Yoga Girl - where, about and why follow my journey
I started practicing yoga a bit over 9 years ago. I say practice rather than "working out" b/c that is really what it is. It's a way of life, it's a choice, a lifestyle some would say. Whether you are the spiritual hippie, Silicon Valley working power house, stay at home mom or a combination, you don't realize it until you start & the transition slowly takes place.
For me, personally, it came at a time when there was a void in my life. Not being the most religious person and a big fat divorce looming over my head, I fell into my practice like a religion. I started later in life, I was 33 living in San Francisco, youngest VP @ a prestigious design firm and my personal life was falling apart. So what does a girl do with everything at her finger tips except the love of her husband? YOGA
My very first yoga class I will never ever forget - taught by Andrea Maltzer @ Yoga Tree Castro - said husband dropped me off - I walked out 90 minutes later dripping in sweat (with all my Pilates, running & personal trainers I have NEVER sweat that much) and literally already felt the change start. The chanting ohmmming was foreign to me combined with the rigorous balance poses and bending / twisting of my body I never felt possible. Oh did I mention I went ahead and jumped into advanced level 3 Vinyasa - no? well I did. The sun was shining on me as I walked out and subconsciously I knew my life was changing.
Andrea Maltzer was my favorite as she taught a dancing flow style of yoga with the best music - full mind body soul yoga. I found out that she taught at International Orange which had 6:15pm classes. I recruited my coworker and best friends to commit 2x/ week and so my yoga journey began. Healing my torn heart and filling it with strength & laughter. Creating some of the best times I have ever had in San Francisco with my best girlfriends. I'll share some of those hilarious stories through out my blog posts.
I have fallen in and out of my practice over the past 3 years enticed by the latest fads and heavy weight lifting (highly do not recommend) to end up with a back injury that took a year of my life & health. Through a year of being in intense pain I had the time to reflect on what I would do if I were to be healthy and strong? I envisioned picking my daughter up again, spinning her around until she laughed herself into tears, racing her up the stairs or us running her first 10k, side by side. I spent a lot of time in bed going from angry to sad as all the drugs and cortisone worked through my system only to be discouraged and the side effects were possibly worse than the injury. I was not a pleasant person to be around. Luckily I had a wonderful husband who gave me the leeway I needed (or perhaps he was scared of me…LOL) and an amazing group of girlfriends who listened to me bitch endlessly through it all. To all of them I say thank you – I love you.
So where do I find myself now, back at yoga where my injury is nurtured and I find myself getting stronger every day for myself, my daughter and my family.
I want to share my yoga journey as I start my first 200-hour certification. Follow me through my journey which is over a 5000-year-old practice. Learn more about me and why I started this journey and follow me on Facebook and Instagram (coming soon). I promise to post 2x Dailey during my training and btw. My 100 & 200 hours give you a further history of my personal life journey, trials and errors of working in Silicon Valley, rocking the San Francisco life, post-divorce life and how I found peace. Namaste - xoxo!