An evening with fantastic humans and the guidance of Spirit :: yes please!  There is just something so mystical and soothing as you venture down a narrow road (onto a little island just outside Battle Lake MN) as you join a group of amazing women for an evening of Yoga & Spirit Readings ... maybe the owl will visit or the trees will whisper ... or the eagle will soar out our window...all will be received with heart wide open and tons of laughs.   

Minnesotan's are used to mother nature's slow methodical dance into a new season.  Her colors are always laid upon her pallet ~ as the canvas soaks in the elements ~ and so we patiently await the thrill of seeing with renewed eyes.

And thus we will travel to the North Shore to a place that sits overlooking the beautiful Lake Superior.  Feeling nature encase us in a welcoming hug as we weave our soul on an adventure of inner knowing and outer spiritual guidance.   A landscape to play, connect, and rejuvenate in tune with the drum of the waters, earth, and fire.  The first weekend of April ~ unplug ~ reset ~ and prepare your wild soul for Spring. 

It is divine time to venture to the North Shore of Minnesota.
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RESCHEDULED  DATE:  NEXT workshop June 14th 2020

The drum beat and Spirit knew.  The spirit within nature ~ within you ~ within we ~ within the infinite All.  Great Spirit ~ you may call God ~ and my soul names Divine Love.  She knew I was calling to her sovereign truth and infinite wisdom.  The drum beat rattled & roared waking the dormant light that was bursting to shine.  

The first day of spring is just around the corner.  Dreamy thoughts of tulips popping ~ tree planting and bonnet wearing floats into the collective consciousness.  Well, maybe not bonnet wearing but it just sounded magical.   In Minnesota the outside reality doesn’t always line up equally with the inside imagination ~ as snow typically adorns the ground ~ making the tulips work a wee bit harder.  Yet, whether there is snow on the ground or fairies dancing amongst the joy of new growth ~ we all get to experience the energies of the equinox. ​

Peaceful Warrior Woman Retreat @ Ottertail Lake, MN 
August 25th & 26th, 2018

The negativity was swirling around her.
Anger.
Frustration.
Rage.
She could feel the waves of emotions crashing into her with a surging force.

Dancing from one thing to the next.

Mow the yard.  Get my walk in. Clean the kitchen. Write a blog post.  Weed-wack around the trees.  Promote the Women’s Awakening Festival.  Drink some water.  Teach a yoga class.  Clean the bathroom.  Did I eat lunch?  Sneak in a few pages of reading.  Hop on the kayak.  Return client texts.  Sneak in dinner.  Return client emails.  Ahhh…I could go on and on.  For this redhead (and I am sure you too) are hard to slow down during the season of fire.

Intuition is seeing with the soul.  ~ Albert Einstein

I love LOVE love that each moment of every day is a new opportunity to live in bold ~ no apologies ~ this is who I am ~ truth.   And now onto growing your truth.

​Are you a person reading this because you want to know the secret to turning up the volume of your intuition?  Then, I must first begin with a WARNING from your intution.

I asked him, What was your favorite part about school? Without a flinch, “summer!”  Ha.  This is how a recent chat went down with my boyfriend.  Me on the other hand, I loved all of school.  So much so, I saved old paperwork and played teacher during the summer breaks.  Insert all the neighborhood kids lined up in lawn chairs surrounding the pool as I paced the front, I think waving a stick, as I gestured into understanding 1 + 2 using 3 trees in the yard.  Think there was a clue back then that teaching was a life gift I was meant to share?  I mean, come on, what kid takes a break from swimming to teach?  Yep!  This one.

As life progressed from 3rd grade, the love of learning stayed with me.  I satiated all that teachers were willing to share, the stories that books would etch in my heart, and the wisdom that nature seeped into my cells.  You see, my only wish through all the years of sitting at desks, was that the walls would come down and we would be under the blanket of the sky learning from the teacher that never judges or holds anything back.   Mother Earth and all of her creatures!
In my life’s work, I use her sage teachings wisely, along with spirit animals, all the elements and much more on my path as a shamanic practitioner, energy life coach & yoga teacher.  And, I continue to be the most eager of students as I learn throughout all of the Seasons.  So I guess, you could say that summer was one of my favorite parts of school too.

With Earth Day just around the corner on April 22nd, may you find moments to step out into my most favorite classroom, the one without walls.  

See you on your yoga mat or elsewhere as I continue to share my hearts love ~ teaching!

P.S.  Earth Day Yoga Saturday, April 22nd 9am Ottertail (we will be on the beach if mother nature’s warmth gives us a hug or inside…with the windows open)

​xo Wendy
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The snow crunched under my snowshoes as I ventured through the woods.  Nina was frolicking all the while picking up on every animal track in her nose vicinity.  We were both in nature bliss.  Just what my body, mind & soul was craving after a week of mental dervish — I could have sworn the universe was on a tilt-a-whirl all week. And I just knew within my bones that I needed to ground myself. To feel the earth hug my feet.

All was fine and dandy, the trek had worked, so I turned for home and eventually trudged up the hill behind the house.  I called for Nina to join me.   She looked at me from afar and then turned the opposite way. Despite my calls, she was determined to track those unwavering scents.   And what did I do, I lost my cool.  Anger, fear, and almost all out rage bubbled inside.  It took me over.  I called for her louder.  Ya, like that was going to work after she clearly had looked at me and turned away.   Rationally, I knew the loud yelling was getting me nowhere but it was as if a giant fire had been ignited and there was no water in site to douse it (if only I had realized the snow all around me I could have face planted in it to put out the flames — but alas, that would have been too easy).  Instead, I raged.  I feared.   I realize now I was raging from all of the unpatriotic chess moves that were played this past week.  My rage was fueled by the consumption of global fear and anger.

I know I am sensitive. I know we are all connected.  And clearly, I was picking up on the collective human consciousness. 

And while I once listened to the band Rage Against the Machine, I’d rather not rage against the brilliance of my DNA — for the DNA gets all out of alignment when we allow strong emotions such as anger or fear to flood our system.   So I made a new call (this time to myself) to override the emotional hijacking and return to my heart’s code.

To activate this love in an instant, I turned to yoga. I left Nina outside and I fell to the ground in child’s pose. I thanked the earth for holding me. I asked her to take my anger and I channeled that fire into compassion, gratitude and peace. Yes. Peace.  I switched my thoughts, went home to my breath, allowed my body to feel, and guess whose nose soon pressed against the sliding glass window?  Yep, Nina chose to come home to momma at peace…not angry momma.  Go figure!?

​Until our peace laden paths cross again,
Wendy

​Hugs. Tears. Yoga. Music. Nature. Animals.
In no particular order,
all have helped soothe my soul.
For I have been in mourning.

I have been sad for the anger that rests in people’s hearts.

I have been sad for the fear that leads many in the place of love.

But mostly, I have been sad for the segregation. For within the
depths of my soul; I know & believe that we are all ONE.

And thankfully, gratitude for that belief is winning over the sad darkness.

Gratitude for a heart-wide-open yoga community that comes together to move, feel, and heal.

For the first time ever, I was close to canceling yoga class so I could mourn in solitude. Because the last thing I could see myself doing was talking. And when I teach, inspiring words tend to naturally flow from my lips. But instead of canceling class, I turned to music to speak for me.

Along with the hugs, tears, yoga, nature, & animals…maybe some of the music below will soothe your soul.

Four ~ Deuter
Hands ~ Jewel
Killing the Blues ~ Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Gold in Them Hills ~ Katie Melua
Our Day Will Come ~ Amy Winehouse
Never Too Late ~ Three Days Grace
Light ~ Al Green
High Tide or Low Tide ~ Ben Harper, Jack Johnson & Friends
Sound of Invisible Waters ~ Deuter
Haven’t Met You Yet ~ Michael Buble
Somewhere Over the Rainbow ~ Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Kindred Spirit ~ Deuter
Keep Your Head Up ~ Andy Grammer

​In love & light always ~ Wendy

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Blow through me, around me, and within me. 

Each of us has a connection to the elements of nature.

Water
Earth
Fire
Air

For those of you who are creatives & visionaries, or for those of you who hop from one task to the next, from one idea to the next…you embody the qualities of Air.  And now that we are in the Fall season…Hold onto your hat!

You may be in for a whirlwind of thoughts almost like a “I’m going crazy” like state of mind.

Because as the Fall season greets us with blowing winds and colorful falling leaves, the element of Air becomes dominant.
Adding to the already Air within.

In yoga’s sister science of Ayurveda, the air & ether elements are referred to as Vatta.  (pronounced: vaw taw)  When Vatta takes over and dangerously dips into the I’m spinning or should I say blowing out of control energy, everything seems like a Vatta Gotta.

I gotta do this.  I gotta do that.

But, if you employ some simple grounding and nurturing rituals during this Fall season…your Vatta Gotta will morph into creative energy.  This energy will guide you towards gracious action as you flow into this magical season of change.
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Oh ya…a couple of my favorite grounding rituals: warm baths sprinkled with your favorite essential oils (my Fall season blend favorite is lavender, cedar wood, & patchouli)…a few sprinkles of each will do the trick.  Post soothing bath, warm some avocado oil (or any oil you like to use on your skin) and massage it in using a twisting motion called Abhyanga (twist like you are ringing out the skin).  And, you can’t beat a yummy cup of chai post a soothing yin yoga class.
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