"Hands on my heart and my hips wide open. Trusting the process" - Pita

Recently, my beloved and I took a road trip from Texas back to to our home in San Francisco. While I have traveled around the world, never have I been more in love with this country and all of its natural wonders. Our first stop was at White Sands National Park. Due to road trip time limitations, we expected to just “check it out,” not knowing we would be called to hike up and down sand dunes for miles, learning, reflecting, and bonding. Being the adventurers that we are, we decided to hike the longest trail possible without having had breakfast or adequate water with us. (I KNOW, OMG). Oh, and did I mention we also missed the hike signage with all kind of warnings? At first it was so fun. We went off trail, sled down the sand dunes, laughed, took pictures, and kept going. After all, “5 miles ain’t nothing for us”… Or so we thought. 

After not seeing other humans for a few hours, I started to worry. Were we lost? Where is everyone else? We hadn’t prepared for this long of a hike, and even though the hike seemed short, try doing it up and down sand dunes in the 101F degree heat, with no shade what-so-ever, no signs, no other people, barely enough water, and little food. 

It was amazing to see how we comforted and supported one another. We were able to provide shade for each other, share water and the little snacks we had, and would even dig into sand until we found the cold areas to rest in (yes, about 1 foot into the sand you will find comfort in the coolness, which is where all the animals go to escape the heat). It was so hot that at one point we even chased the shade of lingering clouds. 

And after a few hours, we saw people again. Phew... we made it. We found trail signs and just like everything…. what a lesson ✨

This time is an emotional time for us, for those who are close to me, you know how broken I am having to leave California -- after being in the Bay for almost 4 years and creating a life here with my beloved. 

The universe is calling us to move to Austin ✨ and even though this comes with wonderful life opportunities for both of us; changes, no matter how amazing they may be, are still stressful. They are stressful  because your body/mind/heart have to adapt and adjust. Anything that causes change will bring about stress, whether good or bad. 

This hike reminded me so much of life. It is so unexpected, there are ups, and there are downs, and sometimes you just have to keep moving through them, keep listening, and keep trusting. 

This pose or asana is called Mālāsana or Namaskarasana. With hands at my heart, or in Anjali Mudra, I can feel my heart beat against my thumbs and the connection to the 5 elements (which are related to the 5 fingers). It is a pose I often come to when I know heavy movement is coming. The hips are related to our movement. We sway them as we dance and are a huge element in our shifts, whether micro shifts-such as moving throughout the day, or macroshifts- movement throughout life. This is also a wonderful pose to ground. You can send energy down the pelvic floor and release to open up the hips (where we tend to hold a lot of stress + tension). 

I leave you with a quote to seal this post:

"Happiness doesn't have just one address"- anonymous

Stay tuned for more unbelievable road trip adventures ✨ and how I continue to weave my yoga practice into my life and inspire you to do the same ✨