YEAR IN REVIEW (HAWAII 12 MONTHS)

A lot of people ask me, "What made you choose the Big Island?" And frankly, I truly believe that the Big Island chose me. Continue below to read about my life on the Big Island and we'll start with the month before I left ⬇️ ___ 13 months ago I was living in NYC. I was surrounded by friends and family, I had/have an amazing yoga fam, I ate insanely well, I worked out with the best instructors in the world, and yet, I still felt empty at the same time. ___ Was I ungrateful? No. I was incredibly grateful and very aware of the life I had created for myself; however as glamorous as it was, I realized I was living a life of vanity and I wasn't serving the purpose I had intended when I chose to start a new career path back in 2011. ___ So I dug deep, asked for guidance and a week later I decided it was time for a 200hr yoga teacher training. At first I thought it was a no-brainer to complete my training in NYC, but something was holding me back. So I asked my friend @nikkiaufiero where she trained and she told me about her YTT on the Big Island... and well, I booked my one-way flight the next day. ___ 12 months ago I arrived in Hawaii on July 8th, 2016 and didn't know a SOUL. I was running on instinct and the island truly took care of me. I knew I just had to show up to start the journey and after much thought, I decided to commit to the island life for a year from October. ___ Like all challenges, it hasn't been an easy transition, however I am grateful for all the ups and downs. Metaphorically, I compare my past year of lessons to an onion; each lesson I've learned here on island represents a layer. As I peeled back each layer, I gave myself permission to discover my sweet center. ___ Am I at the core of the onion? I'm close, and it feels really good to be grounded and centered. Am I grateful to the island for allowing me to create a home here? 100%