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Yoga on the beach brings the sounds of the ocean, the smells of the sea and the sun shining prana directly onto your practice.

Bringing your practice to the beach is easy! Just grab a towel and some fresh water and you’re ready to go. A yoga mat is optional though I recommend trying your asanas directly on the sand. It’s more fun and you get the full effect of the experience. And if it does get a little too sandy that’s just a great excuse for a “water break”.

Your yoga on the beach experience is sure to offer new perspectives from looking at a wave upside down in Wide-Legged Forward Bend to feeling like a beginner all over again with Tree Pose in the soft sand. The meditative sounds of the ocean waves crashing on the seashore are bound to deepen your experience. Try balance poses on the soft sand gazing off to the horizon and watch as a simple pose has a new level of challenge. Or, experiment with Shavassana by positioning yourself so that your toes are at the water’s edge.

The best part about yoga on the beach is the elements of unknown. Unlike the studio setting, the forces of nature are present to challenge your poses on the physical and mental level. For me, the best part of practicing yoga on the beach is the immense feeling of being alive that comes with being surrounded by inspirational natural beauty.

As always, enjoy your journey off the mat!
Kyle Anne

The sun set over the Australian mainland as we set sail for the Whitsunday Islands. With sails full and spirits soaring, the storm clouds gathered to deliver a fantastic lightening show that flashed and danced 180 degrees around the boat. I marveled at our surroundings, the fresh environment inviting novel perspectives.

Being at sea offers the oftentimes rare opportunity to let go. There is something in the wind sweeping wildly over the waters that shakes our firm beliefs creating space for reexamination and change. The unsteady ground beneath your feet can send you hurtling across the deck like Bambi on Ice trying to find its bearings. The interesting thing here is what forms in the mind when the unknown blows your way.

The very fact that uncertainty arises in high waters and strong winds allows for deeper reflection. What does it mean for us to relinquish the reins of certainty? What fears emerge from the depths and how do we understand these fears? These questions were thrown to me from the sea itself. Mother Nature has a way of reminding us of our fragility and false sense of security that shields us from reality.

What surfaced for me was a peaceful state amid the chaos. Unlike some of my fellow passengers, this turbulent motion did not result in distress. Rather, with ease I was able to surrender to the experience (ready to act as necessary) but first to be with the moment and to soak in the wild unknown with great pleasure.

It is not often that we face a storm bearing potential disaster of the physical sort. However, in our day-to-day lives storms blow in from all around in ways that we sometimes can’t control. These storms may be in the form of relationship stress, financial troubles, or health concerns that we had not planned for or expected. Once the storm has hit, however, we do have control of how we react. When we let go of what is out of our control, it becomes easier to deal with that which we can affect. Recognizing the difference enables us to act deliberately to calm the storm and find our way within it.

So as the whitecaps formed and fell, our sails were adjusted to harness this natural force and we sailed to smoother waters with a sense of an alert alive spirit buoyed by a strong inner calm sense of self.

“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust our sails”
~Bertha Calloway

Greetings from Australia!

This year is all about travel with the love of my life, Tal Gur. We met while traveling a year ago in Bolivia and 6 months later we were engaged in Montreal, QC. Since then, I’ve left my job, moved out of Providence, RI, and said farewell to friends and family as I’ve taken off for a ‘round the world adventure with my fiancé.

We’ve decided to explore Australia, Thailand, India, and a bit of Europe. Along the way we have plans for 2 weddings (one in Israel and one in the US). Wow, what a year it will be!

Our trip kicked off with a 4-Wheel drive Aussie road trip through lush green mountains, coastal beach towns and lively colorful cities full of gorgeous super-friendly people. Whenever I’ve had the chance (which is pretty often these days), I’ve been rolling out my Gaiam Travel Yoga Mat or practicing yoga on sandy beaches, flat rocks, or soft green grasses.

The Gaiam Travel yoga mat is something I purchased before my South American trip a year ago. It can easily fit rolled up or folded into a backpack and offers versatility as either a sticky mat or towel. It is super thin and light and easy to clean- just throw it in the washing machine or scrub it down quickly in the shower. It’s been durable and dependable and provides me with the grounding space that sometimes only a yoga mat can provide.

We have another month in Australia including a trip through the Outback and Central Australian Desert before flying to Thailand. Tal will study Thai Kickboxing there and I’ll fly to India for a 6-week course on Ayurvedic Medicine. There will be daily meditation and yoga practice, a chance to discover ancient remedies and study with masters in the field!!

Stay tuned and enjoy the journey!

Kyle Anne

You can read tidbits of my journey at www.kylewillets.com

December rushes in after Thanksgiving boasting holiday cheer, brisk winds, and a lengthy list of To Dos. My mind flits down avenues of errands creating checklists and pouncing on projects. Just as I realize my shoulders are pinned up to my ears my heart is already racing and my fingers clenching into a ball. With great conscious effort I exhale my posture into an effortful-relaxed state. Immediately I start in on myself; the Great Interrogator is up to bat. How could I have gotten off track so far? Aren’t I more practiced and grounded than this? What is wrong with me!?

As I lick my wounds, my mind continues to cast lines of thoughts into all directions pulling me into action despite exhaustion. Depleted, I find myself at a warm vinyasa class and onto my mat I go saying a quick apology to myself for the time lapse in practice. During the class I grind through layers of resistance and beat down as much self-deprecating thinking as I can replacing it with love and gratitude. At the end, I fall asleep in Shavaasana. It could have been a three-hour nap for all I was aware. I wake up somewhere in the middle of time disoriented yet fully conscious. This simple state provides a window to one empowering thought: I am creating everything in the reality or the dream within which I awake. It is with this one thought that I start to direct my mind and body towards a more satvic, balanced state.

August 16th, 2010- The ProJo features Kyle’s Blossoming Buddha free yoga classes for kids in Olneyville, RI

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Yoga class taps into children’s flexible natures!

A dance, a spiritual dance.
Grab your body, come on, let’s go!
A struggle, a strain
set free to swim
to do back flips into a pool of love,
an oasis of joy.
The reservoir of deep passionate connection
to your soul grows
as life flows through your veins.

A wonder, mouth wide open
tasting the salt of the air off the shore,
mist on your face,
the sun poking through the clouds,
you glow.

And you run so fast your muscles pumping
your heart working vigorously,
the sweat pouring off your slick, firm body.
You run into feeling,
pain and joy mix and their droplets fall to the earth.

Splash, you dive into the ocean
and move like a turbo-charged vessel
slicing though the water strong and sleek.
The cool water enveloping your body like a fish
you press forward going faster and faster
until reach the line that pulls you up to the ship.

You sail to the island and they’re expecting you.
A simple white fish, greens, and wine.
You shower under the palms
in the cool spring lake,
dress in soft cotton
and taste each bite
as the sun beats down
one beat at a time,
your heart slowing until it crosses
to the other side of the horizon.