magazine monday: morning sun salutations

Late last night I returned home from a relaxing trip to one of my favorite places in the world, Bald Head Island.  We were celebrating the recent engagement of my sister, MacKenzie and her fiance, Philip.  It was a beautiful weekend to be outside enjoying the abundance of natural beauty that graces the island- a perfect North Carolina weekend for celebrating such an exciting engagement!

My trip to Bald Head this past weekend was missing one thing though.  Michael.  For over four years, since Michael and I began dating in college, he has accompanied me and my family to our home on the island for every trip.  Each visit, we ride our beach bikes all over the island until we can barely pedal anymore, we daydream about which houses in the harbor we’d like to own someday, we read great books, and we watch my mom’s (sometimes awful) Netflix movies.

When I realized that Michael wouldn’t be able to make the trip down to North Carolina this past weekend, I knew the weekend would be a little different for me.  I have grown to associate Michael with Bald Head and the fun memories and traditions we’ve created there.  For the first time in over four years, I would be visiting our favorite spot without him.

Since Michael wouldn’t be there to make me laugh myself silly the whole weekend, I knew that I would need to find a new way to use this trip as an opportunity to relax and unwind.  I read a great book and went to bed early each night.  I also brought along a couple of magazines that would complement my weekend of rejuvenation, Body + Soul and Yoga Journal.  As I was reading through the newest issue of Yoga Journal the first night there, I was inspired by the article “Shine on Me” to get up and practice yoga each of my three mornings there.  While I didn’t exactly make it out of bed a full hour before sunrise, as the article suggested, I did find some quiet time to begin my practice with Surya Namaskar, commonly known as Sun Salutation.

I was so very thankful to be able to practice yoga in such a beautiful environment.  The first day, I awoke before everyone else and was able to enjoy the entire upstairs (and its lovely view of the ocean!) all to myself.  Although Michael wasn’t there, the gorgeous scenery, coupled with some relaxing yoga, made for a perfect way to view the island in a new light.  The long weekend of yoga has also inspired me to establish more of a regular practice here at home.

I hope you all were able to enjoy a beautiful and inspiring weekend like my own.  Happy Monday!