It’s the last day of 2011! I know you knew that already…but here I am to remind you. I hope that you have fun plans to ring in the new year, with festivity and at least a few minutes dedicated to reflection on the past year, plus hopes/anticipation for the year to come.
I thought it would be fun to pick my top posts from this year, on the 5 topics I love to write about on Cowgirl Yoga: Montana, yoga, horses, food, and motherhood. I am grateful that these wonderful things are the pillars of my life.
Montana: this time last year, my family and I had just kicked off a six-month stint in London. While it was an amazing, expansive experience, I was very happy to return hOMe to Montana in June, just as we kicked off our retreat season. One of the things I aim to do here is capture the magic of the many Montana moments we enjoy living here. A few of 2011’s best include: our visit to the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas; my fave summer MT moments, and our fall Yellowstone visit (we head into YNP again tomorrow, in a snowcoach, for our winter visit).
Yoga: OM my, what can I say?? I spent the first half of 2011 with an almost daily practice at Jivamukti London, and I spent the summer and fall teaching yoga to amazing women on our retreats. How lucky am I, that I get to truly live my yoga? I could go on and on, but instead I’ll give you my fave yoga posts of 2011: Yoga second chances, Come away from the wall, please, and My yoga nemisis.
Horses: Yoga and horses are my therapy. I’m not sure I could survive without them. While I appreciated the time I dedicated to my yoga practice in London, I definitely missed horses: their smell, their touch, their warm breath, their wisdom, their ability to awaken such powerful feelings. I found that I physically crave horses, maybe as much as yoga now. 2011 horse highlights: my favorite lesson from my horse; equine poetry in motion, and healing with horses and yoga, our Cowgirls vs. Cancer program.
Food: I have to say…while we eat very well at home in Montana, my fave foodie moments from this year were from London and Morocco. High tea at Fortnum & Mason on my 40th bday, visiting the Marrakesh souks, and shopping for spices to infuse almost every retreat on chef Kate’s popular Moroccan night, eating as much Indian and Middle Eastern fare in London as humanly possible. If you believe that rumor about the food in England being bad, you are very mistaken.
Motherhood: here’s where I get all teary-eyed. There is nothing else that makes me want to stop time as motherhood does; yet, part of its joy is seeing your child grow. I will treasure the travel experiences we shared with 6 year old during our time in London, and watching her eyes open to a bigger world beyond where we live (love this post from our time in Morocco, and this one from Venice)…along with everything else we have shared this year, such as violin lessons together, horseback riding, and stargazing while snuggled up in bed. My favorite quote from her this year is the following gem: hugs share the most love because your hearts touch. There are no words to describe the myriad of ways my daughter inspires me to be a better person.
Thank you 2011, for everything. Welcome 2012! Yeehaw & Namaste.