The Four Universal Forms of Meditation: Why Sitting Isn't The Only Way To Meditate

Can't stand the thought of sitting for 20 minutes to meditate? 

Can barely fathom sitting still for even 5 minutes?

Does your brain & body hurt just thinking about trying to sit & meditate?

Is your consciousness f***ed?!

Definitely not. Maybe your mind, body & emotions are calling for a different mode of meditation. One that accesses another physical posture other than sitting.

There are other modes of meditation that are just as powerful and harness different, equally important, aspects of human development. 

Even if you have been hardly awake the last few years, chances are that you have noticed that meditation has become popular in our society. If you haven't noticed and are reading this then you are now caught up with the rest of us. :)

Honestly, it seems like there has been an epidemic of meditation in the U.S. in recent years. All of the en vogue celebrities & gurus are touting it, there are numerous meditation apps available, and many companies offer it to their employees as a benefit (mine does).

I think it's awesome that we have reached a point in our society where the emphasis on the development of our consciousness is widely accepted and encouraged. Definitely a tipping point in our evolution as a species in my opinion.

But what if you've tried traditional seated meditation and for whatever reason can't stick to it or cant stand it no matter how many times and types you've tried . . .  ?

According to the late Angeles Arrien, PhD, there are four universal forms or postures of meditation found among almost all societies across the globe and throughout our collective history.

If seated meditation has not been working for you, maybe you are trying too hard or maybe it is time to embrace one of the other ways below. Chances are you already do one or more without even realizing it.

The Four Universal Forms (or Postures) of Meditation:

1. Seated Meditation

According to Arrien, seated meditation accesses WISDOM.  Something all of us could always use more of. 

Seated meditation embodies the Teacher-Archetype.

Think of the great wise teachers throughout our history -- Ghandi, Einstein, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Aristotle, Socrates, etc. All of them spent a lot of time in seated meditation. Within they found deep & profound insight that they in turn shared with the world, elevating all of us to higher states of consciousness and greater ways of being in our shared-world.

For many of us, these figures may appear to be superhuman and beyond our personal relate-ability. This is often due to the fallible thinking of comparing one's place on their journey to the journey of another. This kind of thinking almost always creates self-doubt and leads to stagnation.

I believe we all have something to teach & we all have innate wisdom that we can tap.

I also believe that we often make things way too hard. Especially, seated meditation. I was guilty of this. Making things harder than they need to be is something I constantly have to guard against (see here for insight on how I've began to overcome this life-challenge).

The seated form is what most people think of when they hear the word meditation. And unfortunately many of us think that if we cannot sit cross-legged or in full or half lotus pose then we are not cut out to meditate. I was one of these people up until about 2 years ago.  

Spiritual hipster incarnate... Seated meditation under a tree harnessing inner wisdom.

Many people can't sit crossed legged, in lotus, or upon their shins in the traditional Japanese sitting posture "seiza" (see picture above) for more than a few minutes without experiencing mild-to-major discomfort (myself included unless I have been practicing yoga regularly).

Fortunately, I discovered that sitting in some "proper" way is just societal conditioning & the over-marketing of how meditation "should" look. This was spawned from our idolization of those monastic people who spend all day doing yoga, martial arts and seated meditation. People who have deliberately physically trained their body to sit for long periods of time in "traditional" seated meditation postures.

In truth, if you can sit in a regular chair or couch or can sit upon a bed with your back against the headrest and your legs stretched straight out in front of you (my preferred way) then you can do seated meditation. The key to seated meditation is to keep your spine & neck straight, but relaxed. Almost everyone can find a sitting position that personally works for them that achieves proper spinal alignment.

2. Lying Meditation

This is another important posture of meditation that we often forget about. Or we don't realize that it is an awesome way of meditating because we associate it with sleeping.

And in our society if it is too easy or not difficult enough then we faultily think that we are doing it wrong or that it isn't working.

Lying meditation is all about HEALING & LOVE, keeping with Arrien's framework. Intuitively, this makes a lot of sense. It is what most of us do naturally when we feel physically unwell. It is also what we do with our loved ones to cultivate love. Also known as snuggling or cuddling.  

This form of meditation is part of the the Healer-Archetype. 

Shavasana or "corpse pose" in yoga is a lying meditation most yoga classes use to integrate the session at the end while cultivating healing & recovery.

We can use this posture of meditation to heal beyond just the physical aspect of our nature. Mental, emotional, and spiritual healing can be accessed and accelerated in this position.

Shivasana, aka corpse pose, is used in most yoga classes and is probably the most common form of lying meditation.

Lying massages of all types can also be used to meditate. I've personally experienced many transcendental moments during a great massage.

Another, more advanced, but fairly accessible modern day version of this lying form of meditation is Holotropic Breathwork, pioneered by Stan Grof.

"Holotropic Breathwork is a powerful approach to self-exploration and healing that integrates insights from modern consciousness research, anthropology, various depth psychologies, transpersonal psychology, Eastern spiritual practices, and mystical traditions of the world. The name Holotropic means literally "moving toward wholeness" (from the Greek "holos"=whole and "trepein"=moving in the direction of something).

The process itself uses very simple means: it combines accelerated breathing with evocative music in a special set and setting. With the eyes closed and lying on a mat, each person uses their own breath and the music in the room to enter a non-ordinary state of consciousness. This state activates the natural inner healing process of the individual's psyche, bringing him or her a particular set of internal experiences. With the inner healing intelligence guiding the process, the quality and content brought forth is unique to each person and for that particular time and place. While recurring themes are common, no two sessions are ever alike."

To date I've undergone two Breathworks and both times had incredibly healing and transformative experiences. I was blessed because my Mom is trained in this particular healing modality. [Send her an email if you live in WA and are interested otherwise see here for worldwide Breathwork events]

This type of lying meditation may sound a bit out there, but it's growing in acceptance. Founder & CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, speaks openly about Breathwork's transformative power in The New Yorker.

Ayahuasca, LSD & magic mushrooms have grown in popularity among the in-crowds the last few years in our ongoing humankind search for healing & meaning. Breathwork is an awesome way to discover this and reach similar (or better) altered states of consciousness without taking drugs. Unlike drugs, there are no negative side-effects with Breathwork.

3. Standing Meditation

Standing meditation is rarely openly discussed in our current culture, yet it is incredibly powerful.

In a way, standing meditation has been repackaged into "power-poses" and standing affirmations. Two ideas that are talked about more often in our society.

I like to picture myself in a powerful superman silhouette upon a sky-scraper looking upon the city with the wind holding my cape afloat.

Or sometimes I picture myself upon the ledge of an Arizona red-rock cliff with the camera doing a 360-degree pan.

And sometimes I stand in a classic Wolverine pose in front of the mirror and just harness wild-beast energy.

Standing meditation accesses PRESENCE and cultivates our ability to honor boundaries and limits, as stated by Arrien.

This is the meditation of the Warrior-Archetype. Something that has always been programmed into our consciousness.  

Throughout history and all civilizations we as a human species capture this warrior energy in our pictures, paintings, and statues of powerful humans in powerful poses.

Heroic statues stand guard around the globe. They often mark the entryway to our homes, institutions, various sacred areas, and even our country (statue of liberty).

Standing meditation overlooking Silicon Valley.

 

4. Walking (or Moving) Meditation

Walking and moving meditation accesses INNER CREATIVITY (VISION) and it harnesses the Visionary-Archetype.  

It should come as no surprise that many of mankind's most visionary artists, writers, scientists, and thinkers had a daily practice of moving meditation. Many of them were habitual walkers.

Mason Curry covers many of these famous minds and their daily moving meditations in his book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work.

Moving meditation can also come in the form of cooking, cleaning, swimming and various physical sports.

I even think driving can be a moving meditation. Not stuck-in-traffic-driving, but the kind where you are cruising along.

Same goes for bathing in the shower, a place where ideas seem to flow through our bodies like the water cascading over us.

There is something magical about moving and letting your mind unwind itself.  Whether it's working through a current problem and finding a creative solution or ideating for all areas of life there is something naturally powerful about meditative movement.

Whether by conscious design or happenstance we have all had this experience and as Arien states, " When our body is moving & open, we become vehicles for creative problem-solving."

Many cultures use this type of moving-meditation to reclaim one's authentic Self.  Aboriginals of Australia have their "walkabouts" and Native Americans use "vision quests". Even in our modern day, people of many first world countries go "backbacking" through Europe or road trip through America to rediscover themselves.

Through movement we can remember who we are and why we came here.

No matter the type of preferred movement we can all get into altered states of consciousness. The trick is to notice which ones work especially well for you in your life as it is right now.

If you have the time & resources to go on vision quest, walkabout, backpack, road-trip, etc.  Go take a journey that reconnects you with your Self.

If an extended meditation of that type doesn't fit your life how can you cultivate moving meditation in your life today?  It's fairly easy if you don't make it harder than it needs to be.

I go on walks and ride my bike daily. I body-build and practice yoga weekly as well--two more awesome moving meditations.

Friends of mine practice martial arts like kung fu & tai-chi.

My fiance goes to SoulCycle and has regular "spiritual experiences" and emotional breakthroughs during class. 

Runners & marathoners are classic modern moving-meditators.

My fiance & I rollerblade together. Another favorite moving meditation of mine. It feels like flying to me and my mind always feels free & expansive as I journey through urban landscapes.

Hiking through nature is another personal favorite moving meditation. Whether in the foothills, through a park, deep in the mountains, or along a beach. [Side Tangent: Nature is an especially powerful amplifier and cultivator of all types of meditation.]

Moving meditation empowers me to remember what has heart & meaning to me in my life. It helps me remember who I really am and always provides creative answers that are endowed with personal integrity. Answers that help me move through whatever beguiling situations I find myself in during the course of my time here.

My walking meditation includes looking like a badass . . . 😎😜

Alchemical Learnings:

1. Meditation is a natural phenomenon that everyone experiences.
2. The key to regular meditation is doing it in a way that truly works for you.
3. We can consciously harness different types of meditation to access different archetypes & powers. In review:
   1. Seated Meditation: Archetype = Teacher, Power = Wisdom
   2. Lying Meditation: Archetype = Healer, Power = Love & Healing
   3. Standing Meditation: Archetype = Warrior, Power = Presence & Boundaries
   4. Walking (Moving) Meditation: Archetype = Visionary, Power = Inner Vision (Creativity)

Alchemical Resources:

1. The Four-Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, & Visionary by Angeles Arrien, PhD.
2. Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey.
3. Awakening Spirits: A Native American Path to Inner Peace, Healing, & Spiritual Growth by Tom Brown Jr.
4. Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom by Rich Hanson, PhD with Richard Mendius, MD.
5. Have some other awesome meditation related resources? Please reference them in comments, email me, or tweet me! 🙏🏼

Alchemical Opportunity for the reader:

1. Consciously identify the types of meditation you already naturally do in your life. Notice which of the Four Universal Forms of Meditation they fall under.
2. Choose one of the Four Universal Forms of Meditation that you currently do not practice and find an easy & fun way to add it into your life as it is now. [more on choosing easy & fun here]
3. If seated meditation has been difficult for you try it in news ways:
   • Use a personally comfortable sitting position.
   • Try out different types of seated meditation. I.E. Breath-based, guided, body-scan, mantra-based, chanting, listening to binaural beats, etc.
   • Try using an app like Headspace.
4. Want to go deeper? Try a breathwork, go on a vision quest, partake in a weekend meditation or yoga retreat, take a road-trip, or even go backpacking through a part of the world that has been silently calling to you.

““As gold purified in a furnace loses its impurities and achieves its own true nature, the mind gets rid of the impurities of the attributes of delusion, attachment and purity through meditation and attains Reality.” – Adi Shankara”

Developing our consciousness is a worthy cause for all of us. It empowers our lives in so many ways and there is a huge growing body of scientific evidence that supports the positive effects of meditation on all areas of life.

But more importantly, meditation does not have to be hard. It is something all of us can do. If we take a little conscious energy to explore we can find ways to meditate that suit us particularly well. And in doing so we can return to our Self, mine our inner gold, and be of the highest benefit to everyone we come into connection with. Including ourselves.

In alchemy & service,

Justin David Carl 🌒

P.S. My mission is to empower people & organizations to transform & self-actualize. Meditation & consciousness development is a huge part of that. If you enjoyed this article please share it! 🙏🏼

💪🏼🌱🥳 It’s my 40th birthday & I went Raw Vegan! ⏩ Swipe to see what I ate! Ok, I’m not truly a Raw Vegan, just Vegan for over 2-years now! Woohoo! I had the good fortune to savor a lovely Raw Vegan Birthday Meal at @rawlovetulum! I thoroughly enjoyed the following: 1. Black Bean Burger 2. Maki Roll 3. Living Pizza (personal fav) 4. Coconut Curry Feeling incredibly grateful for my 30s — all the special people, trials, tribulations, growth & success. The tough parts, the beautiful parts, and everything in between! All my experiences up until now have helped to shape the man I am today & the ever-evolving man I am becoming with each new day. Looking back on my life experiences & the people in it with the deepest of Gratitude 🙏🏼, anchoring myself in the Divine Beauty of the PRESENT 😇🎁 & looking forward to the Epic Adventure of my 40s! 🤘🏼😅🤘🏼 YEEHAWWW!!! Feeling nothing but Raw Love! 🙌🏼💗🐲 #veganbirthday #rawvegan #veganfitness #vegan #veganmuscle #veganfood #veganbodybuilding #tulum #fitvegan

I am NOT on the Carnivore diet. But I am definitely on the Greens. While on holiday vacation I had a few people come up to me at the gym in Huntington Beach & ask if the reason I am so fit is because I eat a lot of meat & am on the carnivore diet. The first time this happened I told the guy I was Vegan & he looked at me with a confused look like I was speaking another language. I went on to tell him that I only eat plants (no animal products) & his confusion still continued… He went on to tell me that he’s been seeing a lot of super muscular people online toting the Carnivore Diet as the key to their fitness. I went on to explain that unfortunately a lot of these people pushing the meat diet are likely taking some serious steroids to achieve their physical appearance. Plus, meat & dairy consumption along w/ steroids is going to cost them in the long-run in terms of longevity & healthspan—meaning how healthy they will be during their lifespan. Real scientific studies show us that the healthiest longest living people eat a predominantly whole food plant-based diet & that many diseases are either caused by and/or exacerbated by the consumption of meat & dairy. Fortunately, now there are tons of people showing us that not only can you have a science-backed Vegan diet that promotes optimal healthspan & longevity working in your favor but you can also be super muscular & jacked eating & living this way. I’m just one example that you can be a super fit ~40yo 100% Natural Vegan Bodybuilder with a wife & full-time professional career in tech. You don’t even need to be a full time athlete or fitness influencer or compete in bodybuilding shows (I never have). All you need to be super fit, muscular & healthy AF is the right mindset, diet, lifestyle & habits. 👉🏼The new @vedgenutrition Organic Greens drops today! It’s a key part of my daily fitness wellbeing strategy to incorporate 15 Superfoods for optimal energy, immunity, digestion & healthspan! And it tastes so good! 💪🏼🌱Code DRAGON to save 🐲 #vegan #veganbodybuilding #carnivore #carnivorediet #veganfitness #greensmoothie #greens

🤔 I’m curious what holiday traditions healthy & fit people incorporate into their lives? As a newly married man, I’ve been thinking a lot about what kind of family holiday traditions we want to design into the fabric of our lives. Here’s what we did for Thanksgiving Weekend: The Phoenix cooked up a truly Divine Vegan Spread that included Shepard’s Pie, Bacon Wrapped Dates & freshly made cranberry sauce. We capped it off with some Plant-Based @benandjerrys on top of a pumpkin brownie. My day started with my regular morning practice of meditation, journaling, tracking/planning, goals/visualization, creativity, affirmations, reading & an early morning workout (leg day) at the gym. It was inspiring to be at a gym that was actually quite busy on Thanksgiving. Love witnessing others living a Fitness Lifestyle! Throughout the day I connected with my Mom, Dad, family & friends through the gift of technology. When I came home from the gym the Phoenix was cooking up a storm. We’ve recognized that cooking on the Holiday is usually the highest joy for the Phoenix. The Dragon is a lucky beneficiary of this. I drew myself an Epsom Salt Bath & soaked while the Phoenix finished cooking. Been doubling down on my recovery these days. [Key if you train frequently & want to stay in top shape at ~40.] I fasted until our first meal around 1pm. This is pretty typical for me as I intermittent fast most days for 80-90% of the year. [Simple strategy to avoid overeating at a planned holiday meal.] The Phoenix delivered a thoughtful grace before we dug in. Good convo & delicious food were had. After our first meal, the Phoenix read in bed while the Dragon took an epic 2-hour nap by her side. Upon arising we watched a fun movie (Red Notice) then had more food & dessert. Then it was off to bed nice & early (typical for Dragon since I awake very early). Later that weekend we took a day trip adventure to Santa Cruz. For me, it was a perfectly healthy, fit, & fun celebration! #vegan #veganthanksgiving #veganholiday

What happens when Vegan Athletes get together? They go do a @Spartan Obstacle Course Race together! And before the race, they dry-scoop @vedgenutrition Pre-Workout & Nitro Pump because that is what Fit Vegan Savages do! Such an epic time with @nimai_delgado @alexanderbvck @luckiesigouin running through the mountains of Castaic & tackling obstacles together! It was a crystal clear blue sunny day & Gaia was regal AF in all her magnificent! Afterward, we hit up the @veganexchangela (my first time) to refuel & demolish some delicious vegan food! I had the Pitmaster from @leaf_over_beef which included an @impossible_foods patty, Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork, Mac & Cheese, Cabbage, Pickles all on a Pretzel Bun. So good! We even ran into @leo_fit_life, another Vedge Athlete, who helps put on the Vegan Exchange. The Vedge Athletes are always up to life-enhancing endeavors! Good times w/ good friends, lots of laughs, fitness, some grit & blood, nature time, deep convo & delicious food were all par for the course. All in all, it was a super Epic Vegan Adventure! This is the kind of stuff that lifelong cherished memories are made of! Next up for the Vedge Team: maybe a massive 50+ mile cycling event or a Vision Quest! YEEHAW!! 🤘🏼🐲🤘🏼 #vegan #veganfitness #spartan #veganfood #veganlifestyle

👉🏼What do you do when you get together with your Vegan Friends? During my SoCal road trip last month I got to meet up w/ one of my favorite people @nimai_delgado & spend the day doing what Fit Vegans do when they get together. We started our man-date at @goldsgym Venice (of course) fueled by the Holy Trinity aka the @vedgenutrition Pre/Pump/Creatine+ stack to get in a solid back & biceps workout. While at the gym we ran into Simon Hill @plant_proof which was super fun for me as a longtime listener & fan of the good work he does. After that, it was back to Nimai’s crib to refuel w/ Vedge Plant Pro & have deep talks about the future of the Vedge Community—very exciting stuff to come! Then it was time to hit the beach on skates/blades & soak up that solar ocean energy! On our way back we ran into @luckiesigouin! Seriously gotta love the Vegan Mecca that Venice seems to be! Throughout the entire day, Nimai & I spent a lot of time talking about many important life areas like career/calling, goals, dreams & aspirations, personal development, books, fitness, work/life balance, relationships, etc. Nimai & I always seem to go super deep whenever we connect, but I think that’s pretty typical of both of us! 🤓 After our Venice & Santa Monica roll, I got to try out Vedge’s forthcoming Organic Greens powder & was super impressed with the taste, consistency, & delicious flavor. Can’t wait for that to get released! Somehow we did not make it to a Vegan lunch spot, but I was riding high on good energy/synergy so I hardly noticed! 😅 Ultimately, we had an empowering Vegan Man-Date full of fitness, nature time, deep talks, life/goals ideation/strategy, & more all fueled by plant power! 💪🏼🌱 Next up we're doing a Vedge Team @spartan Sprint! ⚔️ This is what an awesome Vegan Lifestyle worth living looks like for me! YEEHAW!! 🤘🏼🐲🤘🏼 #vegan #veganfitness #veganbodybuilding #veganlifestyle

When I leveled up my Life & went 99% Vegan at the beginning of 2020 there was one aspect of my new lifestyle that wasn’t quite in line—my sports supplements. Specifically, my pre-workout stack. For months I tried a bunch of different Vegan Pre-Workout formulas from various companies but none of them hit like the non-vegan pre-workout I was taking so I kept going back it. This left me very conflicted. I even asked my wife if I could publicly say that I was Vegan if I was knowingly taking a supplement that was not 100% Vegan. Her response was “no.” And in my heart I knew she was right because that would be inauthentic. Then something amazing happened towards the end of 2020. I had recently become a Vedge Elite Athlete & to my great excitement they released a 100% Vegan Pre-Workout! And guess what…? It hit HARD! 👊🏼 It got me super amped to crush my workouts & I was regularly hitting new PRs! 📈 And there’s more! There was no crash afterwards and it tasted so good! Plus you can stack it with Nitro Pump which is the non-stimulant version of the Pre-Workout for a truly incredible pump! 💪🏼 And the best part for me? I finally got to say that I was 100% Vegan & feel super good about it! 🌱😇 The gains & newfound energy/pump have been a close second best part! 😅 I’ve been battleground testing the Vedge Pre-Workout & Nitro Pump for the last year with every single workout I do & I can honestly say that it’s the best pre-workout stack available—whether or not you are Vegan. Happy to report I’m in the best shape of my life too! It has science-backed dosing of high quality organic ingredients from trusted sourcing. This is key because there is so much fluff & BS in most supplements. Most products on the market have a sprinkle of an ingredient & that will have zero effect. So, if you’re looking to take your workouts & fitness to the next level with a product that you can trust get yourself the @vedgenutrition Pre-Workout / Nitro Pump stack & light yourself on FIRE!! 🔥 👉🏼Use code DRAGON at checkout to save! And to support your favorite Life Alchemist! 🙏🏼💗🐲 ➖➖➖ #vegan #veganfitness #calisthenics #preworkout #gymnasticsrings Title PC: @isaacgautschi

Having work that makes us come ALIVE is a must for truly living a life worth living for. The longer I live the more I’ve learned what type of work lights me on fire & what type of work sucks away my life force. Over the years & decades, it’s mostly been a trial & error process of discovering the type of work that sparks me. And while that process has worked, I wonder how much time I could have saved from toiling away at work that did not light me up. I also wonder how many other people spend years if not decades or lifetimes doing work that doesn’t really make them feel like they’re doing what they were meant to do. So, when I discovered that @jonathanfields has spent the last several years rigorously developing a body of work, framework & test that allows one to identify the type of work that makes us truly shine (inwardly & outwardly) I immediately dived into his work he has compiled & distilled in his new best-selling book “SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes you Come Alive!” Through Jonathan’s work, I discovered my primary & secondary Work Archetype, or what he calls one’s Sparketype, and it was so empowering that I cried (true story). It was like finally being able to name something that I could sense subconsciously just below the surface, but was always just out of my conscious grasp. Identifying, naming & deeply understanding my Sparketype felt like a homecoming. Like a return to my True Self. And when I looked back on all my years of work it was always when I was doing the work of my primary Sparketype that I felt most alive & that I was the most successful! Through very good fortune I will be sitting down with Jonathan Fields for a Live Webinar to share his Sparketype work with others and it will be FREE to all who attend thanks to my company @getgarten. I’m so excited to share this with more people because what the world needs right now is more people who have come alive! 🗓 The Free Webinar will take place this Thursday 10/14 at 12pm PST. 👉🏼 Space is Limited & Registration is Required so please signup at Garten.co or through the link in my bio. Hope to see you there! 🙏🏼💗🐉 #work #worklife

First time trying Vegan African American Fusion! Who else has tried it? The Phoenix Wife @carlylynwise surprised me this weekend with a Day Trip to Santa Cruz! We’re in the process of figuring out where we want to buy a home so we’ve been exploring different areas. We donned our hiking shoes & explored some of the neighborhoods as well as the beach while getting in our steps. Urban hiking in new areas is always a great way to spend the day in my Life Alchemist opinion. It’s an awesome way to get in movement, expand your mind, add novelty, fantasize about living in a new place, get into meaningful deep conversations w/ another & so much more! Apparently, there was an Ironman going on while we were there so that added to the fun & excitement! We finished up the urban hike w/ a Vegan Lunch at @veg_ontheedge! We enjoyed the Èfo O L’Ogede (Plantain Curry), the Śuyà Burger made w/ a @beyondmeat patty, & Cassava Fries. It was a super delicious & hearty meal that expanded our tastebuds’ horizons! 🙏🏼❤️‍🔥🐉 P.S. If you have any recommendations for great places to live w/ good year-round weather that support a holistic wellbeing & fitness lifestyle w/ good-to-decent vegan options I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Extra points if the cost of living is reasonable! ➖➖➖ #daytrip #santacruz #urbanhiking #veganfood #veganafricanfood #vegancouple #veganlifestyle #lifealchemist

Is rollerblading cool again? As a kid there were a few summers where I probably rollerbladed almost every single day. I loved it so much that I would spend entire days rollerblading all over town. One of my teachers still tells the tale of how I would rollerblade down Main Street like I owned the place. To this day my childhood rollerblading adventures hold a special place in my heart & I have scar that will never let me forget. For whatever reason rollerblading somehow became uncool by the time I entered high school & like most teenagers who are overly concerned about what others think I let my childhood blading joy whither & die. Sometime around 2010 this wildfire of a woman invited me to go rollerblading. At first, I resisted thinking & saying it wasn’t cool anymore. She persisted. Eventually I gave in, bought a pair of blades & got back out there with her. That childhood magic I thought had died years ago reignited within moments of the first few rollerblade strides I took. A huge goofy grin came over my face. A lightness appeared in my body & I began to flow again. It truly felt magical. Like dancing in space. Because of my wife @carlylynwise I’ve been rollerblading for the last decade plus & I stopped caring whether it was considered cool or not. It brings me massive joy. It brings out my inner child. It empowers my mind, body & spirit to free flow. And that is all that really matters. For our wedding we captured some of the Rollerblading Magic back in my hometown & I’d like to think we look cool AF! 🤘🏼❤️‍🔥🐉 ➖➖➖ PC: @brittanybrenske Frames: @endlessblading Boots: @frskates @intuitionliners @powerslidebrand #rollerblading #inlineskating #rollerblade #rollerblades

Labor Day 7-years ago would be the last time I had alcohol… Although at the time I didn’t know it. After getting way too drunk in Half Moon Bay with my then girlfriend (now wife) I spent the car-ride home throwing up out the side of the car. I was a fuckin’ mess. The next day I felt like shit. No surprise. @carlylynwise informed me that she was going to consciously take a month off from drinking & she asked me if I’d like to join her. In my misery I glumly agreed to join her. This was the first time since I had started drinking at the age of 20 that I consciously decide to take a break. The first month went well. So well in fact that I asked my partner if we could do a second month. The second month felt good too & I was starting to notice that my mood swings had began to really level out. I was no longer waking up feeling depressed & emotional for no identifiable reason. In fact, I was feeling so much better all-around than I had in years. Something I never could have even noticed before because I had never gone more than a week or two without drinking in the last 12 years. So naturally, at the end of month 2 of sobriety I proposed to my partner that we do a 3rd month. Like the trailblazer she is she responded with “how about we try being #sober for 1-year.” I was like “Whoa now! A whole year?! I’m going to have to think about that.” I said I’d continue to be sober while I mulled it over. I came to the conclusion that since I had spent 12-years drinking, often excessively, especially while working in Hollywood Nightlife, that I could take 1-year & dedicate it to being sober. I figured it would be good for my body & mind. So, about a week after her 1-year of sobriety proposal I accepted & we embarked on the #soberlife journey together. 7-years later we’re still going strong, completely sober from all drugs & alcohol & it has been one of the best life-decisions we’ve ever made. We found ourselves, each other, our success, our happiness, our health, & so much more! I am forever grateful to my Wife for paving the way for us. 🙏🏼🤍🐉 ➖➖➖ PC1: @avnicreates PC2/3: @saraknobelphoto Suit: @ezracayman #sobriety #sobercouple #soberliving