It's Easter time, and I have just finished a thirty day yoga challenge!  My first one ever and, to be honest, I never thought it would be possible. But, here I am 30 days later and I am so much stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally.  The ambition boost you get when you accomplish something you committed to is invaluable.  With this item crossed off my bucket list, I also got to shed a limiting thought: 'I won’t be able to be very physically active due to my flat feet.' A though I have been holding on to since high school. But yoga is slowly helping to change my posture and strengthen the arches in my feet. I have also challenged the idea that good physical activity should be a struggle.  Yoga encourages you to relax in order to become stronger, and to release in order to go deeper. 

I wonder what Easter means to you?  Does it remind you of the Energizer bunny commercials?  For me, it is the time of year where I pause to think about the burdens I am carrying that have long since passed their best before date. As I mentioned, yoga helped me to confront a few ‘that’s impossible’ thoughts and ‘i can’t do that’ comments.  Those comments serve, on one level, to keep me safe from failure.  If I never try, then I’ll never fail.  Problem solved!  But, being intimidated by the unknown, and deciding I could never produce an album, for example, because ‘I’m not talented enough’, ‘I don’t know enough’, or ‘I don’t have enough money’ are all fear-based thought patterns that stop me from realizing the fullest expression of who I am.  When I believe that ‘I don’t know enough’, I make an assumption that others know more than me.  But the truth, I often discover, isn’t that others know more to begin with, they are just brave enough to take a risk and make mistakes until they figure it out. 

Easter reminds me to examine the limiting beliefs I have, nail them to the cross, and move forward a new person. 

What junk are you carrying around? 

-S

This past saturday I played some live music at a little cafe in Vancouver called Cuppa Joy, with some friends. Way to much fun, and lots of great support from my family and friends. How did life get so good? 
-S

I write this post from the big, smoggy, happening city of Hong Kong, where I have been vacationing/working/enjoying myself for the past month.  My father being from here, I expected to visit maybe once or twice in my lifetime, but this is now my 6th time here.  My sisters both live here now, as do my adorable niece and nephew.  It is a wonderful place full of busy, ambitious and motivated people whose creativity is embraced and welcomed with open arms.  Everyone I meet here believes my 'vacation' will never end; that I will decide to stay here as they had when they were expecting to leave.  I can see why the've stayed.  It's an infectious city with millions of things happening at all times of the day and night and many friendly faces you seem to run into daily.  Most of the people I have met have moved here for an occupation or big opportunity and ended up loving it so much, they stayed. 

Traveling around the world has been a big part of my life for the past 5 years and I am very aware how lucky I am to say that.  Seeing different countries and their cultures for extended periods of time has shown me alternate ways of life.  I try to take the things I appreciate from every place I visit and remember to use them in my own life, no matter where I am.  Hong Kong has taught me to be driven, Perth-friendly, Laos-outgoing, Fox Glacier-brave, Rome-strong... and Paris has taught me that I love pastries. 

I am thankful for every experience, good and bad, that I have because I know they are building me into the person I will become. My flight is booked to come home April 4th.  Even though I'm not moving to Hong Kong as of now, I promise to take this slice of Chinese life with me when I go. 

-B

I, Sara, have been in Vancouver for about one and a half years now.  Hows about a bit of an update/peek into my life out here? 

I've been thinking about words to use instead of busy.  I was once encouraged to say ‘full’, but even that doesn't provoke a positive feeling for me.  'My days are stuffed' is a light-hearted thing to say... Regardless of the word I use, my schedule, as of late, has left little room for sleep, and I am really happy about it!

If I was busy with too much work, I wouldn't be so pumped.  But, most of my days are laced with moments of creativity, scheduled creative classes, meals with friends, or Yoga. 
Here is a spattering of what my past week included:

As I am typing this blog, on my new BlackBerry Playbook, mind you, it is 12:30 a.m. and I am on the SeaBus heading home after a music practice with a friend who I will be playing at a coffee shop with on March 23rd.  We literally sang until we could sing no more.  There is nothing I would rather do than sing until my head is pounding and I have to stop. 

I had the absolute privilege of auditing a class with Michele Lonsdale Smith earlier this week.  She teaches animal and sensory work.  Boy, is she intuitive when it comes to pushing actors to go deeper and connect.  It really inspired me.  She talked about mastering the craft of acting taking years, and for the first time I heard that comment with ease and acceptance.  I used to panic when presented with the thought that I would be ‘good’ at this for years, thinking ‘but I have to be great now or I’ll never make it.’  Now I hear that and think, ‘that’s fine, there is nothing else I would rather spend my life doing than taking a journey to become a better actor and a better person.’

A second new experience this week was being a 'reader' for a film audition.  I wasn't auditioning but reading the other characters opposite those auditioning.  I then stuck around to watch call backs where the main choices for each character were paired together.  It was quite fascinating to see how people bring out different qualities in each other and how much chemistry plays into booking a role.

I am on day 9 of a 30 day yoga challenge, something I always thought would be impossible.  So to prove myself wrong, I picked the busiest month I have had in years and decided to find a way to jam it in there. 

The last new thing at the moment is a Publicity mentorship I have started with the Cultch (a performance art space/company in Vancouver), helping to promote their youth driven arts festival, IGNITE! It's super exciting to be part of a Cultch driven event and get to learn more about funding and promoting arts.

Along with all these awesome time engagers, I am taking one scene class, one on camera class, and one writing class a week, while working three jobs.  That is the update from out here in the beautiful city of Vancouver.  If you haven’t heard the song I Am a Light by Sarah Slean, hop to it.  It’s filling my ears as I walk the streets of Vancouver these days. 

-S

You may have caught the behind-the-scenes photos of our Fashion For Freedom shoot a short while ago that were posted on our Poiemagals instagram page by Poiema Gal Melissa.  Here's a deeper look into the hard work and behind-the-scenes fun that went into making this shoot a success.  For this special project, we recruited Brittany from Brittany Paige Photography with her mom, Marj Balser, to take our photos to a whole other level.  I decided to take some photos of the details that brought this whole day together, from the hair and make-up (done by the wonderful Erin Clemmer), to the lights, to the social networking.  Our location was a beautiful home built in 1914 that was being renovated at the time of the shoot.  A big thank you to Lydia Lawrence, Nadia Candido, and Claire Brandenbarg for being our fabulous models, and to Howard and Carmen Lawrence for sharing their home with us.  You can check out Brittany's professional photos on our Fashion For Freedom pages, the official Fashion For Freedom website, and on all the promotional materials for this exciting event.  The photos in this post are by yours truly.

-B

         Fashion For Freedom is an event in support of the A21 Campaign that aims to abolish human trafficking. 
                                                                           Saturday, April 27th.  
                               For tickets or to find out how you can be involved, visit www.fashionforfreedom.ca.