Adam Rice Yoga

It's hard to believe that today I'm already celebrating my SECOND wedding anniversary to .aya! 🤗

I am eternally grateful that the Universe brought this incredible woman into my life (and that I was FINALLY ready for her). ☺️

And while I'm sad that we cannot celebrate together on this special day because Salisha is currently sitting with our teachers deep in the Peruvian Amazon, learning and deepening her connection to her shamanic path and Great Spirit, it is the perfect reflection of our love and dedication to each other, as well as to our work, that I can be here, supporting her journey by taking care of Meeshka and all the other worldly duties that need to happen.

Salisha is my Shakti, my Queen, my jungle warrior, the one I can relax in trust with, the one I can let go, be vulnerable and be my true, authentic self with.

She is my favourite play AND pray partner, and there is no one on this Earth I'd rather have at my side as we explore this beautiful planet together, including exploring the deepest realms of human consciousness and the meaning of existence. 💫

But she is also the person who challenges me every day to become the most evolved version of myself...

I always thought the first couple of years of marriage would simply be like an extended honeymoon phase - nothing but fun! 🥳 But I discovered that the things that come up when you fall fully into trust with someone can actually be quite challenging!

But this is where the REAL growth happens. I have been on a path of self-discovery and self-improvement for more than 25 years now. But being in partnership with a truly conscious woman, one who is willing to dig into the conflict rather than run away, demands authenticity and radical honesty, keeps an open heart even in the face of pain, and is fearless in confronting her own shadows, has taken me to the next level of my personal development, and expanded my understanding of what true love is.

As we settle into our new home here in Spain, I am really looking forward to what the future holds. And like the Spanish sunshine, I gotta feeling it's gonna be bright 😎

Introducing Adam Aya
or...."What's in a name?"

When Salisha and I married last year, we had that discussion all newlyweds have - what about the name? 🤔

Would Sal liked to be called Salisha "Rice"? Or keep her last name, "Khan" (pronounced "can"). Or perhaps a hyphenated version of the two? I was kind of partial to adding a little Irish O' in between:

Salisha "Khan O' Rice" 🤣🤣🤣

The tradition of women taking their husband's last names actually reaches back to English common law, which merged a woman's legal identity into her husband's.

Whoa! Pretty patriarchical, eh?! Well, for a a couple looking to deconstruct the typical way of doing relationships, this just wasn't going to fly! 😬

But in addition to that, it got me thinking about my own identity and the value of a name. What did it say about me and, as a man, my legacy?

Would my family be disappointed if I dropped my last name?
Would they think I abandoned them somehow?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my name is something I didn't get to choose.

So what if I now had the power to change it to something that was more aligned with who I am now?

Enter AYA.

Salisha has been going by the last name Aya for awhile now after receiving a vision and message in - you guessed it - an Ayahuasca ceremony, that told her to call her business "Active Your Alchemy" (AYA), which we have now merged into our joint endeavor.

It was a name born from Medicine, one forged in the furnace of transformation and connection to Great Spirit, rather than gleaned from systems and convention. And this is how both of us want to live every aspect of our lives.

As I played around with it, it really grew on me.

"Adam Aya" just felt RIGHT. It represented my devotion to Spirit, nature and the path of the shaman. It was also a name that was new to both of us. A name that would create not just new individuals, but a new pair of beings for a New World. ✨

And there you go. Adam Aya was born. 😊

I'd love to hear your thoughts around this topic. How do YOU feel about your name?