I knew that I wanted to somehow create a career in the music industry, but when I first started I had no idea what that looked like. My first gig was volunteering 16 hrs in exchange for a ticket at Gathering of the Vibes selling Merch. During that time I made some really great friends and connections who are part of what I do today. Because I did such a great job, I was recommended to do the same at Langerado Music Festival where because of Bryan Holroyd and Mike Polans I ended up backstage at the Disco Biscuits show where I met the amazing Jonathan Schwartz.
Meeting Jonathan was one of the biggest catalysts that whirled me into what I’m doing now. I had told him that I was a hippie. Not only was I a hippie, but I was a healthy hippie. I proceeded to ramble off a healthy hippie tip of the day to him. He held onto my shoulders and said something like, “This is a big deal. Don’t forget this and do more with it.”
When I returned home I started posting Healthy Hippie Tips everyday on my MySpace page and would then email the tips to Jonathan. Being the General of Jam on Sirius/XM Radio, he started announcing my tips on the air. He suggested I make a website so he could send people to it, so I did!
I started a weekly online newsletter with my healthy hippie tips, recipes, band recommendations and more.
At Gathering of the Vibes one year, Jeff Rhodes took my online newsletter and out of the goodness of his heart he made it into a print version, made a thousand copies and gave them to me to hand out. After someone read it they said, “You should make this into a magazine.”
I said, “OK” and with the help of Britt Nemeth, Daniel Weathers and Dave Halchak, The Healthy Hippie Magazine was born.
There were so many things I loved about the magazine, but having to sell ads, get artwork for the ads, harassing the writers, mailing out subscriptions and handing out 10k magazines was not very fun.
We all eventually decided to call the magazine quits, so I took what I loved about it which was interviewing people from the scene, sharing healthy recipes and inspiring people with my personal stories. I tried to figure out how I could incorporate those parts into something else.
One of my favorite bands was Phish. I had scored tickets to all of the post hiatus Hampton shows and the news caught wind of it. Jack Thurston at WCAX interviewed me about how that came to be and then were constantly interviewing me about all things Phish related. After the Hampton shows when the band announced a summer tour, I told WCAX they needed a Phish correspondent and it should be me. I drafted up a proposal and that summer I actually got paid to do Phish tour. I even got photo passes to capture photos in the pit for the first three songs!
I had earned my health coaching certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and started coaching people individually and then in groups. I realized that most of my clients were live music fans, so I designed an online group program just for them in mind where I had musicians come in as guest mentors. It was awesome!!!
There was this festival Jungle Jam that happened in Costa Rica that Eric Freitas put together that I always wanted to go to. Ryan Montbleau posted something about it on social media and I commented, “One day I need to get my butt to this festival!”
Eric saw the comment and immediatly sent me a private message saying that if I could get my butt to the San Jose Airport everything else would be free. At the time one of my best friends worked at the airport and gifted me with unlimited free flights so I went! Eric told me to just be me and see what I wanted to do for the festival in the future.
In a yoga class at the festival, I was practicing next to Oteil Burbridge. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but his energy was something I wanted in my life. I looked at him while in a lunge and said, “Would you like to be best friends?” He said yes!
I then asked if he wanted to be a mentor in my online program whichever also said yes to. He loved the program so much he joined it for two years. I’ve been back to Jungle Jam every year since coordinating live music yoga classes.
Backstage at a Dead & Company show I met Henry Stout who owns Full Moon Resort near Woodstock, VT where Oteil, Butch Trucks, Cody and Luther Dickinson put on their Roots Rock Revival Camp for musicians. Oteil said that I had to be at the camp to raise the vibration, so I asked Henry if I could teach movement, meditation and my Blindfolded Chakra Dance Class. He said yes. DJ Logic took my dance class and fell in love with it. I asked him if he would be interested in spinning records live for it and pitching it to Wanderlust. He said yes.
I was telling the story to someone at the camp and he tells me that he works for Wanderlust and then sets me up with intro emails with the head of yoga programming. Right after that I was hanging with Eric Krasno and his mom at a festie in Vermont telling them the story. They loved the idea of my class so much that they are also going to give my proposal directly to Eric’s brother who is the founder of Wanderlust!
I heard about this amazing retreat center in Vermont and one day I went to look at it. I fell in love and gave them my deposit that day. The funny part was that I had never been to a retreat much less led one. I asked Ryan Montbleau if he wanted to join me on this adventure and he said yes! Retreats with a healthy twist in beautiful locations where you get an intimate experience with your favorite musicians didn’t exist and I felt a desire to create it.
We led an amazing retreat together and since have led 2 more sold out retreats in VT and Costa Rica. We are doing a songwriters/writers retreat in the Berkshires this fall (click HERE to learn more) and an adventure in Costa Rica in March (Click HERE to learn more) if you want to check them out. This year I’m also leading a plant medicine retreat in Peru (Click HERE to find out more) and a Sweet Ass Retreat in Burlington, VT this January (Info HERE).
And how did I end up becoming a writer for Relix, Jambands, MindBodyGreen and the Huffington Post? I asked. And then I asked again. I then I asked 100 more times until they said yes.
So when people think that I’m just “lucky” it feels a little icky. I worked really hard to get to where I am today and I co-manifested with the Universe every single thing…including the many obstacles I faced along the way. I knew I wanted to do something in the music industry, but I didn’t know what that looked like at all. All I knew was when I was offered to volunteer in exchange for a free ticket that I should say yes. And I kept on saying yes! Even though many times saying yes was terrifying, I said yes anyway. And if I wasn’t being offered anything, I asked for what I wanted. And when I was told no, I asked again and again and again. If something that I wanted to do didn’t exist, I created it. If it failed, I tried again. And again.
I’ve learned so much about manifesting from my wild-crazy-roller-coaster of a journey I’ve been on and I want to teach you everything I know.
If you’re interested in becoming a Magical Manifesting Unicorn during the month of January please fill out this no commitment application. All the info on what it means to become a Magical Manifesting Unicorn is laid out in the application.
Apply here >>>> I’m interested in becoming a Manifesting Unicorn
The magic in me sees the magic in you,
Taraleigh
