It was during university that I began studying meditation. At the time, I was just looking for answers. I was a stressed out 20 year old (psychology student) with all the dramas of relationships, work and maintaining a high academic standard. With graduation on the horizon, I knew I needed a change. I didn’t like where I was headed.

Meditation opened the floodgates for me. I began reading up on the subject and was fascinated in particular with Daoist and Buddhist literature. Upon graduation, I left my native California to travel and further my studies. Like anyone that age, I just wanted to be free. Free from the constraints of society and free to create my life as I wanted. Within a year I found myself living in the Czech Republic. It was there that I first began training Qi Gong (strange, I know). Just like seated meditation, I was hooked. I practiced like a fiend, amazed at how much more interesting life was becoming.

As time went on, I went from Europe to Asia. Traveling, studying and taking in as much as possible, I couldn’t get enough. In 2004 I moved to Japan. Studying Zazen (Zen Meditation), Reiki, and Qi Gong in Kyoto was nothing short of amazing. The history, the discipline, the beauty – mind blowing. But there was something about all of it that sparked my interest in China. So, after 3 years in Japan, I moved to Beijing to deepen my practice.

Chaotic and heavily polluted, China was the Wild West compared to my life in Kyoto. Growing up as a martial artist (Shotokan Karate), I thought I would know what to expect in terms of training. But the Chinese Kung Fu was not what I thought. People often ask about my daily routine in China (4-5 hours of training per day) and say, ‘Oh, it must have so nice!’ or ‘My, how lucky you must have been.’ But let me tell you, it was brutal. Master Zhang Yu Fei was crazy demanding. I don’t think he was nice to me, even once, for the first year. But I stuck it out. And he came around – in a big way.

Thinking back over my travels always puts a smile on my face. Immersed in Asia for over 7 years, I learned a lot about myself. Strange how we sometimes have to uproot in order to find out who we really are.

These days my practice looks very different than it used to be. Sitting on a top of mountain in Kyoto and feeling one with the universe was easy in comparison to my life now. Here in Toronto, I work at maintaining that awareness in the streets and at home with my family. Reiki, Meditation, Qi Gong and Tai Chi changed my life, but they were never the point. Beyond category and limitation, I studied these practices to become free from habits that no longer served me.