Yoga In Boise

I have been working with a friend and fellow Nosara Yoga Institute graduate, Heather Earl, on creating a new yoga studio in Boise...

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Namaste~

The Chimbre Rainbow Portal

This is the article I wrote on my Chimbre ayahuasca experience for Reality Sandwich, which they then decide not to publish because it felt like too much of an old wound. But! Here it is for you!

As you'll see, this account is merely a sampling of all that occurred over two very intense weeks at the Chimbre Shamanic Retreat’s Grand Opening in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. A whole book would do justice to this incredible adventure, but for now, please enjoy this glimpse into a Chimbre’s complex world...

…

“So you’re gonna drink tonight, right? If you want to drink it has to be tonight. You’re drinking tonight,” Rob says without a pause, with wide, child-like eyes and a beaming grin.

This is what greets me instead of a hello, nice to meet-cha, as soon as I step out of the mini-bus and into, literally, Chimbre’s red, muddy soil. I will soon learn that this is classic Rob-style: cut to the chase, no frills, here’s the agenda and now lets get on with it shall we, I’ve got no time for questions.

“Uh, OK, let me think about it, I mean I would like to, but, uh, I guess I hadn’t quite considered it just yet.”

“Oh no, you have to drink tonight tonight. Don’t worry about teaching yoga tomorrow, we’ll figure all that out later,” Rob replies from a half turn as he heads away. Despite Rob’s near constant enthusiasm, I can already sense some tension. And no doubt, there’s reason for tension. He’s juggling A LOT – hosting a group of international travelers who constantly flux from 30 to 60 guests at a time, plus a Hollywood film crew, the rule of the shaman, guest speakers such as metaphysical and enthnobotanical pioneer Dennis McKenna and author Rak Razam, and the care of a wife and young son, all in a space that is still physically under construction and in a remote Amazon location. Rob’s noble intent is to facilitate a transformative experience for all, and he seems to have chosen the hard way. The man has a full plate, to say the least.

I’ve come to the grand opening of Chimbre, a sprawling retreat located outside of the small jungle-town of Puerto Maldonado, Peru to teach yoga for this eclectic group of seekers, many from the Burner/Festival scene around the world, but also middle-class North Americans that you would more easily peg for singing in a church choir before you’d even think to imagine them willfully ingesting, then purging, a hallucinogen in the depths of the Amazon. We are artists, scientists, writers, computer technicians & designers, government employees, wanderers, wall street brokers, marketing specialists, engineers, counselors, entrepreneurs and community organizers, both young and old, and from across the globe. Tattooed, dreaded and pierced to clean-shaven and freshly showered, tie-dyed to tucked-in, we reflected the rainbow spectrum of personalities, and our outer contrasts and match-ups as just as intense as our internal resonances...
 

You can read the rest of this article on my facebook note:

Full Chimbre Article 

New Yoga Class

Join me on Thursday evening from 6 - 7pm

at the Pilates Studio at Muse

for a dynamic vinyasa flow.

What a perfect way to destress from your busy day!

Beginning July 1st.

Muse Studios:

1317 W. Jefferson

Downtown Boise

Across from Les Schwab Tires

Yoga & Pilates at the Boise Rec Fest!!

Join Marisa Smith(me!) and Audrey Millstein at the Boise Rec Fest!

Pilates w/Audrey
Saturday, June 26th @ 10 am
Live Music by James Orr

Yoga w/Marisa
Sunday, June 27th @ 10am
Live Music by Failla Drums

Bring a mat, a friend and get ready to get your stretch on!

FREE!!

Sponsored by Lululemon Athletica!

We'll see you under the REI tent!

http://www.boiserecfest.com/
Exhibits * Workshops * Activities * Live Music * Food * Beer * Wine

On Being Green

The idea of “being green” isn’t just a new slogan for our modern era of environmental caretaking. Rather the color green has been associated for thousands of years in the systems of Yoga, and the traditions of Native America, the East and West with healing and the heart.

Being the pervasive color of the natural world, which reappears every spring, green is the symbol of abundance and eternal life. In the East, green is associated with family, prosperity, harmony, health and peace. In some medicine wheels green is the color of the south and is associated with passion, heart, warmth and the emotions.

In the rainbow spectrum of red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo & violet, green is the central color. In yogic philosophy, green represents the heart, which is also located in the center of the human body, and is the giver of life. Being in the center, green is also about equilibrium, or the balance of the inner and the outer.

Just as important as caring for the planet is self-care.

How can you begin to be green with yourself, and your family and neighbors, in addition to your care for the Earth?
• Take time to reconnect with your self – walk in nature, relax under a favorite tree, or take a bike ride (which can also double as saving emissions).

• Do things with others – help plant a community garden, or simply take a stroll through the farmer’s market and support those who are already aligning themselves with “green” living, as well as load up on organic fruits and vegetables for a healthy body and clear mind!

• Treat yourself – yes you can take time for yourself to go to a yoga class, meditate, or any other favorite form of self-care! The better you feel, the better life feels, and the more energy you have to be present for caring for the world. Even 20 minutes a day with give you an exponential reward. Plus, you deserve it!

Toltec & Yoga Retreat in Teotihuacan

JOURNEY WITH US THIS SPRING!   JUNE 10-15, 2010 with Lee McCormick, Emily Grieves & Marisa Smith, MA Teotihuacan, Mexico - The Dreaming House  $995

Every Experience in Teo is a New Experience! Spirit Recovery has created an amazing opportunity for those who have never been to Teotihuacan before and for those of you who have. If you have been to Teo before you will have the opportunity to take this experience to the next level. This June we will explore ancient ceremonial caves in the hills high above Teo. Also, we will venture to Tlaminca, the sacred mountain and inspirational home of legendary poet king Nezahualcoyotl. Join Lee and Emily to visit these extraordinary places and to travel through the ancient and powerful city of Teotihuacan where for 2,000 years humans have gathered for healing practices and sacred ceremony. This journey will free your mind, body and spirit to clear, connect, and commune in ways you have not yet been capable of! Your journey will be the greatest of gifts to yourself and to all those you love.

Under the gentle guidance of Marisa's yoga and meditation teachings, you will learn to truly honor your body as the temple of your spirit and adjust to your newfound energy.

Join us for only $995!    Accommodations provided by the beautiful Dreaming House. Delicious meals and transportation to and from airport and to ancient sites included. Price is based on double occupancy, single accommodations available. Does not include airfare to Mexico City. Please contact Gretchen for more information and registration at information@spiritrecovery.com 615-557-5245 www.spiritrecovery.com

Coiled/Extended

This month's C4 (Capital City Creative Collaboration) words were Coiled and Extended. I took pen to paper as I explored these pregnant words. I've never considered myself a poet, or even tried my hand at poetry, but here is the result...

Coiled/Extended

Reaching and recoiling, I move through life
Always in a state of change, I sometimes flow, sometimes bounce, sometimes scream across this time/space
Never to remain satisfied, but for the slightest pause at the top of the breath
I labor onward, inward, outward
Tailing the song of a shapeshifting siren
Refractions of my Self peer, jeer, at my comically hopeless venture
In the depths it is know that this is all a facade
I feel its whispered remembrance, like the ghostly shell of a long abandoned and forgotten temple - we will never really know what this is all for

I curl my knees to my chest and assume the fetal position
Out of fear, out of habit, out of self-preservation
I don't want to me

A flicker of curiosity

Blooming, I grow into being
Joining hands, we dance along this spinning dream
Together
Open to you, I know I am through your eyes.

Join Me in Peru!

Chimbre Shamanic Retreat

Grand Opening: April 22 - May 2

For Chimbre’s grand opening, we invite you to join us for an illuminating 10-day journey into the heart of our world.  In honor of Earth Day, we will break ground on what we see as a multi-generational endeavor to reconnect humankind with the spirit of the planet.  We are inviting our friends from around the world – visionaries in science and medicine, art and literature – to join us as we embark on a shamanic initiation with Master Mancoluto, a first level master shaman trained in the tradition of the ancient Peruvian civilization known as Chavin.  
Mancoluto works closely with two indigenous plant medicines: ayahuasca, a tea-like brew of Amazonian plants used by South American shamans for thousands of years; and the San Pedro cactus, a revered shamanic medicine native to the Peruvian Andes region.

Mancoluto’s expertise with these sacred plant teachers will set the stage for a profound journey of collective healing, learning, and transformation. 
In conjunction with these ceremonies, the retreat will include revelatory talks from globally celebrated ethnopharmacologist Dennis J. McKenna, PhD; Wasiwaska founder and ayahuasca researcher, Luis Eduardo Luna, PhD; author of the acclaimed book Aya, Rak Razam; and many more.  Retreat participants may also enjoy a variety of activities led by our team, including invigorating yoga classes and group meditations by Marisa Smith, MA, restorative massage and bodywork, and excursions into the infinitely beautiful Chimbre terrain.

To learn more about reservations, please visit: http://www.chimbre.com/reservations/

Photo "The Ceremony Center" courtesy of Chimbre.

Volunteers Needed!

Help promote a sustainable future for Idaho!


Volunteer at the Idaho Green Expo May 8th & 9th at the Boise Center on the Grove!


Please visit http://www.idahogreenexpo.org/become-a-volunteer.asp to view a complete list of the volunteer opportunities and to register online.  


Volunteering at the Idaho Green Expo will be a lot of fun, and you’ll get a free t-shirt too. We could not put on such a fantastic show without the wonderful help our volunteers provide. I look forward to working with you at the Idaho Green Expo in May!