Dear friends, travelers and seekers of adventure,
Book your ticket and you’re on your way. Once you book, the adventure begins and the rest will fall into place.
I made it a point when I graduated from college to set aside time to travel. I wanted to see as much of the world as I could and still have adventure in my life as I joined the ‘working world’. So, I finished up my final semester in May, booked a ticket, boarded a plane and arrived in London in September. I had a student visa to work there for a year and it was, to this day, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It set me up to make travel and time to explore imperative through my working life.
I worked waiting tables in the West End and met people from all over the world. I picked up another job at flower shop in North London, delivering flowers on foot and had a blast making friends while dropping off their weekly bouquets. I didn’t make much money but enough to have a sweet room in a row house in South London (zone 2) and explore the city. I also had student loans to pay off at the time and managed to send money home to my parents who made my scheduled payments for me in USD (this was ‘95 – ’96 you couldn’t pay for everything online then and I had neither a cell phone or an email address!). I still had responsibilities but I wanted a new experience. Everyday was an adventure and I knew I could make it work.
Once my visa expired I set up shop in Minneapolis. I started my first business, LVMGardens Design, the summer I got back and booked a ticket to Thailand the following November. Not exactly in a place where I had disposable income but I knew I could grow my business and still make time to travel. I spent the next three summers road tripping to visit friends in Montana and camp in Glacier Park. I paid off my loans and my business grew. I discovered yoga in Minneapolis and started spending a lot of time in NYC taking as many yoga classes as I could pack in at the Jivamukti Yoga School and Go Yoga in Brooklyn during each visit.
I flew to Austria in 2003 to earn my first Yoga Teacher Training Certification and spent 5 weeks in the ridiculously beautiful mountains near Kitzbuhel (that’s me hiking in the mountains in Kitzbuhel in the pic above). Travel became about yoga as much as adventure. I took a couple week-long trips to Costa Rica for advanced trainings. I traveled all over the US for the first time learning as much as I could, visiting new cities and making some favorites along the way.
I love my life in Minneapolis and my crew at YOGA Garden and the students I see every week. I’ve got a wonderful group of friends and am close to family in my motherland, Wisconsin. But the adventure we get from travel makes our daily lives richer and you just can’t get that if you stay home for too long. Book your ticket, the rest will fall into place. You do have time to see the world one adventure at a time and you will be so glad you did.
visit www.gypsetyogaretreats.com to check out my schedule and book your next adventure!