A glimps of my morning classes here in Phuket, Thailand.

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My Life Living In Phuket, Thailand

 It's hard to believe I have been back in Phuket, Thailand for over a month and a half now. The time has gone by so fast. I think it's important to be as present as we can in our lives as our moments come and go so quickly.

I feel so at home here in this country it's amazing. There is a wonderful frequency I experience here that feels so different from any other place I have been or lived and it really works well for me. It's as though my whole nervous system is affected simply by the energy of the culture. I am living my dream of teaching fitness and yoga everyday in an environment that creates support and encouragement for all. Tiger Muay Thai Gym is now my home here in Phuket. I get to meet so many amazing people everyday from all over the world there. Tiger Muay Thai is a training camp that offers so many different classes and options for fitness and martial arts that there is something for everyone. A highlight for me is teaching yoga to athletes that have never tried it before. I was dedicated to competitive fitness for 14 years and I truly feel that incorporating yoga into my training program changed so many things in my life and my body. It's so wonderful for me to now share that with other people.

It is Christmas Eve today and I am so happy it's Saturday, my day to recover and have some time to reflect on a long week. It doesn't feel like Christmas but I will celebrate for sure. My gift to myself is to take inventory of all things and people that I am truly grateful for. I will make a list of those things that I can put up on my wall to see everyday. Imagine if everything you wanted was what you already had. A place to live, food to eat, your health, amazing people in your life, and wonderful experiences. I think that it is true that we often don't know what we have until it's gone; from our health to our friends to the opportunities that lay before us. It's very easy to get attached to thoughts that don't serve us, we all need to take the time to reflect on what we have that's so good.

My days start at 5:15am when I roll out of bed to prepare for my 6:30-7:30am Yoga class. I arrive at the gym early to set up the mats for class and am very happy to have my friend Syra to assist me in this morning flow and preparation as the classes can fill up to 40 people. We have a huge space to practice at Tiger Muay Thai and the beauty is that it's also all outdoors. We get to enjoy the sounds of the jungle and and all the animals that are waking up. It sure beats the sound of traffic horns in the morning. At 8am we shift gears and it's time for the Bodyfit class. This is like going from YIN to YANG, Yoga then Bootcamp. Some days we are training at the gym and some days we hiking up to a temple or running down the beach with tires. I am always scouting out new locations for training. Training is so much fun when you are sharing it with a big group of people that are totally into doing extreme things and I  much prefer training on the beach then just sunbathing there. From 11:30-12:30 we have a spin class, also outside. This is great cardio for those people that are challenged by running on the pavement. From 3-4pm I do weight training to target certain muscle groups. It's a full-day and makes for really full week of training. I love that I can do what I do and the program will only continue to grow. I am set on offering people the Ultimate Fitness Vacation Retreats. A week dedicated to health and well being on every level.  Here are some photos of my adventures over the last month here in Phuket.

Additionally, included are photos of some of my recent classes and experiences here. If you are interested in coming out to Phuket for training, yoga and a shift in lifestyle, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.

trainwithocean@yahoo.ca
www.oceanbloom.com
www.tigermuaythai.com

Here is a spot I found for my Bodyfit exercise classes.

The world has become my gym.

I just love seeing these little fruit stands everywhere.

In the middle of a set of crunches.

Teaching Yoga at Tiger Muay Thai 6:30-7:30am

Bodyfit class at the beach. Hitting the abs : )

Doing my Thai Yoga Massage on the beach

Loving the fresh coconuts

Monday is Fun Day at Tiger Muay Thai. We Work Out!

Here is the view from our Bodyfit hike.

Bodyfit training up at the Big Buddha.

Here is a pic of my Bodfit class last Thursday. I couldn't ask for a better way to start the day!

Teaching @ Tiger Muay Thai In Phuket, Thailand

Here is a really cool video that my friend Tina Caridi made of her experience training at Tiger Muay Thai, here in Phuket, where I teach.  www.tigermuaythai.com
I love how she has truly captured the feeling of the Tiger Camp, the wonderful staff, clientele and different styles of training.

I have been having a wonderful time leading the morning yoga & Bodyfit classes, afternoon spin and weight training classes. I'm very excited to be offering Fitness Vacation Retreats here in Phuket starting at the end of January 2012.

More cool videos and pics soon to come...

e-mail me your questions at trainwithocean@yahoo.ca

Warrior Fitness Retreats with Ocean Bloom

Warrior Fitness Retreats Part 1

Training In Phuket, Thailand 2011

I'm heading back to Phuket, Thailand in 7 days, I can hardly believe it. So many exciting things planned for this year.

www.oceanbloom.com

Ocean Bloom yoga pose with monkey

To Be Or Not TO Be Happy!

HAPPY! 

If you ask the majority of people what they want out of life they typically say, “I just want to be HAPPY!”  If it isn’t first, “Happy” is usually high on the list.

Recently I have given a great deal of thought to the motivation that draws me so deeply into yoga, and to examining my personal feelings around the art of living a yogic lifestyle. Beyond the obvious health benefits, about which we are all aware, I have found a path and belief system, that brings me great relief in both my personal reality, and my outlook on life.

My perception is that this life journey happens, and that challenging situations present themselves along the way. People pass away, we feel rejected and disappointed by others and by life sometimes, we disappoint and judge ourselves, we get cut-off in traffic, we receive too many parking tickets… the list goes on and on. Often we feel like we have no control over what is happening right before our eyes. The point is, that we are all sensitive beings, and we react to everything, on some level! At times we DO get angry, pissed off, hurt, disappointed and overly emotional. This is part of the reality of being human.

The light I see at the end of this gloomy tunnel is that life is not about just being HAPPY! Sometimes I like feeling mad, sad, or stupid-silly. The beauty is in knowing that it is totally okay to feel that way.

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FEEL WHATEVER YOU FEEL!

We often punish ourselves by suppressing or ignoring what we feel when we get upset about something, because we think it is wrong to have a reaction. I believe that we can honor our feelings without acting them out.  We can experience them and own them, without directing negative energy towards other people.

The beauty in the yoga practice is the freedom we can create when we step onto our mats and into a headspace where we simply give ourselves the permission to FEEL whatever we are feeling. In my opinion,  “If you’re feeling angry when you come to practice because you had a rough day, then be angry. Be sad that your cat just passed away, you lost your job, or you have really bad PMS. Experience what you are feeling until you begin to feel something different.” We don’t need to put on a show for ourselves.

If we were robots, perhaps we could adjust our settings to be in “Happy” mode all the time, or the “Work Success” mode combined with the  “Emotions-On-Hold” setting.

How great is it to hear, “You have the right to feel any way you like?”

There is a difference, however, between acknowledging and experiencing our feelings, and wallowing in them.  Once we have really allowed them to be what they are, only then can we truly release them.

In practicing yoga on or off the mat, we bring awareness to our breath and our bodies, inside and out.  We bring conscious awareness to what is happening in any given moment without judging it.

Feel whatever is real for you: Happy, Sad, Mad, Uncertain, Silly, Excited, Curious, Inspired,…in any given moment, so that you can free yourself for the next honest moment. (It might be wonderful!)

There is a sense of Balance and Happiness that comes with the ability to hold space for yourself and the reality of the now.

www.oceanbloom.com

A flash from the past!

I was going through some old photos when I found this video of a routine I was practicing for a competition. It brought back good memories. I think it's time for me to start creating something again. I really enjoy the combination of explosive strength training, dance, yoga and rocking out to good music.

Insight

Tomorrow is Not Promised.  Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there. They serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are and who you want to become. You never know who these people may be: Your neighbor, child, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you and at the time they seem painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential strength, will power, or heart. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whether they are events, illnesses or relationships, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere, safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life and the successes and downfalls you experience create who you are, and even the bad experiences can be learned from, in fact, they are probably the poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart...

If someone loves you, Love them back unconditionally, Not only because they love you, But because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to thing You would have never seen or felt without them.

                            Make every day count.
                           Appreciate every moment
                           and take from it everything
                           that you possibly can,
                          for you may never be able
                           to experience it again.

                               Talk to people
                      You have never talked to before,
                            And actually listen,
                         Let yourself fall in love,
                                 Break free
                         And set your sights high...

                              Hold your head up
                     Because you have every right too.
                  Tell yourself you are a great individual
                         and believe in yourself...
                    For if you don't believe in yourself,
                   No one else will believe in you either.

                            Create your own life
                               and then go out
                               and live in it!
                               "Live Each Day
                           As If It Were Your Last
                          Tomorrow is not promised"


Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death. -Ayn Rand

Thought Of The Day

"When one door closes another one opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which 
open for us."

Alexander Graham Bell

Daily Inspiration

---We forgive to be forgiven.

---We give it away to keep it.

---We suffer to get well.

---We surrender to win.

---We die to live.

---From darkness comes light.

---From dependence we found independence.

‎"The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal."



Deepak Chopra

Ocean’s transformational journey continues

I have recently been reflecting on the paragraph I wrote about my intention for this blog. What does it mean to live without attachments and discover pathways to the heart?

Over the last year and a half three significant people in my life have passed on. In the intensity of death, my heart has opened wide. I suppose I could say that death gave me a direct pathway to my own heart and awareness for me to live my own life more fully. Reflecting on the impact that these amazing people had on my life, I feel an overwhelming sense of emotion, gratitude and love. I think about how I can release my attachments to their physicality and the thought that I have lost anything in any way now that they are physically not walking on this planet. The intensity of emotion I feel from these death experiences has kept me feeling RAW, VULNERABLE, and at the same time deeply PRESENT. I see this as a blessing as I transform my own perception of life, love and the human experience.

When I set out to travel to Asia last year I did so because I realized how out of balanced I felt with in myself as well as how out of balance I feel the western world is. In the western world we spend a lot of time focusing on our physical and mental bodies. It makes sense that we would do this; our society rewards us in these areas. We are encouraged, supported and often admired if we have degrees, a good job, nice things, a fancy house, car ext. So we put a lot of mental focus into attaining these things. We are also often rewarded and encouraged physically when we are have nice bodies, we are muscular, skinny, athletic, and considered good looking. I am not saying that achieving any of this is a bad thing, the mental and physical bodies are extremely important. I am observing what I see as an imbalance fromputting all of our focus onto the physical and mental bodies, neglecting our emotional, energetic and spiritual bodies.

As I see it, we excel in certain areas of our lives and in other areas we are totally dysfunctional. Here is my theory on this; in school we are taught how to read and write, to understand the difference between right and wrong, how to get ahead and how to be competitive. Why are we not taught what emotions are? I think in kindergarten we should be taught how to understand what emotions are how to recognize them. We all need tools that will help us as human beings so that we can began to understand who we really are. It seems as though we are constantly told we need to have or achieve something that we currently do not have. How helpful would it be if we all had lessons on what emotions and energetic fluctuations looked like and we were given tools on how recognize and work with them. We have a good idea of what anger, sadness, joy, excitement, despair look like when acted out. Most people have no idea how to process, understand or move through these natural states of being. I don’t feel we receive a lot of support and encouragement in

these areas. I think it is rare to hear someone say, “wow I’m really impressed with your emotional development”.

It is my continuous quest to understand the balance between all of these aspects of self. When all parts of ourselves are being acknowledged, nourished and supported then we truly can create a sense of balance in our lives.

I look at the self like this, we have five bodies, and on a daily basis it is important to check in to see that we are conscious of each one, that we become aware of our Physical, Mental, Emotional, Energetic and Spiritual Bodies!

There is something within us that longs for something more. What matters is finding our process, and finding the true expression of our-selves so as start to understand the truth of our own being. Our relationships with ourselves are often so dysfunctional that of course our outward relationships will be challenged. I believe it is possible to develop, the inner body just as we do the outer body, with daily practices and observing our patterns. It is imperative that we begin to establish a relationship with our feelings and emotions. Let us embody our experiences and then compassionately observe ourselves so that we notice where our imbalances are and we can adjust ourselves, bring what is out of alignment back into alignment. Turn off the TV and turn on the Intuition!

Song of the Soul

I am neither ego nor reason, I am neither mind nor thought.

I cannot be heard nor cast into words, nor by smell nor sight ever caught.

In light and wind I am not found, nor yet in earth and sky-

Consciousness and joy I incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

I have no name, I have no life.  I breathe no vital air,

No elements have moulded me, no bodily sheath is my lair.

I have no speech, no hands and feet, nor means of evolution-

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss in dissolution.

I cast aside hatred and passion, I conquered delusion and greed:

No touch of price caressed me, so envy never did breed:

Beyond all faiths past reach of wealth, past freedom, past desire,

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is my attire.

Virtue and vice, or pleasure and pain are not my heritage,

Nor sacret texts, nor offerings, nor prayer, nor pilgrimage:

I am neither food, nor eating nor yet the eater am I-

Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

I have no misgiving of death, no chasms of race divide me,

No parent ever called me child, no bond of birth ever tied me:

I am neither disciple nor master, I have no kin, nor friend _

Consciousness and joy am I, and merging in Bliss is my end.

Neither knowable, knowledge, nor knower am I, formless is my form,

I dwell within the senses but they are not my home:

Ever serenely balanced, I am neither free nor bound-

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is where I am found.