InsightsfromtheMat

Hi!!!! I am Renee and I am an adventure traveler, yogi, diver, and sailor. I am excited to share the inspiration behind our first combination retreat. If you know us, you know that we live to travel! Our passports are always at the ready and we say yes before we know any of the details.   Diving and underwater photography are my wife Megan's Passions (you can check out some of her pictures at @DiverMegan ). I am a Yogi, primarily vegetarian, meditate daily, and own a boutique yoga and fitness studio in SWFL. It is our love of travel that keeps us going, together, on adventure after adventure. We have sailed catamarans in the British Virgin Islands, gone on safari in Africa, spent time teaching a college course on Sports & the Olympics in London during the 2012 games. Don't get me started on the several occasions we have indulged our way through Italy. We care about the details when we travel and aim to make every trip an adventure to remember. So, we are excited to announc...

We get it!!!  We are all stuck at home on some level of social distancing and isolation. We may be nervous, anxious, or even a little depressed at the state of our world.   While reading this post may not do anything to stem the tide of the Covid-19 Pandemic, it may help to keep your health and sanity during these trying times. The American College of Sports Medicine Exercise is Medicine (R) Initiative   #exerciseismedicine #eim has released a handout and blog on why and how you should stay healthy during the Pandemic. Here is a link to other ACSM resources on exercising during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Exercise is beneficial for us in so many ways. Exercise Releases Stress Exercise Boosts Your Immune System Exercise Boosts Your Mood Physical Activity and Exercise Improve Your Overall Health! Harvard Medical School has recommended exercise, specifically yoga and mediation, during this time. If you want to try Yoga or Meditation check out t...

If you have been following, the FMB Yoga Project we are now doing online classes!  I have been recording classes on the road as we pick up kids whose schools have been closed. I have adopted a mascot for my videos - John Snow the GOAT. Now, I am a fan of Game of Thrones and Jon Snow . However, he is not whom I have named my Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) after. Instead, my mascot is named after the Father of Modern Epidemiology, John Snow (1813-1858) the physician . He was the scientist/physician who found the source of the 1854 Cholera Outbreak in London . Cholera was common in the Victorian Era due to unsanitary conditions and close living quarters. Dr. Snow was one of the first to identify its transmission via food and water. He used the processes we call " shoe-leather epidemiology ". He physically mapped the number of cases and their geographic location finding that one water pump on Broad Street was the source of the epidemic. His work showed that by removing the...

Let me start by saying that this is not exactly how I had planned to spend March. I am not alone in that sentiment. Homosassa Springs We are picking up our kids and heading home trying to remail positive in a tough time. We did start our trip with a short (3mile) run through the Homosasass State Park, social distancing at its best. Many of the State Park facilities are closed but the park itself is open. We then went swimming with the Manatees. Well, thank you global warming, the water in the Gulf is warm enough that the manatees don't need the springs. We saw 3. These Florida Girls froze in 72-degree water- Brr. Yes, we were in full wetsuits. It was not a total loss we met some fun people and got a little exercise. From there we moved to our first KOA!!! Campgrounds are social distancing at its best. Everyone is living in their own space. Other than the curiosity about our van and the wetsuits, we spend an amazing and quiet night listening to crickets. Hippie Va...

As we all know we are living in difficult times. Although we have planned this trip for months, things have shifted and changed with the Covid-19 Pandemic. My conference was canceled, school visits were canceled, schools closed, as did many of the locations where my team and I teach yoga. I have spent the last 3 days adjusting, modifying, and preparing for the current trip. Yes, we are on the road!  We are picking up the Short One who's school is closed and working closely with the Tall One, whose university shut down on Friday. Walmart in Homosassas The yoga adage is that the Universe provides what you need. For us, it is a camper van, the ability to work from the road, and strong immune systems. We will be slowly making our way up north, then return back to FL. I appreciate the small things. I finally got to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot.  I get to travel with my partner in crime, Megan.  We have found a way to offer yoga and pilates t...

While it may not be exciting, it is the reality I spent Day 1 packing and prepping for my trip. Luckily, we could start the day with Satsang. At the Ashram, we wake at 5:30am for Satsang. Satsang is a gathering of light-minded people seeking additional spiritual knowledge. From a practical perspective, we meditate, chant, and listen to a lecture/teaching from Guruji. If you want a little more information on Satsang check out this website . Then my traveling companion was off to a school trip to New York ( which has been canceled ). Anytime there is a trip there is a significant amount of prep work. Living out of a van for the better part of 20 days is no different. What is also funny, interesting, real, about my current life is that I will be wearing about 4 different hats on my trip. My Roles Speaker , my first official stop will be in Atlanta for the ACSM Health & Fitness Summit where I will be delivering a talk on Technology and EIMOC with my Partner in Crime. I wil...

Some would say that I have a gypsy soul, others might look at me as a hippy or gypsy. Honestly, I am comfortable with all of those labels as they do speak to a portion of my soul that always seems to be moving. I am about to embark on another adventure and I am inviting, those who are interested, to join me. I will be blogging and posting about my daily yoga & meditation practice, how it works when it fails, and all of the other experiences that come along the way. Let's start at the beginning. I will be traveling in an Escape Camper Van . We may end up calling her Thumper or Baa Baa we haven't decided yet. I will be doing part of my trip with my traveling companion, looking at colleges and planning for the future. Part of the time I will be traveling solo, although there are some who plan to drop in on the adventure, and some I plan on dropping in on.  Here are a few pictures from our first partial day in the Van. Day 0 - We feel blessed to be able to spend our f...