365 Inspirations—131: Cirque du Soleil's 'O' Show

“ ‘O’ is liquid magic…”—

Los Angeles Times

I'm posting this early because I won't have internet access tomorrow. We are heading out on the town to see Cirque du Soleil's 'O' show. I've been anticipating this show for a long time. I'll add to this post later and let you know how it was. But for now I'll leave you with a video sneak peek of the show....

Have you ever seen a show that you would recommend? What was inspirational about it?

365 Inspirations—130: You Can Do Yoga Anywhere

"Vegas is purposefully constructed as a self-enclosed and isolated biosphere, sort of what a recreational colony built on the moon might be like."—Marc Cooper

For those of you who haven't guessed yet, we are in Las Vegas. Last Christmas we came here to celebrate Yoon's 40th birthday with some friends and we were so impressed by the Cirque du Soleil shows here (we saw Beatles Love and Zumanity), that we promised each other that we'd come back for our 10th year wedding anniversary to see 'O,' which is the masterpiece of Cirque du Soleil shows!

Tickets are not cheap to see 'O' and they are rarely discounted. People who have seen this show have told me that you will never see anything like it. The level of showmanship and choreography of this show is, apparently, unbeatable.

Since my husband is a yoga teacher, he is very impressed in these shows to see what the human body can actually do. He finds it inspirational.

Of course, you don't have to flexible or in any special place to do yoga. You can just start where you are and you'd be amazed at the results in only a few days.

I was told I'd never be flexible or be able to bend or touch my toes because of scoliosis. However, yoga has helped me in so many ways and wherever I am, I try and find a way to practice it!

Today at the pool at the Stratosphere Hotel, people were sunbathing, swimming and even sky diving off the top of the Stratosphere Tower.

 It was strange to  be sitting by the pool watching humans free fall off the building every now and then. But this is Vegas and anything goes.

Do you exercise or practice yoga. Do you do it on vacation or wherever you are?

365 Inspirations—One: Cirque Du Soleil Performers

"I never found anything that I would leave the circus to do...Like I never said, 'Oh, I want to be a veterinarian.'"—Alan J. Silva (Cirque du Soleil Performer)

My first inspiration for the new year has to be the Cirque du Soleil performers. Have you ever seen a Cirque du Soleil show? I saw my first show (The Beatles LOVE) on December 26, 2012 (my husband's 40th birthday) in Las Vegas.

I guess I didn't have many expectations. It's just a "refined"version of the circus, right? WRONG. These people train their entire lives and put on the most amazing and inspirational shows I have ever seen. The things the human body can do are unbelievable and they are only believable if you have the opportunity to watch a show.

I love the quote above because it shows that this performer has found his calling. He loves what he is doing and don't we all want to find that completely?

"When the audience [first] sees me, they never expect I will fly through the air," said Silva. Not just fly through the air, but fly through the air with only a few silk sheets holding him up!

Alan J. Silva was one of the many performers I saw that blew me away. He performed in the very provocative Cirque du Soleil show called Zumanity that plays at New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas. We also saw The Beatles LOVE show at the Mirage that was equally impressive.

After watching these two shows, my husband and I have decided that we'd like to return to Las Vegas in May for our 10th wedding anniversary. We'd really like to see "O" and "KA" next.

My husband is a yoga teacher at Yoon's Yoga Bliss in the Seattle area, so these performers really impressed him. I am a regular yoga student at Yoon's Yoga Bliss, but after seeing these performances, I'd like to practice yoga more (at least 2-3 times per week) and try an acrobatics class or an acro-yoga class at some point. I dream of flying through the air....

Keeping my body in good shape through regular exercise is one of my resolutions this year.  Seeing all the Cirque du Soleil performers perform really made me realize what an incredible gift our bodies are. We were given a body, we should treat it well!