hey, homies....i love ya'll!

hey homies! this being the first of hopefully many entries, i just want to say HI and let you know that ya'll are the reason i love my job! don't get me wrong, i am extremely grateful for the many other teaching gigs i have around oahu in studios and hotels...but it's the 3 days a week that i get to spend with ya'll at Leahi Park that i truly feel blissful. there are many reasons for this, so i'll only share a few:

> first of all, Yoga for My Homies is my own little baby i've watched grow. i can remember the exact moment when the name "Yoga for My Homies" came to me. i was posting a sign at my previous job to promote classes in the park for my co-workers so i could practice teaching. i was newly certified as a teacher and wanted to feel comfortable teaching people i knew who i felt wouldn't judge me. i also wanted to get some of my co-workers who were not the typical yoga studio target market on a yoga mat. well, it worked! and since 2010 YFMH has grown into what it is now--a place for yoga homies to gather and spend a sweet, blissful hour of breathing and playing yoga together.

> secondly, practicing yoga outdoors easily reminds us that we are all part of something greater and that that special something can, in fact, be found residing in all of us. being human, we tend to forget this. but when we connect to nature in a setting as bold and beautiful as hawaii, we cannot help but be reminded of this awesomeness. you can't help but be in awe as you move through sun salutations bowing forward over the infinite ocean as the sun beams down on your skin and the wind kisses your cheeks. and when there are days with heavy winds or rain, we smile at each other and know that these are just opportunities for us to be content and bring more light-heartedness to our practice.

> lastly, through the magic of the world wide web and all of its social socialness, i've been able to reach a broad audience that brings homies to me that i probably would not have met otherwise. and what do i find consistently in all of these seemingly different people with different stories and different histories? that we are all just looking for a little more peace, joy and bliss in our lives--physically, mentally and emotionally. proving that we are all indeed on the same journey in this thing called life and that we are not as different as we think.

so, if you are a current yoga homie, i can't thank you enough for continuing to show up each week, moving forward on your yoga journey with little ol' me. i am humbled. and if you are a homie that hasn't made it out to the park to play yoga with us yet, i look forward to our paths crossing one day and sharing what has become my passion with you. big love and aloha to all of you!

your head homie,

courtney

: )

photo credit: Island Images Photography, islandimagesphoto.com