Down Dog

I started practicing yoga in college on the West Coast.  My roommate dragged me to a class, we biked to the studio, and I stumbled through down dog.  It all seemed pretty silly at first, but at the end of class, during Savasana, my mind drifted off from thought - to random thought - to nonsense thought - to nothing.  I awoke clear and peaceful... I had meditated.  ohhhh, so then I was hooked.  The gymnast in me adored the stretching and I just had a knack for the more complicated poses.  

After college I traveled around the Americas and felt compelled to do yoga outside.  Anywhere I was, in the most beautiful places: the mountains, the coast, topless overlooking waterfalls, the roots of a tree on a river bank...  It felt so right to flow through sun salutations with sun rays beating heart, wind kissing skin, hair frolicking upon face, grass embracing toes.

Yoga has been the one hobby that stayed with me consistently over the years.  I've continued practicing throughout both pregnancies, managing a half moon with a full belly.  I've made a valiant effort to attend a weekly class this year.  See my post on Jungle Yoga in the House.

For a few years I've been wanting to take my practice to the next level.  Mari's been encouraging me to teach yoga.  I trust his judgement, he knows me pretty well, and the idea has been sitting, percolating, marinating, and well now it's ready to cook!

Last few years came with plenty of distractions: little kids, new job, renting our house.  This fall is finally the time when teacher training actually fits into my life, rather perfectly at that.  My friend and yoga instructor has a 200hr teacher training class starting in September at her studio.  This evening I attended an information session for the class and it drove the nail on the coffin, per say 

Living in DC, surrounded by politics, 24 hour news cycle, defense contractors, strip malls, and big box stores; you don't find many venues for metaphysical healing.  But in that room I listened to the touching stories of others drawn to the training: a nurse at Walter Reed Army Hospital, a Software Engineer ready for retirement, a Lyme disease survivor who found strength in practice...  I felt like I'd found my people:  people who believe in meditation and Ayurveda but also live the beltway grind!  The dichotomy of working in IT while being a hippy felt totally normal here.

And one more thing, I believe that this teacher training will help me mature spiritually during this period that I'm staying home with the kids.  I'm still not sure how long I'll be a stay at home mom.  But I am getting more comfortable with that term.  If I'm going to stay healthy and sane, then I need some kind of extracurricular activity and outlet for personal growth away from my identity as a mother.  Yoga teacher training is perfect!