Back on the Horse

Family pictures in Ithaca

So, my life has changed a bit since I last wrote. Gonna try to do a better job of staying on top of things here, since I know some of you follow this more than the facebooks or whatever.

Right now I am teaching yoga at a gym in Park Slope, BK Monday and Tuesday evenings and temping through a great small NYC agency for more income. It's good. Flexible and fun. Better than expected, actually.

I am also starting to audition more. Which, if you remember, is the whole reason why I uprooted my life to move to this amazing city in the first place... So, obviously that is also a very good thing. I updated my Backstage account (where they post auditions for local and national auditions in NYC) so  now I am getting daily emails with potential auditions within certain parameters (age, sex, film/play, etc). I just have to weed through those and pick which ones I reply to each day. I've been staying on top of that pretty well, and, although I haven't been cast yet, I do have a callback(!) coming up soon that I am excited about.

I have an audition on Thursday and one on Saturday with a few more that I applied for and hope to hear back on. So far, they've all been small auditions, but there are a few upcoming (that are just open calls, so you have to just show up and put your name on a list) that are bigger and pay more, so we'll see... Feedback has been positive. Although I didn't get cast in the new musical I auditioned for before I came home fore Xmas, I did receive a very encouraging email from the director where she told me it was a crazy hard decision for her and that she is keeping my headshot/resume on file for future projects. Good feedback indeed!

I created a challenge for myself back in July where I was trying to do yoga every day for 100 days in a row. I succeeded. In spades. And, actually, have not stopped. Today is day 168. In a row. Including meditating when I was too ill (or traveling too much) to get a physical practice in. I have noticed a HUGE change in my asana practice, too! It's not like I wasn't doing any yoga, but making it a daily priority has helped me become stronger, more flexible, and overall, a better teacher and practitioner. I love it. Even when I was in TT I was dropping to my knees during Chaturanga because my strength just wasn't there, now not only can I do a Chaturanga, but I can teach through it. Stopping and holding the pose for up to 10 seconds to demonstrate the proper alignment. My Crow pose has come a long way, and I am getting close to straightening my leg in Bird of Paradise. Before, even standing UP in this pose was not in my practice.

The meditation has helped me a lot, too. Giving myself the time to quiet my mind, and get in touch with my body has changed the way that I deal with stress. And I feel like I am sleeping better and, generally,  have more control over my life. I love having the opportunity to teach this to others, as well. Honestly, it's one of the more rewarding things I've ever done. And I'm starting to get a small following in my classes! There are two or three women who consistently attend! So fun!

Going back to Seattle for Xmas was crazy fun, too. Nice to see la mama and nana and Uncle Johnny! And to see my city again. It'd been almost a whole year... Too long. Already planning a return trip (if only to visit Linda and get mah hers redone. Seriously, no one in NYC can do it like she can!).

The second half of my trip was a little more... shall we say, stressful. At least the GETTING THERE part of the trip. There was a freezing rain storm in Chicago, so I was delayed over 8 hours. And, to be honest, lucky to even get upstate on the 28th. I guess almost 5000 flights were cancelled in Chicago... Yesh. Well, I made it to Syracuse and we drove to Ithaca and we got to spend three lovely days doing not much at all upstate. It was very nice.

But I am happy to be home. In my room, on my bed, with everything organized and my inbox nearly empty, getting back to real life. Real life may be sorta boring, but I'm glad to be back in it.

I start a temp job on Friday and work it all next week (first time I'll work during the day and then teach at night, so we'll see how that ends up...). I like temping and I like having an (extra) income. Now all I need is a show to rehearse thankyouverymuch!

2016 Resolutions!

Oh, and PS here is my Facebook page for my yogas: https://www.facebook.com/YogaGinaMarie/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel