Alex & Lily - {Acro-Yoga Feature}

I am really excited to share these images with you and to feature these lovely ladies here on the blog. I am becoming more and more fascinated with Acro-Yoga. It is absolutely amazing to me! This photo shoot was so magical and I am beyond grateful Alex and Lily let me spend a couple of hours inside their world. These shoots are always my favorite because we both donate our time to each other and there is no pressure, just room to create art. I like to get creative with the shooting and editing process and really try things outside the box from my normal process.  

 

Below you will find more info on each of these ladies... I hope you enjoy!

 

 

Meet Alex:

 

My first Acro experience happened in the desert at Burning Man 2008.  It was love at first flight!  It took me a few years to find someone that wasn't lost in translation when I shared my mind blowing experience.  In 2010, I finally found what I was looking for in the heart of Sacramento.  A small seed was planted.  Needless to say, I had no idea the true beauty that tiny seed possessed.  From that little seed grew a community & with community came connection.  By connecting with other humans I began this adventure into communication using tools like trust & openness.  It was huge for me to vocalize my needs, and in return, to be receptive of others needs too.  This practice had cracked open my soul and it didn't take long for me to develop a full blown AcroYoga addiction.

I love being upside-down!  Even as a child I loved standing on my head & inverting in every way possible.  Born in Reno, Nevada, I had the opportunity to see many Cirque du Soliel  shows with my Pop.  It was inevitable that I wanted to join the circus.  A dream I literally had since I could walk.  Finding Acro was a childhood fantasy come true.

My yoga practice brings awareness to my own body & mind, through breath & asana.  AcroYoga not only encourages you to be aware of your own mind & body, but your partner's as well!  Finding rhythm through trust, clear communication & openness, two people can begin to flow with each other.  The movement is beautiful, but the deep connection that can be shared is breathtaking!  Connecting with all spirits is something I think we as humans have lost touch with.  Acro ignites my spirit!  And through teaching I am able to share my spirit's passion.  Sharing the power of connection through play makes us all feel wild & free, just like a kid.  One of my greatest teachers likes to ask:  "Are you moving, or being moved?".  For me, my practice really solidified when I discovered Acro was much deeper than the physical movement that one sees.  It blends the structure of acrobatics, with the symbology of yoga & the healing touch of massage.  Making this practice an adventure to reflect in many aspects of my life.

For all of Alex's Acro offerings be sure to join CalCoAcro on Facebook & also follow @CalCoAcro on Instagram.

 

 

Meet Lily:

My practice started while in my mama's womb. Yoga gave her a different way of looking at the world, a different way of interacting with her relationship to herself. I'm incredibly grateful for the greatest gift she's ever given me: Yoga.

I received my 200-hour Yoga teacher training in July of 2012. Then, coming home to the studio where my practice solidified, I was blessed enough to start teaching there. The Studio Reno has been a home base for a long time, and now I've been teaching there for well over a year.

My classes are a mixture of inspiration from some lovely ladies: Janet Stone, Shiva Rae, Annie Carpender, Dena Amsterdam, Amy Harris, Melissa Martinez and Carol Lyons. I actively attempt to help people see the gift that is awareness. Using pranayama, organic flows, essential oils, circular arrangements, chanting, partner work, quotes, closed eyes, and stillness I promote an exploration of your place in the world. There's an extended invitation in all of my classes to release the habitual patterns, the habitual stories that our constantly churning in our minds. We move through our practice honoring where ever we happen to be, and exploring where that can take us. Connecting to the Apana Viau, the downward moving energy, we are allowed to ground back to whatever it is that inspires us.

 I've completed workshops in Acro Yoga, Partner Yoga, yin yoga, slack lining, raw food preparation, gardening and permaculture, natural building, and meditation techniques. I hope to create a more joyful and free community through my practices and learning. I am an avid gardener and work at a beautiful Raw food restaurant, called "The Seed."

I'm lucky to be able to offer private yoga classes, with flexible rates. I am confident that I can provide a personalized and fulfilling practice. Where we are able to work through any physical or mental tension.

A huge thank you to Alex & Lily for letting me be apart of their passion and in return getting to share my own. You both are incredibly inspirational people and I feel honored to have worked with you!

 

♥ Angel

Mother/Daughter love.

  This is my 25th post since I re-started my blog and I am super excited that I have made sure to stick with it and if you are reading this I am thankful for you! In that past two weeks I have seen a huge growth in my business and I couldn't be more thankful for all the support and love! I have a quite the variety of post's planned for the next couple of weeks and I am thrilled to share it all with you!

 

  A couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to photograph a friend and her daughter. Kellie and I went to school together when we were really, really little. I want to say around six or seven. We go way back and the funny thing is she also moved to Arizona at one point and we lived about two hours away from each other. We couldn't quite get our schedules to work when we lived there so I never got the chance to meet her beautiful daughter till this photo session. Kellie's daughter has such a calm and sweetness to her but also a bold and spontaneous side, much like her mother did when she was younger. :) 

  We chose to do the photo session at Ironstone Vineyards because I constantly was hearing about how beautiful all the flowers were that they planted for Spring. It was the perfect location and the weather was on point! I hope you enjoy the photos of these two lovely gals!

  Stay tuned for another recent photo session with my dear friend Alex and her friend Lily showing off their Acro-Yoga skills. Hope everyone has had a lovely Tuesday!

-Angel

April, Zeb and Kids {Family Portaits/Maternity}

This little family is one of my favorites to photograph, they are the BEST! I may be a little biased considering it's my sister and her growing family. Since I have moved back I've had the opportunity to photograph their family portraits a couple times and I couldn't wait to get that baby bump in front of my camera!

 

Since I was a little girl I have admired my sister and her beauty. We didn't grow up in the same home (she is my half sister) and I would receive pictures from her prom or graduation and I always felt like I got the short end of the stick when it came to the beauty aspect. She is flawless and even more-so when pregnant. How does that even happen?! :) I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to have such a wonderful sister in my life. I am blessed beyond belief to be able to call her family!

 

 

You will notice through these images that my little niece Lexie is the biggest goofball. The last two images have wayyyy too much cuteness for me to handle. April & Zeb have their work cut out for them with this little one, that's for sure. This month they will be welcoming another little girl into the world and I look forward to getting to know her personality, I am curious to see if she has as much sass as Lexie. If so things will get really interesting!  :)

 

Hope you enjoyed this little family session and stay tuned for some more fun photo sessions coming up! -Angel