A Comedy Of Errors

The way pizza night unfolded was brilliant. Like a comedy of errors, the Universe put on a play last night! First, I met my Goddess sister. I’ll call her Conscious. She recognized me as her Soul Sister, and introduced me to her Guide, of whom she referred as her “parting gift” to me as in recent days, Conscious has met her partner, fallen deeply in love, and will be setting off by sailboat to circle the world.

“I must introduce you to Bianca,” Conscious began, “our Spirit Sister on the verge of un-Earthing her full Goddess self.”

“Well, however did you know?” With a wink, and a smile (she can SEE me), I’ll play.

I’ve known Conscious for some time as she teaches yoga at the hotel (I’ve made my office) near my home in Nicaragua, and while I could never bring myself to remember her name, I was always so happy to see her smiling face as her hugs had a way of penetrating my being. There are some people for whom hugs are a meeting of body and soul. Maybe you have felt this? Maybe you, too, will have this pleasure one day… Certainly, that is my hope for you.

So connected am I with Conscious, that the same woman intent on causing me pain has been after her too. Remember the Bully? The “Other“? The blond Malificent, a fugitive of her former life in Canada, a bandita, a fraud, a childnapper, an energy sucker, formerly my neighbor though never my friend in El Camino del Sol, who made the destruction of my life her life’s ambition? With relentless pursuit, she had been after my Sister Conscious too.

So, why am I bullied when I have only love to give? Easy. “You’re a B.I.T.C.H: BEAUTIFUL. INTELLIGENT. TALENTED. CHARMING, and HOT.” Conscious explained. The more she spoke, the more I learned. The I learned, the more I yearned. The more she shared, the more I saw myself in her. She SEES me. I see Conscious. Time and again, a tear would form and fall. Living on the edge of a world you were born into, no longer from there but not yet where you’re going, can be a lonely experience. FEAR NOT. “Keep going…” Conscious directed, almost in warning. “Keep moving…” along your path. “Keep WORKING.” Of course, “work” is different than it used to be. Employed now by Her (not Conscious, but HER: The Universe, my Mother, my Father, my God), I am taken care of. I want and need for nothing as The Universe provides for me. TRUST. I no longer need money.

…Women will be envious of your position, and men will be threatened by your power. Then there are the Unknowing who simply will not understand you. Because people fear what they do not understand, the Unknowing, in their attempt to define you will try to confine you. It can be lonely living differently. Tonight I will be your student, Conscious teach me. “Adrienne was once where you stand: young, beautiful, and on the cusp of enlightenment. But she didn’t make it through, so she’s envious of you. She sees your power and the greatness ahead of you. But she was left behind.”*

SHE DIDN’T MAKE IT. These words hit me hard, sending a quiver of what I can only describe as Fear through me… What if I don’t make it? Of my place, I am fully aware that I. Am. Not. Quite… There. But, of where I am going, I can see there is no place better for me. PARADIS.

FEAR NOT. KEEP GOING. As my entire existence here in Nicaragua is the realization of a manifestation. I must continue to believe.

This past week, I met Em. A traveler staying at Mango Rosa. A passer-through. A girl intent on fighting me. And not just me, but everyone. My first interaction with her, also at Pizza (I must either stop going to pizza, or keep going to pizza) she bitched me out for no good reason. I was crowding her space, she said. While I should have felt sorry that my presence was too much for her to bear, I allowed her instead to get to me. Admittedly, I still have “work” to do. Em was a BITCH too, Conscious verified, but in an elementary stage. Em is fighting hurt. It’s true, she was so angry. I wasn’t enlightened enough to see past her approach. She was mean. But I was sensitive enough to feel her. I mirrored her pain. She angered me. Until last night, I couldn’t understand why I felt so disturbed. I am not angry. It’s only recently that I have started channeling. This gift can still confuse me.

As if meeting my soul sisters wasn’t enough, the play that night was only just beginning to unfold. Do remember the man whose Spirit Preceded Him and the beautiful surfista chica with cascading, sun-bleached waves who captured and stole his attention one year ago at Revolucion? Well A is now my friend, and the Mayor is just another lost soul, I now recognize as not fully connected. For months I wondered how, if I truly hold the capacity to see inside of you, that it could be possible to have been so mislead by him. Now, I know that what I saw some time ago really was his spirit. And both the beauty of his light as well as my recollection of it were true: His Spirit “PRECEDED” Him. Literally, his Spirit walks with him, but not IN him. The Mayor has not committed to his guide. He’s not connected.

*NOTE: this quote was later revised with “yet.” She hasn’t made it through YET.

I’m Revolutionary

“I’m a Revolutionary. I’M revolutionary.”

To this, amorously,
He looked at me.
He said my voice is too sweet
to be taken seriously.
He chuckled, then
He kissed me.

It’s true, I have the voice of a Child.
I have the Spirit of one too.

What do you see when you see me?

Do you see a Warrior?
An Evangelist?
Is it a Lady you see?

How about,
An Anarchist?
A Communist?
A Socialist?
All things They told me/ “taught” me
NOT to be…

Because I CHOOSE to LIVE DIFFERENT-ly?
To Live my Life greatly. Not “decently?”

What do you see when you look at me?

“Go to school. Work hard. Make a decent living,” They said. So, I was always good at school, but guess what? I sucked at life when I graduated Wesleyan University. School never taught me any of the things I needed to know to be a Player in Their Game. How to really succeed. How to Thrive. Balance a checkbook, pay rent or how to save to buy, get a loan, maintain “good credit” or build it… Instead, I learned, or rather by NOT learning, by NOT being taught the skills I needed to claim the Sultana’s throne, I was Made… to FALL IN LINE.

System FAIL. I have never fallen in line. From ice skating to ballet to science class, pre-K to University, then on to every job I have ever held, my teachers, my peers and my bosses, to my mother will attest, I have always talked back. I have always been “too smart for [my] own good,” as if “too smart” could not be good. I am a Bitch. A Boss Bitch. A Bad Bitch. A Warrior and a Winner. I’m nice, and I’m polite, an educated Woman, I’m a nurturer, I’m a Lady. I’m an Adventurer, a Trail Blazer and a Visionary, I’m a Taker and a Giver, I’m a Teacher, I’m a Student, I’m an Athlete, I’m a Lover…

I’m Bianca Sultana. Translation: I Am The White Queen.

I chose LIFE over DEATH when I left the West. I traded the First World, for the Third World when I moved from New York to Nicaragua (with a pit stop in South Florida – two moves I made alone). I play to live, I won’t work to die. Now, a million misadventures and tiny blessings fill my days.

Here’s how I’ll leave you today:

1. Question everything They say.
2. Make your own way.
3. Buy a plane ticket and with me, come to stay.

You may just find that you, too, like life better this way. I live Everyday Better, so everyday is the best day of my life!

Join the movement.

Together in Health, in Love and in Life!
xob

To The Men In My Life

I AM A LUCKY GIRL! It’s true, I moved to Nicaragua by myself for myself. Technically “sola,” I live alone in a big ass house ;). But, I am NEVER alone. And while I have, in the past, referred to myself as orphaned, that isn’t technically the case, as I am blessed to have friends who take care of me like family. Check out my new ride – a gift from my very good friend Bladimir! He knew I needed wheels and… Voila!

I have a ton of “friends,” but only a small group I know have my back through and through. A few girls with whom I share my hopes, my dreams, my laughter and my tears, forever in my life, though separated by great distance, we are more like sisters than friends… But, boyyy….. It is the men in my life who really take care of me! I never had a dad, and I don’t have any blood brothers, and YOU totally make up for it everyday! You know who you are. There are many of you! You helped me get from NYC to Florida, you helped me move to Nica. You move me, carry me, shoot me, drive me, inspire me, workout with me, teach me, push me, surf with me, feed me, support me, you always answer the phone when I call, you look after me, check up on me, protect me… I don’t know what I would do without you.

I LOVE YOU!

Now, tell me: how many feet do you think I can clear on this thing and when are you coming to visit?

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YO SOY UNA CHICA SUERTE! Es cierto, me trasladé a Nicaragua sola por mi mismo. Técnicamente “sola,” vivo sola en una casa grande ;). Pero, estoy nunca solo. Y mientras yo tengo, en el pasado, que se refiere a mí mismo como huérfano, que no es técnicamente el caso, como yo estoy feliz de tener amigos que me cuidan como de la familia. Echa un vistazo a mi nuevo paseo – un regalo de mi muy buen amigo Bladimir! Sabía que necesitaba ruedas y … Voila!

Tengo un montón de “amigos”, pero sólo un pequeño grupo que conozco tienen mi espalda hasta la médula. Unas niñas con quienes comparto mis esperanzas, mis sueños, mis risas y lágrimas, siempre en mi vida, aunque separados por una gran distancia, que son más como hermanas que amigos … Pero, boyyy ….. Es los hombres en mi vida que realmente cuidan de mí! Nunca tuve un papá, y yo no tengo ningún hermano de sangre, y USTED totalmente compensar por ello todos los días! Ya sabes lo que eres. Hay muchos de ustedes! Usted me ayudó a llegar desde Nueva York a Florida, me ayudaste a mover a Nica. Te mueves mí, llevo conmigo, me tira, me lleve, me inspiran, entrenamiento conmigo, enseño yo, yo empujo, navegar conmigo, me alimenta, me apoyan, siempre contesta el teléfono cuando llamo, te ves en pos de mí, comprobar para arriba en mí, me proteja … no sé lo que haría sin ti.

TE AMO!

Ahora, dime: ¿cuántos metros puedo saltar con esta moto y cuando vienes a visitar?

Everyday Better

I used to get depressed… Winters were cold and long in New York City. I had no room to jump and play. In the morning, I would leave my house to go to the office, and in the evening, leave the office to return to my house. I rarely saw the light of day. I was unfulfilled trying to fill the expectations of others, namely my mother and my peers. Then, I figured it out! Nothing mattered but what mattered to me. I left fashion for fitness, I left New York for Florida, I stopped giving a fuck what other people thought! I learned…

“When you live #EverydayBetter, everyday is the BEST DAY of your life!”

This is how I have lived for the last three years. EVERYDAY BETTER! At thirty, I changed my mind to change my life. I abandoned every preconceived notion of how I thought I needed to live; of who I thought I needed to be. A doctor, a CEO, the kind of daughter who would make my mother proud… I redefined success as happiness and realized the key to being happy is simple: DO WHAT YOU WANT. So I did. And it worked! And I kept doing what I wanted and only what I wanted, and it kept working… I got happier and happier and everyday got better than the day before.

Then chance landed me in Nicaragua on March 18th of last year. Here, I found Home! I returned to Fort Lauderdale mid-June, sold what I could, packed what I could carry and gave away the rest. I flew here with one suitcase, two trunks, a board bag, my bike in a box and Bear, my little man, my dog, my love! I left nothing behind but memories and friends. Everything I own I have with me in Nicaragua. And because I consolidated so much, now, everything I own, I love! So, I’m surrounded by love in my home. And I’m surrounded by love outside my home – just look at this pretty picture.

I aspire to inspire. To encourage you to decide what you really want and to go after it! If you need a getaway, a place to clear your head, to find your way… Visit me!

Book your stay in my healthy home, the BODYbybianca FIT Farm by sending an email to BODYbybianca@gmail.com

Together in Health, Fitness, Surf and Adventure!
xob

Change Your Mind To Transform Your BODY

Despite my being vocal online, a lot of people (even friends) don’t seem to know what I do. Most people imagine I am a personal trainer, and I am! But, only for a very select, high-paying few. What I specialize in is Mind, BODY and Life Transformations via fitness and nutrition remote coaching through the BODYbybianca Training System, a sixteen week program designed not only to change your BODY, but your habits and your mind. Working closely with me by email, phone, skype and text, your perception of health and fitness will forever be changed. Through the program, you will learn the skills personal training alone will never teach you, to reach, maintain and surpass your goals! When you enroll into my program, you become a member of Team BODYbybianca, a dedicated group of my clients from around the world; fitties training together online and supporting one another in a private group on Facebook where you will receive daily support from myself, my current and past clients (graduates of the program). You will receive a comprehensive meal plan tailored to your BODY and your goals with recipes to ensure that you never have a craving that isn’t met with a healthy alternative. Via email, every Sunday, you will receive your weekly fitness schedule (with images and video) for weightlifting and custom BODYbybianca cardio programs designed to target fat-burning while preserving muscle mass for a lean, toned and fit look.

In honor of “Transformation” and “Throwback” Thursday, here are some TBTs from clients and graduates at various stages of the BODYbybianca Training System:

This past year has been a period of transition for me. When chance landed me in Nicaragua on March 18th of 2014, I knew immediately that my life was forever changed and felt a strong sensation, right out of the airport, that Nicaragua was my home. I had eighteen clients enrolled in my program, I saw their contracts through without taking on new business, and proceeded to spend the next nine months on a sabbatical of sorts. For two months, I solo backpacked Nicaragua, traveling South through Costa Rica scouting locations for fitness retreats and a place to call home. Following my voyage in Central America, an extended month of travel lead me to Harbour Island, Bahamas; Scottsdale, Arizona; and New York City, where I caught up with many of my remote coaching clients and attended my fifteen year high school reunion. Assured Nicaragua was, indeed, where I was meant to be, I returned to my home in Florida where I settled my belongings, selling what I could, packing what I could carry and giving away the rest. October 16th, 2014 marks my homecoming to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where the next 10 weeks were spent finding my way in a new country, exploring a new culture and learning a new language, in which I am now fully immersed. January 1, 2015, just one week ago, I started working again. Maybe you have noticed I have been rather busy online, updating the blog, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook with new recipes, pictures, stories of love and adventure and daily motivation inspired by my very real and really awesome life in the jungle. That said, I am accepting admissions for a NEW class, the first of 2015 for Team BODYbybianca!

The cost of the program, in which you are contracted for sixteen weeks — because I need sixteen weeks to change your BODY — is $200 per month with a $200 enrollment fee (half of which is credited to you upon successful completion of the program and delivery of biweekly progress pictures). Everyone changes! Are you ready? GET LOCKED IN!

Email me at BODYbybianca@gmail.com or message me on Facebook.com/BiancaSultana to inquire about enrollment.

Together in Health!

xob

My Head, My Tits, And My Ass!

Ever grabbed your head, your tits and and your ass, looked up at the sky and thanked God to be alive? I have that experience in Central America everyday!

Here are some pics of Monica and I surfing a secret beach in Costa Rica. We ran out of gas on the road and were blessed with a Tico fix from a friendly passerby who helped me to push the truck up the hill as Monica steered and brought us gas in a bottle on the side of the road (everyday, a new adventure!). The waves were super fun and I surfed awesome (I’m getting better everyday!) but there’s always one that takes me under and the more confident I get, the more gnarly my wipeouts! This time it was one of the largest waves I’ve gone for and my nose took a dive as I fell over the falls, I tucked into a ball, prayed for my board and fins not to hit me, grabbed my head, my tits, and my ass, popped up and thanked God for my life!

Another day…

Together in Health!
xob

Live Where You Love And You Will Love Where You Live

Close your eyes and imagine the most beautiful place in the world; a paradise in which you long to be… Now… GO!

I promise change is not as scary as it seems!

Everyday in Central America, people ask me where I’m from (“de dónde eres?”) and each day my love for my country (the one I live in, Nicaragua) gets stronger, is another day it gets harder to answer that question. I was born in New York City, but I don’t feel I am from there. I lived and loved in Florida, but I am not from there either. Never quite a city girl, I have a country heart! My wingspan grows with my courage and broadens my path around the world. The more I abandon fear, the greater my adventures!

Don’t pinch me. I am not on vacation. I sold what I could, I gave away the rest, my friends helped me a lot! I packed what I could carry and on October 16th, 2014, I flew home. Now, I live where I love. I am awake, and I am dreaming!

These pics are from my Christmas trip to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, where I’m visiting friends, but I have found my home in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. I have a guest house on a large farm by the beach and you can visit whenever you want!

My address for mail and packages containing raw almond butter (hint!) is as simple as my life here:
“Bianca Sultana
San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua”
❤ Let me know if you send something, so I check at the post office.

To Be Humbled And Empowered

DO. WHAT. YOU. WANT. and your path will cross with people who love you for it, cherish them, and those who hate you for it, pray for, then forget them… Fast! I live #EverydayBetter, so Everyday Is The BEST DAY of my life!

When I got to his place, Marcos proceeded to inform me, “we don’t have water.” Like, no hot water? He pointed to a bucket in the shower and directed me to fill up behind the house. My mind flighted to the eighteenth century in search of a pump in the ground, or a well with an overhanging bucket. It was a sink in the shed outside his Manuel Antonio apartment. Still, it was different.

Marco empowered me that I could do it; I reminded him that just a couple hours ago he had superglued the skin back onto the bottom of my foot! Clumsy-girl’s Tico-fix! I had swiped my foot along a piece of glass by the beach. So, he filled the bucket and carried it to the shower like a gentleman. A sexy man should always be in low slung jeans, no shirt and lifting something heavy.

I used a bowl inside the bucket to pour the water on my BODY and hair. At first, it kinda sucked, I admit. It was cold (but, generally showers here are), I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to really wash my hair and then, I was doing it! I felt humbled and empowered.

Of course, my life wouldn’t be my life without a hitch! This is story of what happened next… Just as I finished washing my hair, feeling the success of accomplishment, I grabbed the large bucket to dump the remainder of water over my head. One last rinse. Until the contents of the bottom of the bucket, dirt or sand or both, dumped on my clean hair. Shit! wrapped in a towel I went outside to rinse my hair in the sink in the shed. The door to the house slammed behind me. Shit! Shit! Mierda! I was locked out. No key. No money. No clothes. No way to contact my friends. This is what I call “a Bianca!” Then the neighbor comes from around the corner with a copy of the key (“clave” en Español). I am blessed! Believe.

Later that night, I found myself at a wedding with Marco. I guess my hair turned out okay!

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica 23/12/2014

Together in Health!
xob

Home For The Holidays

As I sit here on the bus in San José, Costa Rica headed for Manuel Antonio for the holiday, I cannot help but reflect on the difference between traveling alone in Central this Spring and getting around this part of the world today. At 6 AM, my friend Eduardo picked me up at my home in San Juan and we headed for the frontera; thirteen hours of travel by car, two busses and a taxi and I expect to be seated at Las Gemeles on Manuel Antonio beach in time for a late dinner!

“Yo soy Nica ahora.” That means, “I’m Nicaraguan now!”

Well, not quite (yet). But, I feel at home in this part of the world. For two months this Spring I traveled from Nicaragua throughout Costa Rica. I didn’t know a lick of Spanish when I arrived on March 18th, yet within one week, you would have thought I at least had an elementary Spanish education in school. Today, I have officially been living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for 9 weeks. I have spent one-third of 2014 in Central America. I still haven’t taken a Spanish lesson, yet my Spanish gets better everyday (because I care). I can more than get by most anywhere and have full conversations with the people I love.

When I landed in Managua in March, I felt an immediate draw right out of the gate. If you have ever flown into Nicaragua, you know the area surrounding the airport is not particularly desirable. Yet, as soon as my feet touched the land, the energy of the country resonated through me. I am not here to party, though our fiestas are truly epic! I am not here for the surf, though our waves rival any in the world, and our lineup is a candy store of the most beautiful men I have ever laid eyes on. I am here because I love the culture, the people and the land. I am here because I wished for it and the Universe made it so.

A self-proclaimed orphan, I am overwhelmed with the closeness of the family unit in Central. A closeness extended to friends. Before I arrived here, I never quite felt right where I was. New York didn’t suit me at all and had I not been crippled by fear, I may have left much sooner. People don’t look up to greet one another when they walk in the streets and NYC life seems to perpetually revolve around a biweekly payday; a churning that never lets up. Never again will I subscribe to ten vacation days and two sick days per year; living for the weekend to drink away the stress of the week indoors at a bar? What a waste! South Florida was better; with room to bike, wake, surf and play on the beach, I reveled in the sunlight, learned to mountain bike and spear fish, fell for a man with rough hands I named Alligator Hands, with whom I contracted odd jobs in construction, used power tools, took my driving test in a pickup truck, cooked on a mega yacht, and first-mated a 78′ Marlow. There is nothing I cannot do and no opportunity I am closed off to.

I’d say I did South Florida right, I stayed off the strip in Miami and settled in beautiful Fort Lauderdale. More than NYC, FTL is the closest I have found to home in the States. Still, something wasn’t right. After two years, Florida didn’t feel like forever. If New Yorkers are consumed with money, South Floridians are consumed with appearances (even the “appearance” of money). I want more for my life than satisfaction over my reflection in the mirror and stockpiles of flammable paper in the bank. A simple life! I like my toys and my boys, and love is my only true wish. Today, many of my closest friends are native Nicaraguan and Costa Rican. When I’m sick, they are the first to call, when I need a ride or a hand or a shoulder, mi nuevos amigos show up unannounced at my door. I feel blessed to be adopted into such a beautiful culture. Now, I will spend Christmas in Costa Rica, where my friends are my family.

I am home for the holidays!

Together in Health! In Love! And in Life!

xob

Plan a FITivity For A Friendly Fun Fitness Activity

Happy weekend y’all!

Remember: GOALS do not take a weekend pass, so neither should you! Incorporate FITIVITIES into your social plans for fitness activities that are a friendly fun distraction from what is clearly a workout. Comment with your faves or try one of mine:

1. Surfing & SUP! In Nicaragua as in my past home in Florida it is beach season all year round! In South Florida visit my friends at Beach Shack Paddleboards for “SUP” stand-up paddle board tours!

2. Skiing/ Snow boarding. If your climate is opposite mine, there is no better FITivity workout for the legs and booty! When you ski/board you are in an constant squat position. “PLUMP THAT BUMP!”

3. Rock climbing! One of the many FITivities I love! I used to compete in indoor lead climb. It is so much fun, a brilliant workout and with indoor/outdoor facilities, available almost anywhere!


From Nicaragua with love,

xob