Hi. *stares at blank screen* This is my first blog. Well, my first blog since that one time I first wrote a blog about when I was in the Peace Corps living and teaching in China. I'd love to find that site and see what kind of things I thought were significant enough to document and compare it to the stuff I am going to blog about on this journey. But I digress. Its been a few years now since I've written. Unsure of how to really start, I suppose the best way is to tell you how I got into yoga. It all started when I was but a wee little chunky girl. Okay, I was fat girl. I hate using that word to describe myself as we live in such a fat-phobic society. It has such negative connotations. I don't mind being fat and loving every ounce of me. Lets save that soapbox for another time, shall we? I was truly unhealthy and going in an even unhealthier direction, evidently. I went to the doctor for a routine check-up a year before my 30th birthday. I'd like to tell you some amazing story of triumph about how I had these horrible ailments or symptoms that I overcame through hard work and determination. No, doc just said I was heading down an unhealthy road that would lead to bigger health problems like heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol in my future if I didn't get off my sedentary butt. I told myself I did not want a life of pill popping and health issues and if I could change it, I would. (Insert Serenity Prayer here, y'all). So I started to work out, eat clean(er), intake less alcohol and junk and get proper sleep. Holy cow! The changes I made yielded such great results. Its so true what they say about taking care of your body. I felt good and it showed. Anywho, being the millennial that I am, I posted transformation pictures and watched as other social media goers posted theirs. That's when I stumbled into yoga.
In my mind, yoga consisted of a group of little old ladies gathered at the community center doing some stretches in a generic, watered down yoga class. What I saw online was mostly young women with petite, thin, albeit very strong frames bending their bodies into these contortionist-like shapes. I wanted to prove I, too, could push myself into such death defying poses. So I got to pushing, pulling, and forcing my legs into places I bet would make my momma blush. It was so much fun. I played along with online yoga challenges, won cool yoga swag, co-hosted my own challenge, and gained all the followers. But, as someone pointed out, I really couldn't see the forest for the trees. What I failed to see was that yoga isn't just about these poses, the basic or advanced ones. It is and should be about so much more than the physical body and what we can do with it...or TO it. I didn't know what I didn't know.
Some time passed. I carried on stumbling down the road of life that is my journey, just making all the wrong turns, back tracking, and walking in the dark, oftentimes feeling alone. This is not meant to sound all woe is me, I'm just saying, like everybody else, I have been there. I fell in love, moved apartments, got new jobs, fell out of love, got laid off, and you know, survived life as it came at me. At least, I think we have all been there, right? That sounds really Debbie downer but I am thankful for my journey as I wouldn't be who I am now without all the face plants and failures. But I don't even consider them failures anymore, they were just moments of learning. I did finally make one life changing decision because I was just tired of learning from making massive mistakes. I want the experiences but I want to learn to make better, more well-informed decisions, too. As Pisces as I am, treading water was not fun anymore. This time, I decided I wanted to do something that I wanted to do NOT something I just fell into by happenstance like when I accept the first job I'm offered even though I know I'll hate it just because I need some moolah. Bleh! I had taught English as a Second Language and was a barista trainer for a huge corporate coffee chain that shall not be named, so I figured I might as well try to teach something I am really passionate about. So, I signed up for my yoga teacher training.
I did my yoga teacher training 10-12 hours, one to two weekends a month over 5 months. It was tough stuff and a serious commitment but I completed it along with 23 other yogis I now call family. Yeah, I know it isn't like going to med school or law school, but if you know how I don't commit to things, you'd be as proud of me as I am! I really encourage anybody who even remotely has interest in this ancient wisdom that has been passed down from master to student for thousands of years to take this yoga program. Take it at a really good school, because so many out there are in the money making business, not the yogi making business. It is so enlightening to learn what yoga really is. The history, the philosophy, the ethics...all the limbs. There are 8 limbs of yoga, in fact, the physical postures that you are familiar with being one of them. I suppose the limbs will be another blog, as well. Back to business. Here I am, certified to teach others about something I've only begun to scratch the surface of myself. I just want to share my passion for yoga. It has saved me from myself. If I can make it my livelihood so I'm not trapped in the dreaded 9-5 desk life, then that's even better. So here goes! And I thank you in advance for reading, commenting, supporting, criticizing, rooting me on or hoping I fall flat again. We are all on our journeys, I am just a, (slightly less chunky) girl sharing mine with the world.