literally I had no clue where I, or my life was headed. Only that I had HUGE expectations that Bali would change my life. I was open to anything, and everything.

It doesn't seem to matter where you go though.
You're always with yourself.
All of my expectations around Bali...fell short.
It was the unexpected that surprised me.
...and quite possibly, that changed my life.
Simple. Nothing new. Yet so profound...
for me.

"The best things in life are unexpected - because there were no expectations" ~ Eli Khamarov

So vague I know! I'm purposely leaving you hanging! I want you to keep coming back as I start to unravel some more details of the above...Such a passion for writing and I've begun to realize that my 'honest' and open journey just MAY help ONE other person. I'm inspired by others. The raw, authentic journey of others. Perhaps this is why I'm so IN LOVE with the clients I work with and what WE get to create. When we can be completely ourselves, we create space for others to do the same.

It took me A LONG time to let go of 'perfection' ...and it's still a work in progress. Opening up about the trials and challenges of my journey, in the past seemed 'imperfect' ...I didn't want anyone to see or know how difficult this whole process has been.
And now I'm aware how necessary ALL of it was, to get me...HERE.
This absolutely wonderful place where a *spark* now exists...
And that's all you need to start a fire.

Madly loving life...xo
jodi renée

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Labels: on life, personal