What “Out Of The Rut” Really Means

Out Of The Rut - From Canada to Chiang Mai and Beyond

I had a great practice of Thai Massage, Table Massage and Yoga in Bragg Creek, Priddis and Millarville. Life was good... except there were things that had to change, I had to pack up my existence here and move to Asia:

Over the past decade, having abandoned a comfortable life in the Alberta Foothills to live and work in Thailand, I took an abrupt detour to travel the world with my amazing partner Fantuzzi. I met Fantuzzi on Christmas Day 2010 in Chiang Mai (Thailand) as he walked toward me alongside of the building in which I was living. This fortuitous meeting lead not only to great adventures, learning and experiencing so much, but to opportunities to share my craft(s) in a few obscure places on this planet.

I had the privilege of being smuggled at night across military-patrolled borders beween Jerusalem and Bethlehem to teach yoga to an international group of women in Bethlehem. With great excitement I hustled from one small car to a large black SUV under cover of darkness, to emerge a few minutes later in the bright lights of a perfectly normal-looking fiteness centre with some very enthusiastic ladies awaiting me.

I taught in Dar El Salaam, Tanzania - for what I discovered to be a group of fairly intense Ashtanga practitioners and teachers. I was a little intimidated by that! I taught in Manilla, Phillipines, and in Munich, Germany, but my favourite experience must be the time I was asked to teach Thai Yoga Massage to a crowd of over 250 spilling out all sides of the great tent we over-filled at the fantastical Woodford Festival outside Brisbane, Australia.

In each of these places I also joined classes, studied, listened and learned. I got to plunge into Hot Yoga in Aspen, Colorado, Reggae Yoga at a class at the Bali Spirit Festival (in between managing a stage and performing myself), I've dropped in with Danny Paradise in several of his workshops - always full of fun and humour along with a lifetime's knowledge and insight. I discovered connections around the world to the place of my first Yoga Teacher Training - Yandara Yoga in Baja, California. I've rocked out to some brilliant drumming while in Downward Dog in a class in Munich, I've cruised through Sun Salutations on the Spanish Sierras and burnt my feet practicing on the beaches of Goa, India.

Coming home to the Foothills each and every year of my travels sustains and drains me. I would return to work twice as hard here as on the road. People in each place assumed I was on holiday when I went away! It was astoundingly varied, challenging, inspiring and glorious to travel. Eventually I burnt through all my reserves and came to a crashing halt. A couple of years later, as I was hoping the road to recovery was shortening, Covid came along to bring another "great pause". The silver lining for me was that my body needed another year of rest.

Now I've been home several years, the energy is returning and with luck, balance is regained. Now is the time. I can feel the energy bubble in me, the need to get out and share the things I love, what makes me happy, healthy, amazed, pleased, challenged, changed! Ten years on... I'm back to sharing in my rural community of the Foothills, hoping there are many roads yet to travel with new friends, old friends, passing friends and more.