First, I just have to say *props* to the goddesses at Harmony! How could I have forgotten to have spoken about Shiela Chandra and Erykah Badhu? Shiela sang twice and apparently it was her first US performance in 15 years. She was like a channel bathing us in sonic healing. She would strike notes which made my hairs stand on end and flooded me with feeling. The power of sound is amazing. Erykah? Seeing her is therapeutic. Last concert I saw in Santa Barbara, I left with the same feeling in my body. Awe. Inspiration. Healthy attitude and appreciation for all women as divine queens of beauty, power, sensuousness and strength. Thank you!

This morning I did my first actual timed personal hoop practice since I left for Hawaii. I've to theme my personal practices for a while on the principles of Nia. Today, while hooping I focused on the first principle of Nia called, "The Joy of Movement". Nia, The Technique (an awesome handbook) advises about this princple of dance on pages 264 and 265. Here are some quotes which I reviewed before hooping:

"Tweak your movement until joy again arises...sustain it. When joy is not present, look for it... focus on joy as the energy and sensation you seek in every workout... Pearls... love, light, honesty, play, freedom, trust, listening, honoring, integrity, humility, grace, respect, passion, achievement, personal, pleasurable, ecstacy...seek a relationship with joy...make joy something you cultivate and nurture...seek the sensation of liquid joy running through your veins...eyes only for joy...I am choosing and sustaining joy so that my body is getting stronger, healthier and more vital...I am running wild with images of joy that feed my bosy and invite me to choose pleasure..." (by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas).

I set the kitchen timer set to 60 minutes, cleared the coffee table from the center of the living room and went for it. I put on delicious slow indian-inspired ambient music, Prem Joshua "Sky Kisses Earth" album.

The sun was shining through all my plants by the window and the spritely music coupled with this attitude brought such a magical playfulness into my hoopdance. I did a lot of my typical drills, but I left myself tweak and modify hands, arms, head, legs, and whole body so that it kept going back to being fun, light, free and happy. I was fascinated to see how easily distracted my mind could be, suddenly going to some task I had to do later in the day. But I lovingly just came back to the mental mantra "joy!" and it became hypnotic as long as I could remember it, before getting lost again in the flow. I let my mind imagine the hoop was a magical ring of joy and so everytime I circled it over my body it was making the cells vibrate faster and more essentially. Then I pretended my hoop was a bowl of joy and I poured lots of joy all over my plants. I pushed it out from my body, giving thanks for the amazing art which is now on our walls which I brough back from Hawaii... everywhere, I envisioned myself surrounded by joy. I imagined my hoop was an actual being of Joy, delivering healing to my whole body. I imagined movements of my hoop shining light, creating streams of bubbles, showers of sparkles, shooting rainbows out in a vortex of radiance. Wow! When I let my mind go with such joyful images, it changes everything about the quality of my hooping.

My mind drifted back to Hawaii and I remembered Erin's joyful, light Nia classes and how she bathed us in such happy words and movements... I let myself undulate and sway with joy, the hoop flipping in new and unusual ways, playing with alternating step out reversals. Remembering Erin's tagline, "Experience Paradise in Your Body!", I felt full of lightness and so happy. How true! How beautiful! How amazing! We can choose to experience paradise in our body at any time. We can choose to live a magical life! So, this was a great way to start today. When I was done, I pulled out the Nia instructional DVD "Global Unity" and left it on top of the DVD player so I can remember to do it later today (or at least soon).

By the way, yesterday I was talking to Jasmine about wanting to play with more art in my life, so I went out and bought my first watercolors and some paper, just to play around. In about 10 minutes I made the image pictured in today's blog. It felt so freeing and fun to just let myself play with color like a child. No ambition to create anything specific. Just letting the seeking for joy guide my hand.... it is called, "Kauai Energy Burst".

*Props* to the Universe! Yes, thank you again for making magic happen at every turn. I am so happy to be spending more quality time with amazing girlfriends! Thank you for bringing Jasmine into my life! I am so exited to be be freely creating and expressing myself through art. Thank you for bringing so much inspiration into my life, so much awakening. Yea for the gift of Nia! Thank you for the power of focus! I feel myself getting clearer, focusing more and more on the things that matter. I let go of all distractions with ease. I am getting clearer every day about what matters most in life -- love, family, friends, quality of life, beauty, joy, and health! I make choices every day which support my highest good. I make choices to make my life easier, efficient and joyful. Creator's infinite wellspring of joy is now flooding my body and I am so grateful to be living this day. I know I can create the life I dream of living now! Thank you!