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Discover ways to pamper yourself, mind/body/spirit.

Do Date a Girl Who Travels

October 5, 2018 //  by Alana Roach//  Leave a Comment

“SHE’S MAD BUT SHE’S MAGIC

THERE IS NO LIE IN HER FIRE”

Do date a girl who travels. Stroke her messy, unkempt, sun-bleached hair when she’s asleep and you’ll feel her whole being unfold in your arms.

Trace the map of her wounds, scars and wrinkles with your fingertips until you know it by heart and you’ll understand her story. It’s not easy to follow and there are more exclamation and question marks than full stops and commas, but it’s worth reading for not a single word is empty of meaning.

Do date a girl who travels and you won’t be bored. She’ll make you close your eyes, jump out of a plane, talk to strangers, watch the moon, climb rocks, hike mountains, dance barefoot, chat until sunrise, skinny dip, sing karaoke. She won’t be easy to keep up with. She won’t be easy to please. But every day you’ll be grateful for her endless energy, free spirit and infectious zest for life for it will make you live fearlessly, mindfully, blissfully.


Do date a girl who travels. You won’t need to buy her expensive dinners or gifts. You won’t need to prove you’re worth her. Walk with her, hold her hand, talk to her, laugh with her. Keep it simple. Be genuine and never try to impress her with anything else but who you are and who you’re working on being. And remember that she won’t be fooled. She’s seen it all.

Do date a girl who travels for she will show you the world you never knew existed. The world where the sky is no limit. The world of dreams made into reality. The world where willpower and determination are the only prerequisites for success. Success which is not measured by fame or material possessions, but by finding your purpose and living your truth and passions. The world often stripped of order, logic and analytical thinking, but full of intuitive decisions, spontaneous changes and internal conviction. Do date a girl who travels for she’ll knock out all the walls you’ve built around yourself and find her way to places you’d never let anyone into.

Do date a girl who travels. She won’t need you. She won’t be scared of losing you. She’ll be with you because she choses to. Because life is simply better with you. Trust her. Learn when to follow her and when to let her go. If you manage to touch her soul, she’ll be back. And when she is, hold her so tight that all the beautiful, wobbly, faulty, mismatched pieces of her stick together. And every day you’ll thank the universe for bringing her your way.

This post is a rebuttal to “Don’t Date a Girl Who Travels” available

here: https://medium.com/@adizarsadias/dont-date-a-girl-who-travels-802c49b9141c

 

 

Author: Magda Procner 

Yoga Teacher, Retreat Guide for Peru, Found @ Mags Yoga

You can read more about her on her websites: www.magsyoga.com 

And follow her on Instagram: @Magsyoga

 

Category: Creative Explorations, Fashion and Beauty, LifestyleTag: nomad, selflove mindfulness, Travel, traveler, traveling, wanderlust, year spiritual

A Super Moon Ritual and Quotes to Inspire You

November 14, 2016 //  by Admin//  Leave a Comment

I am not sure where I am going, but I do know that I am doing everything in this moment to prepare for it. A few days ago my iCloud was completely wiped clear. This was by accident of course. However, I don’t believe in accidents. I believe I am starting the next chapter of my life. The chapter of motherhood and severance of the past in connection to any trauma, wounds, and insecurities. I am stepping into my buddha-hood as my masks fall off, because it is my birthright to do so. In your own story, I know you are beginning your own new life chapter, too. This full moon is calling that newness to us all.

family

I had no idea that becoming a yoga teacher would lead me here. I just got back from leading an 8 day yoga and sound healing retreat in The Sacred Valley of Peru with my daughter and dear friends from my soul family. I get to travel the world doing what I love with the people that I love. People who lift me up and look at my dreams as something they want to put stock into; and I believe in them with all of my heart. Together we are carrying a message of inspiration, hope, and love & let me tell you, we are on a mission. Together is the key here. My soul sisters and brothers, we have to stick together in this new age to bring in the new era of harmony and peace. This will take extreme unbiased reason from the heart. This is a call to action, and one not to be taken lightly.

@trinachristian
@trinachristian

I am a single mother of a 6 month old rainbow child. When I first thought I wanted to be a mother 10 years ago, I never envisioned that I would be doing it with out a husband or partner. What I have gained is witnessing a community of people from all over the world who love her as if she were their own. So I have lost my initial view of what this was supposed to look like, but we have gained so much more. Building community inspires trust, reliance, and compassion. She is my biggest inspiration to keep moving forward on my path of self love and unrelenting love for others (Despite emotions evoked within any given moment from self or other. Remember, we are not this, we are much more than the ever fluctuating thoughts and emotions.) I will never give up on myself or my world wide community, because she and the new generation deserve warrior role models of radical change stemming from LOVE.

I know the road can feel broken sometimes, and perhaps this road block will be impasse’. I have been there. In fact I go there in my mind at least once a week lately. It is important to remember how powerful you are in times like these, because your dreams… they need you to make them come true.

Book mark this article to refer back to when you are having one of those,”Pull the covers over your head,” moments. Quotes to remind you of how incredibly competent you are in fulfilling your dreams:

1.jobs

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs

2.gandhi

” You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

3.yoganandaeos

“You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God’s creative principle works in you.” Paramahansa Yogananda

4.neale

“Do not waste the precious moments of this, your present reality, seeking to unveil all of life’s secrets. Those secrets are a secret for a reason. Grant your God the benefit of the doubt. Use your NOW moment for the Highest Purpose- the creation and the expression of WHO YOU REALLY ARE. Decide who you are- who you want to be-and then do everything in your power to be that.

It is not nearly so important how well a message is received as how well it is sent. You cannot take responsibility for how well another accepts your truth; you can only ensure how well it is communicated. And by how well, I don’t mean merely how clearly; I mean how lovingly, how compassionately, how sensitively, how courageously, and how completely.

If you think your life is about DOINGNESS, you do not understand what you are about. Your soul doesn’t care what you do for a living-and when your life is over, neither will you. Your soul cares only about what you’re BEING while you’re doing whatever you’re doing. It is a state of BEINGNESS the soul is after, not a state of doingness.” Neale Donald Walsh

5.shrimataji

You have to use the winds to remove the clouds that cover your Spirit, the wind of the Holy Ghost. Shri Mataji Nirmala Deva

So, keep dancing ever so wildly towards to heart’s calling. As rumi said,

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”

The ritual: Be sure to go out under the full moon light this evening and say these affirmations or make your own. If you feel moved to, write down what you want to release from your past, what you are grateful for, and what you story you want to create. Re-read what you wrote, and then burn (With a bowl of water near by) or bury your offering.

 

Namaste, soul family

13925864_10207460986383449_4494511862760385250_oBIO : Alana Roach  is a International Yogi currently based out of Annapolis, MD. Formerly adorned by the city lights and the busy streets of America, she was then whisked away by the illustrious path of yoga and took to traveling the world to share it with others. A few years back she started to write about the transformation she undertook by  practicing conscious meditation. Her passions became her career and she now holds RYS Teacher Trainings & International Retreats, Health Coaches, and writes every opportunity she gets. In her spare time she loves cuddling with her daughter,  surfing, being in nature, and living amongst her ever growing and global loving and conscious community. She is on Facebook , Instagram, Twitter, and can be reached by email explorationsofself@gmail.com

Category: Creative Explorations, Fashion and Beauty, Lifestyle, Mindful Living, Parenting, SustainabilityTag: fullmoon, inspiration, mother

What I Learned From My Man Detox

May 12, 2015 //  by Alana Roach//  1 Comment

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

It’s been so challenging to confront myself over the past couple of months. So very challenging to look at myself in such a raw space of utter confusion about who I am and what I require to be happy. I am on my own for the first time in years.

On occasion I will cry and say, “Did I do the right thing?”

When it comes down to it, I wasn’t happy for a long time. I grew. I sat in the rainforest and on the beaches of Costa Rica and I questioned everything. I let go of everything I thought I knew and I welcomed whatever the Universe had in store for me. I surrendered. 

The next thing I knew I was packing my bags and headed North only to plunge head first into another relationship. It was short lived. It was like a fairy tale and then a nightmare. Initially I thought I was getting what I deserved, a night in shining armor. Someone to heal all of my wounds. When he turned dark my heart quivered. Here I am again. What am I doing wrong?

Despite the encouragement of mentors and my community to stay single for a time so that I could grieve the loss of my long term lover, I didn’t listen. I stayed the course. I continued to open myself up to “love.” I kept attracting men that could not treat me the way I required because I couldn’t treat myself the way I require. They were broken because I was broken.

I decided to go on a 40 day Man Detox like Jesus fasted in the desert. I could commit to 40 days. If I needed to I would extend it out from there. It has been a journey. There have been trials and tribulations. I have been tested! I have fallen and then gotten back up.

Here is what I learned.

  1. A partner won’t complete you. No matter how how you try to wash away your emotional lows and amp up your highs with something outside of you, the journey to fulfillment starts within.
  2. Girl friends are priceless. Surrounding yourself with a community of loving women is like nestling into a garden of sparkling jewels. You are held in beauty and reflected back your magnificence.
  3. Guys friends are priceless, and they are people too.  When you get out of a relationship it is easy to loathe the opposite sex. Even if it is subconscious you may have an aversion to treating the opposite sex with decent and respect. The challenge comes when you are attracted to the friend. When it comes down to it, we are all made of the same stuff. Be kind. Honor each other. Let your community rise up around you. Male and female.
  4. I am pretty cool. So are you. In fact, we are really, really, really cool. I never had a chance to get to know that on my own before. If you are constantly looking outside of yourself for validation, you never getting into the meat of it for yourself. It creates a pattern of outside affirming which is a really tough habit to reverse when it a partnership if you are already in a rhythm of it. However it is doable no matter where you are in  live. Breathe in your beauty. Love yourself in all moments, through the laughter and the tears.
  5. I don’t have to grow, “Perfectly.” I have the gift of forgiveness. I have fallen down several times on this path to myself.
  6. Resisting Temptation is a bitch. Oh my goodness. I am certainly not as steadfast as Jesus. I can only try. I have to pat myself on the back though because as much as it makes me chuckle.. the last time I was asked out on a date during this detox, I got to respond with, “I can’t. I am on a MAN FAST!” I am pretty sure his eyes grew two sizes, like, “What did she just say to me?” That’s right boys, a man fast, aka, man-tox.
  7. God is good. All the time. Trust that you are taken care of and what lies ahead of you is unfolding in a golden path.
  8. I am sexy. You can be sexy and not be promiscuous or in a partnership. You can fall in love with your Shakti energy and let it blossom the Goddess you were meant to be.
  9. I look forward to being with myself. When you strive to be with people constantly what are you trying to escape? Being alone can be a beautiful experience! Get to know the soul peering out of that body. You are Divine and worth getting to know.
  10. I can take care of myself.  Compassionately tell the voice in your head, that tells you won’t be able to do this on your own, “I bid you adieu!” It is so empowering to know that you can do this on your own. You are powerful Goddess. During this process I have been learning how to self-sooth when I get sad or lonely. You can hold yourself like a small kitten and imagine the Creator stroking your hair. You can do this with gentleness and strength.

Have you ever done this? What were your greatest lessons?

Category: Fashion and Beauty, Integrative Health, Lifestyle, Parenting, Yoga

The Water Drop Yoga Mat by Qiyo Multiversal Yoga

March 12, 2015 //  by Alana Roach//  Leave a Comment

When you do a frequency sweep from low to high vibrations on a drop of water, the most beautiful depiction of the vibrational planetary shift Earth is going through on a microcosm. …

Category: Creative Explorations, Fashion and Beauty, Yoga

The Art of Aging

January 17, 2014 //  by Alana Roach//  Leave a Comment

I am inspired to write about something not talked about every day.  For the past few months I have had the subject of aging on my mind.  Aging and death are both subjects are very taboo in this culture.  We are doing everything possible to stall the aging process.  Between cosmetic surgery, the latest under eye cream, that new fad diet, sports car, or whatever it is that inevitably fills us up for that day but leaves us feeling empty and full of fear yet again.  We grow older every day, and we are all going to do it someday, die.

About 4 years ago, on Thanksgiving, I was given the gift of looking at this with open eyes and an understanding started to unfold for the very first time.  Only a few months after I got sober from drugs and alcohol, a good friend of mine, overdosed on heroine after being clean for over 5 years.  I couldn’t believe it, I was devastated.  He was so intelligent, handsome, kind… how could this happen?  I remember finding out on Thanksgiving.  He died alone, in his apartment, from a heart attack.  He had just moved in, so his apartment was bare except for his mattress and some clothes, and pieces of paper he had scribbled on with bible verses.  Can I share one with you…?

(4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.” (5) The one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” He said, “Write this: ‘These words are trustworthy and true.'”

John the Apostle, Revelation 21:4-5

I remember that they read this at his viewing, and I broke out into tears, because I now knew that he knew he was going to die.  I do not think he planned it this way, but I do believe that when it is our time to go, whether it is of natural causes or not, it is time.  However, when he died, at the age of 32, I was heartbroken.   In the past, I thought of death as something that happened.  When He died, it made it more real.  He was a mirror into my own youth, and into the reality that it could happen at any time.  I would miss Him.  I started to ask questions to the unknown and to explore emotions that until now were uncharted territory. “This wasn’t fair, was it?  Why does this have to happen?  I am angry, I am sad, I feel him as if he were here. When I pass away some day, will we be brought back together?  I know no matter how many times I look at his pictures and call his number he will never pick up, and I will never hear or see him in this physical form again. Would I? It all seemed so sad.

…While I was in the initial shock of the news on Thanksgiving, I remember sitting in a friend’s house who was keeping me company while I mourned…  They went to shower and get ready.  I remember plopping down on a wooden chair that I had pulled out from the kitchen table.  I began to cry again, tears rolled down my face, but I did not let out a sound.  As I sit there, I kept thinking of his beautiful smile, and all of the wonderful moments we spent together, and it made me cry even more.  Then something a bit surreal and magical happened. As I sit there in a pool of my own tears, I started feel the energy shift inside of me and all around me, tingles rose up my spine and I couldn’t help but smile, and as I open my eyes I could almost hear him say, “I am fine, I love you,” and as I turn my head, there on the refrigerator were alphabet magnets on the refrigerator I sat next to, that read, “I will always love you.”  Even though I knew that this must have been my friend’s Daughter writing her Father a message, I also Knew, in the Depths of My Soul, that this was His message for me as well. In that moment, call me whatever you want to, I Knew, that this was not the end for those who live in the physical.  He was fine.  There was life after death, or whatever you want to call it.    I know now that was my friend’s gift to me.  From his death, I gained a true Soul awareness of Eternity.  I was so grateful for this.  In that moment, everything became so clear, I was no longer feeling at loss, but at more of a gain in that, He was now happy and a part of Everything.

 

Since that time, much has changed in my life.  I am now over 4 years sober, I have a mission and a Soul Path that I am in passionate love with, as well as a wonderful soul mate that I live with, a beautiful relationship with my friends, and family… I mean, life has gotten really, really, good.  It’s reall, really, REALLY great.  I have things that I have become attached to, and as the Buddhist’s will tell you, attachment leads to suffering.  I always understood that on a cerebral level, but I am starting to explore it in my heart. About 4 months ago, that topic of death started to come up again.  Not because anyone close to me died, but because I am getting older.  I am the age that my mom was when I was 1 year old .  That blows my mind.  I look at her and I see this beautiful woman that has lived a few decades since then, and it is inevitable that she too, will parish one day.  The same goes for every single person I know, and every single person in this world.  All of a sudden I am like really understanding that in order to live, we must die eventually.  So when my friend passed away on Thanksgiving,  I got the understanding that we Live after we die, but now I am coming to terms with that in order to do that, we will go through the process of shedding this physical form.  So here we are, back at the subject of death.  Did you know that Buddhists speak of death in a very casual way?  That is what I wish to do here.  I don’t wish to sound morbid, or to upset anyone reading this, but to rather come together and just talk about it.  I love that.  I wish it were something that was easy to talk about for me, and this is my effort to do so.  I believe that at this time on my Spiritual path, I am meant to be accepting of it.  Now more than ever, because as my life gets better, the more and more I wish to stay just as I am, and the problem that this presents is that the Universe, all of it, is always changing.  If I refuse to look at this inevitable change, I will become a person who is in denial, and before I know it, I am subconsciously acting out of a place of fear.  I don’t want to live my years in a state of denial or depression about aging.  I wish to embrace every day fully, as I get older, every single day.  When I accept that this too, shall pass, there is no living in the future or the past, there is only this present moment at hand.  That is all we really have here.  When I am Present, I am at Peace.

In the past few months, I have had random chats about aging and death.  Here are some of their thoughts on this topic.

One was with a 60 or so year old rock climber.  It very naturally came up as we talked about travel   and nature.  He very casually spoke of death and said it was something he thought of all the time.  He said to me that the Buddhist say, that if we reach the highest state of Consciousness, that we return as a Tree.  Trees in Buddhism are perfection.   I have been contemplating that one ever since, I am not sure I am ready for Tree-Ness… but, perhaps that is so.

My friend who is also a yoga teacher, tattoo artist, sailor, internet marketer, you name it,  was over for New Years Eve.  A couple of us stayed up late, and this topic came up.  As the 3 of us sat there, chatting about death, he said that he got the chance to live with a man who was dying.  He rented this man a room in his house so that he could die in peace.  The Man and He talked about dying often as the Buddhist do, and when he did die, it was very peaceful because they both accepted that this was going to happen.  By the time it happened, he said, the Man was so ready, that he looked happy about it.  My friend said that, whatever ends up happening after death, He is sure that it will be incredible, because we have a God that would have it no other way.

He also spoke of a Zen teacher who would do a long chant while with her Sangha (Spiritual Community) and at the very end her words were, “Don’t waste time.”  This is what sits with me today. “Not wasting time.”  I feel very confident that I am here to fulfill a purpose that was given to me before birth, perhaps many births ago.  I can chose to follow this Path of Seeking and Spirituality, of Love, Presence, Discovery, and Peace, or I can chose not to.

What are your thoughts on aging and death?  I am open to ALL beliefs, I believe it is important that I and We stay teachable, open.  I respect your beliefs.  Remember, we don’t have to agree on everything.  That is what open communication and discussion is all about.  I ask that you respect each others beliefs on this thread as it grows, with love, peace, and good faith.

Finally, I leave you with a quote that my dear friend who passed on Thanksgiving Day left on his Facebook… “If you surround yourself with beautiful things, you become the things that you see.” 

Be the beauty that you inherently are.  All you have to do is look in the mirror; it has been there all along.  Every day, from the day you were born until the day that you leave this body, you are perfection, and please don’t miss an opportunity to embrace that and share it with others.  You have a unique purpose that is Yours and Yours only.  Tap in to it.  Don’t waste time.

 

Namaste,

Alana Roach

E-RYT, CYT, Wellness Promoter and Writer

www.facebook.com/AlanaRoachYoga

AlanaRoachYoga@Gmail.comfencecnavy

 

Check out this article on the process of aging and death from a Buddhist perspective ,“Once there is a deep acceptance of death, life will happen to you in enormous proportions.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sadhguru/death-spirituality-_b_1409625.html

Category: Fashion and Beauty

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Alana’s love for yoga came from firsthand experience with just how powerful the practice is. “In 2009, Yoga found me. Inside the studio, she experienced a deep sense of belonging, but the most profound part was what happened after. “I felt as though I was at true peace. I finally knew what the word meant. Until that moment, I had just understood it cerebrally. There is something profound to be said about Peace dropping into the heart.” Read More

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