It’s been a whirlwind week in North Carolina but with amazing experiences and outcomes. I met so many fabulous like-minded people as I drove the
Teaching an "Experience Raw" class in Cary, NC
state teaching raw food classes – it solidifies my belief that raw food will help us succeed on this planet. I know it sounds so big picture, but that is the way I have to think these days. With some very detrimental months and years approaching where – well life could go any which
Kirsten given Raw in North Carolina
way…. I have to keep the bigger soulful journey as priority number one!
I remember when Jan said she wanted me to come back from Ecuador and that we should tour, North Carolina came jumping to mind. It was my decision to spread the word here. North Carolina will always hold a special place in my heart. I lived in Charlotte for 3 very big years, which brought a lot of change. Big lessons, life lessons. It’s also the place where I first felt I had my community. It’s more of a feeling than an actual location.
I arrived in Charlotte in such style, I couldn’t have dreamed it up myself. Just so happens my really close goddess friend Lori lives in Washington DC and was traveling to Charlotte for the weekend with her family. So from New York City, I caught the Amtrak down to DC and spent a few days hanging out with my gal and her spicy little girl and extremely cool husband. I love those places where I can just melt into someone else’s life, be mommied and I have such great friends who help me balance and slow down, smell the roses, play with their kids, remember what really counts in this world. If you didn’t know it by now, I’m a huge fan of public transportation. Trains are so super smooth, convenient, roomy and quick. I remember being in Japan and riding the bullet train for the first time – wow, that is the way to go. Japan has really paid attention to their public transportation and it is paying off. We on the other hand, at least in the west, haven’t experienced the sheer bliss of
My Soul Sista Kelly and her son
rapid transportation where you can safely multi-task. Europe, wow they have it down too.
It was such a new experience for me traveling with a family on the go. At one time I think both Peter and Lori were on the phone, their daughter was in the back watching a movie on the computer and I had headphones in. Sure isn’t like they used to do it, playing eye-spy along the road, the ABC game and other made-up time consumers. I was excited to spend time with them all. They are my family and they were taking me to my other family, depositing me at the door of Kelly and Bill and offspring ☺ And two of my favorite sisters were going to meet, kids running all around, a whirlwind of energy as I landed on Willow Oak drive. Lots of hugs and a big sigh – I was back, back to familiar. There’s a different feeling when you return to a place you used to live. I knew the street names and directions. It felt like nothing had changed.. but everything had changed. It was my first introduction to the newest member of their family – he’s already 3 years old. I couldn’t believe I was meeting him for the first time. I had seen so many pictures of him, the latest – when he decided he was going to ride his bike – and so he did. I had the best time hanging with the kids, watching their sleepy rises every morning, 
they’re reading time before bed but after bath and the various appointments and practices through the day. It took know time to get into the swing of things. It’s vital to have friends that allow for you to be fully into it when you are present, but that are ok with weeks of no communication when you are gone. That’s what good friends do for seeking Sagittarius like myself! Then when the reading time was over, Kelly, Bill and I could congregate in the living room with a few cool brewskies and discuss what’s going on in the world and how our opinions have changed the older we get. It felt so familiar like old times, but truly in a new exciting way.
Charlotte was my home base for the raw food classes in North Carolina.. but I spent a good portion
Spreading the Raw Love in the South
of time driving the state. It’s nice for me to drive alone, good time to think. And since I haven’t owned a car for two years and don’t drive in Ecuador, it’s was kind of nice being at the wheel.
First a lovely class in Winston-Salem. Meghan and Noel of New Planet Yoga http://www.newplanetyoga.com/were so lovely. Their studio is very zen with hard wood floors, lots of light and warm colors. They are energetic and present and we could have talked the night away. The group got very active in class – which is how I like it. I truly think they all will follow through with incorporating some of the recipes. I receive one of my biggest compliments. One client called me the food whisperer! She said that she could feel my connection and energy with the food. One of the biggest parts of my class is the re-introduction to food and the wonderful ways to use natural ingredients for raw creations.
The Next night I held class in Asheville, NC. If you’ve never been to Asheville, well, go.. especially in fall when all the leaves start changing. Cool, hip mountain town with lots of outdoor activities and good health food to offer. We held class in the community room at Earfare http://www.earthfare.com/
Raw Awakening in the South
which is a perfect set up for raw food classes or any cooking classes. It’s also nice that healthy organic options are alive and kicking in North Carolina. While there is a raw food community, I was surprised how much information they didn’t have available to them. So I put as much heart and energy into my class to ensure they felt comfortable trying the recpies at home. I had such an amazing response and it literally became a big love fest with everyone sharing stories and information. Sure I was at the front, but I see every class as an energy exchange between like minded individuals – we are all trying to do our part and take steps to self-care. One gentlemen – (yes I had 1-4 guys in each class) gave me a special pocket disk filled with crystals. Absolutely gorgeous and exactly the protection and power I needed to drive myself safely back to Charlotte.
Monday, Monday was dedicated to the kids. I was staying in Mia’s room and in her bed while she took the mattress on the floor. It was like a slumber party every night, except now I was an adult who stayed up a little later and got up a little earlier. Monday was also boot-camp for the ladies. Kelly has been going to bootcamp at 5:30 a.m. and is in rocking shape. I had promised her to join while I was visiting. Although the alarm went off in the wee hours, it was nice to get up and moving AND to have time to have tea and coffee before the kids got up. I got to walk Mia to school with Kelly then go to her gymnastics class. Now that was so entertaining. She is a gorgeous bright little girl who has the longest legs. Kelly and I giggled as we watched all these young 7 year old girls try to contain and control their bodies as they bounced on trampolines, rolled around on mats, and hung from bars. All the moms started chatting and laughing. It was such good bonding time. Afterward, I had the honor of helping Mia practice riding her bike. Now her dad Bill is a master at the bike. When I first met him he was like this lone Indian Chief 
watching out for me, making sure I kept up with the group. Our mutual friend who was my boyfriend at the time took me mtn. biking, then dropped me. Bill waited for me. Instant friend. Kelly learned how to mtn. bike with me, Max and Bill many years ago. Mia loved riding on the bike with them – you know those kind when you are on the back pedaling tandem? But she hasn’t quite mastered riding with her own balance. It felt so good to work with her and help her, although I can’t say she was that into it. She’s the artist of the family, so biking might not be her thing.. which is fine with her parents. For me though, it was one of those beautiful memories I will always cherish. Man, I really like kids. I sure hope one day I can be a mom – or maybe my role is to be the traveling aunt, who knows. I only had two more days to hang with the family and most was spent teaching classes and doing demos. The good news is the family is now fully integrated with nut pates, almond milk and berry smoothies! Kelly and kids came to my class in Charlotte at Healthy Home Market http://www.hemarket.com/and it was so helpful to have Mia as my assistant. She knew the ropes for some raw cooking we had done at home!
Sacred Grove Sweetness, Gold Hill, NC
Alas, I had to say goodbye to my stable family, and move north into the unkown. I headed to the Scared Grove Retreat http://www.sacredgroveretreat.com/ just outside Gold Hill, NC.. a tiny town between Charlotte and Raleigh. I knew I was going to have a unique experience when I met Ellen and her mate. Ellen called me only 4 days prior and said, hey come teach up here, I can get you a filled class.. and by gosh she did!! They own and run a B&B and the retreat. There are two big houses, a yurt, a cabin.. and two more yurts, one for massage and frequency therapy, the other for yoga and kirtan. It felt like arriving at camp. 3 large fire pits to hang underneath the stars, tiki torch lights lighted the paths. In all the years I lived in Charlotte, I had no idea Sacred Grove existed. Ellen and I hit it off right away, like soul sisters from a different life. She’s been a massage therapist for a long time, her mate Tim specializes in meditation and is rapidly learning frequency therapy.. which I’ll have to go further into during another blog. Let’s just say it all makes so much sense to me!
Class again was a wonderful synergy of ideas, advice, opinions, laughter and love. No two classes are ever the same because they are all made up of unqiue individuals. I was surprised and happy to see 4 gentlemen in this class too!! Of course, as I always do, I ran over about an hour.. then ended up staying the night there in one of their houses – that’s after lots of discussions and stories about our universe. We are definitely going to try to do a two-day workshop in Janaury. It feels like the perfect fit!
Joan loving the raw cacao!
Raleigh’s demo was held at Café Harmony http://www.cafeharmony.net/, a great little all natural, healthful organic shop and café. The two bookend a dry cleaning business in between. The owners Steve and his wife
Making Friends through Raw Food
just recently opened the café part and they do a tremendous job. Their entire facility is done right – all water is filtered all food is delicious. You’ll want to visit if you are going to be in Raleigh, NC anytime soon. I had to go back for breakfast, juices and snacks too the next day! My final class was in Cary, NC at Triangle Pilates and Yoga http://www.trianglepilates.com/ and I couldn’t be more thrilled than teaming up with the owners there. Susan I knew was going to be an amazing women, just from her emails. I managed to make her power flow class in the morning.. which set me perfect for the day. You know when you find a teacher that just does it for you… she is well on her way. One of the best classes I’ve taken while on the road, very similar to classes I teach, good music, good flow, good instruction, good fun. I then had a couple hours to kill, so I went to the Farmer’s market, the YMCA and to Whole Foods to get some remaining ingredients. Oh and I had time to finally grub on some excellent Indian Food. The restaurant is called Udupi and it is located on East Chatham Road. A lovely woman from the class the night before had recommended it to me. Yea, I know it might seem weird that I teach raw, then go eat “dead food” but I had been craving curry. The buffet was spectacular and I ate myself silly, truly some of the bettier Indian food. Who knew in Cary, North Carolina.
TEaching Raw at Triangle Pilates in Cary, NC
Friday night’s class at Triangle Pilates went beautifully with lots of inquiring minds and goddess energy. One woman brought her two kids (kids come free) to class which changes the energy dramatically for me.. in a very positive and unique way. You see, if I can get kids
Creating Raw Kids
approval on some raw foods, it shows mom.. yes Spinach in the morning can be done with a couple fail safe tricks!! I think I saw the ah ha moment happen here more than anywhere else – even thought most were very familiar with what defines raw. They allowed the energy exchange to happen naturally and innocently and I was honored to be leading the team as they took a couple new unfamiliar steps forward. I think the kale salad was the biggest hit of all, as I heard other ladies commenting that the kids took big portions – I just smiled completely through every cell. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to health driven trip to NC.
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