Yoga Day USA 2009

For anyone interested in a FREE event in the Palm Beach area to explore yoga, mark January 17th, 2009 on your calandars! Last year I helped taking photos and was so impressed with how well this event was run. Click here for more info: Yoga Day USA

This is an opportunity to try different styles and teachers while coming together as a community and it's all free! Be sure to try one of my favorite yoga instructors, Andrea Pepper. She's scheduled to teach at 3:00. (Schedule subject to change) Andrea has done fundraising for a foundation called, "Off The Mat into the World" which helps the needy in Uganda. You can read more on her website: Amala Yoga.

I'll be there with my camera and my yoga mat...hope to see you there too!!

Photography by Monica

I am currently working on a series with horses. Inspired by the life of a friend and great artist, Clementina Brown who is an amazingly magical spirit that I feel so fortunate to have connected with. If you have a moment, please look at her website. We're planning to unveil photos from this series in May 2010. The exhibition will be in Loxahatchee, Florida and it will be an outdoor gala with all of the horses present that I'm photographing. I'll be sure to keep you updated as the event appproaches...
Photo of "Ruby" the Pony

Shapeshifting

Grace

When you truly let go you are able to discover that which already is.

How do you let go?

Recognize that you are holding on. (Don't get caught in your mind here, if you try to pin-point exactly what it is that you're holding onto, you will become stuck in struggle)
Accept whatever is as is.
Breath.
Let go.
Repeat as needed.

If it seems that you can't let go, accept that you can't let go.
Be okay with where you are.
Life unfolds in its own organic way.

Jai Bhagwan.

A Quote

Genius, in truth, means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an un-habitual way.- Willam James

Pumpkin Carving and Potluck

Halloween 2009.

FOCUSED on my Mantra

MY PHILOSOPHY:
When I dream, I dream BIG! As an artist, I don't think I'm alone when I look at the world as a blank canvas in which I supply the colors. Why is that a problem? If you're too busy appreciating the subtle hues instead of painting, eventually the paint dries up before you've finished the masterpiece. Or like most dreamers, before you've even lifted the brush.

Creative thinkers often become distracted which leads to frustration. If you are distracted, you are "leaking" energy. This is why I've developed the mantra of "foodshelterart." Repetition of a mantra allows for stillness of the mind which leads to clarity of the true Self. If I can see myself clearly, then I can express myself completely. Through the techniques acquired under the direct study of artist and Beloved Guru, Yogi Amrit Desai, I have developed my own mantra of how to live artfully. Simple repetition of the mantra, foodshelterart (the basic necessities of my life) has kept me aligned along my creative path.

Artful living requires an observation about whether you are CREATING a block in your energy or expressing the energy moving through you. In my experience as a photographic artist I watch the world through the lens of a camera. But it is not about my passion for photography, it is about what I am doing in the moments that I don't have the camera in hand that allow me to express myself as a photographer fully. Being present allows me to observe how I interact with the world, and then document it when I pick up my camera.

MY MISSION:
I would like make "foodshelterart" the mantra of the modern artist. Relying on the knowledge attained through the teachings of ancient yogic traditions, I will help others learn techniques about how to use their energy most efficiently through conscious, artful living.

Other Side of the Camera

Photos: Daniel Millay

I asked fellow photographer and friend, Daniel Millay to take some photographs of me practicing yoga. As with most photographers, it's rare that I'm in front of the camera, but this was a great experience! Please check out some of Daniel's work when you have a moment.

I'm really enjoying this journey of merging yoga and photography as there are so many ways in which my creativity is effected by yoga, and vice-versa. Possibly because when you are dropping into the "zone" as it is often called in sports, you are connecting with your higher state of being. Your greater Self.
You lose all track of time and therefore let go of self-imposed barriers and filters. You become enlightened from the burden of stress and get lost in the creation of BE-ing.

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? -Fanny Brice