About Me

I've never known what to write in "About Me" sections but I'll give it a go here.

2007-2008:
      I first discovered yoga when I was looking for a way to keep my body active without putting a lot of undue stress on my knees (lifting heavy weights was out) due to a soccer injury that was only antagonized by running in the military. I can't say that I was a devout practitioner from that day forward but I've trying.

2009:
      Let's see, I said I wasn't a devout practitioner. I am, what I would call, a "skipping practitioner" or something to that effect. I tend to go on spurts of practice. For some reason, I never kept a practice going steady for long periods of time. I guess the main reason is I'm not an early riser, and if I don't get to it in the morning I most likely won't get to it. During this year, I had so much turmoil that I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I almost moved to West Virginia to live with my grandparents, at least until I decided to take a job working the ranges at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana.
      I could probably count on two hands how many times I practiced during these times. Then the fun began to take place approximately six months into the year, I was deploying to Iraq. In all of the items I packed to bring with me to this dusty, sandy place, I included my yoga mat.

2010:
      Why include a yoga mat for a tour to Iraq? I thought, "hey, I just might practice over there when I had down time." Partially, I was right. I did practice on my down time. I even tried practicing in the mornings after runs. This didn't last long though, mostly, due to the fact that I had to rise at 5:00am in order to get my workout in. Nine months in Iraq and that mat collected more dust from non-use than from me using it on the dusty ground. Terrible, yes I know. But at least I didn't completely quite my practice and had the least bit of inkling to keep it going some how. Call it a flame that was struggling to stay lit.

2011:
      After I came home from Iraq I moved to Mississippi. I thought this was the worst idea I ever made, outside of the fact that I was living on an awesome farm and had a set of adopted grandparents there. It wasn't until about March that my spirits began to pick up though. I met the love of my life in Iraq (Kuwait really) and he came home that month. The first Monday he was home he came to visit me. :) That was the beginning of our relationship and ultimately led to our marriage. Nevertheless, I ended up moving west of my home in Starkville to live with him. He lived in BFE, no really, this place was country as you could get without moving 100 miles from anyone. No matter how big the cities are around this town, there is never any store I'd like to go to. Health food stores are out of the question, and so are yoga studios. This really was not cool. So I resorted to ordering an Ashtanga DVD made by Melanie Fawer and attempted to practice that as daily as I possibly could.

2012:
      However, over the past year or two, I have crammed nearly as much school into my life that my brain could handle. I would get up before dawn to go to work and come home to do homework until bed time.
      I am just now at the end of my school and will be done with my Bachelors in English this summer. I'm ecstatic about this. Instead of having a wishy-washy practice I intend to totally devote my time to getting up earlier and eating healthier. One main reason is the fact that I am pregnant, and two, I need a regular practice and not a hit and miss practice.
      Ashtanga Yoga has been the form that has really called to my personality, for a few reasons I imagine. It is a constant challenge so I won't get bored, it is strict– as far as how many times a week and what days are considered days of rest, it takes all the guess work out of deciding what poses will be done that particular morning. Not only these particular reasons, but also the fact that it is portable and can go with you anywhere. I have no intentions of becoming a teacher (yet at least) because I feel that one should have a solid background in something before attempting to teach it.
      In that case, I will be teaching young children about the importance of enjoying reading rather than teaching an adult about the importance of posture in a pose and presence of the body. I fully intend to delve deeper into my (lack of) understanding of yoga to better understand the reasons for my actions.
      All of this, I intend to do while caring for my son and expanding my loving relationship with my husband. I'd get him started on yoga but he hasn't come around to it yet ;). One thing at a time though, maybe he'll pick up a practice one day. I know Connor (unborn son) will be practicing with me, in and out of the womb.

2 comments:

  1. I just came across your blog today and seems to be a lovely cozy place. I will came back since I have a lot of reading to do. I am a yoga practicioner, new to Ashtanga and loving it, I also have a blog feel free to stop bye.

    Namaste,
    Olympia
    journeytoatmanashtangayoga.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Hey Olympia,

      Thanks for stopping by :). I'll be re-starting my practice after having given birth to my son on November 1st. My flexibility seems to have diminished drastically. Look forward to reading your blog as well :).

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