Three years ago, I was living in New York City, striving for what I thought I wanted…more prestige, more money, essentially...just MORE. Then suddenly, my father passed, and I started to question much of what I valued. If I found myself on my deathbed, how would I want my life to look? Was I living the life I wanted? Had I been intentional with my decisions, or was I just another hamster on the wheel, completing the motions necessary as they hit me at 1000 miles an hour? Definitely the latter.
My father’s early passing was the awful, proverbial, knock upside the head. I, like so many others, wanted so much more out of life, yet I had no idea where to even begin. At the persuasion of a coach, I began a 40-(consecutive)-day-journal, noting 10 things that brought me joy each day. Should I miss a day–back to day ONE. Night 37 hit and I awoke in a panic. I had passed out after a 20-hour workday in Doha, Qatar, and was still in my, by then, wrinkly work clothes and had not listed my day’s 10. I was not going to miss a day.
I continued to journal and around day 60, I noticed distinct themes. At the top of the list was yoga, impacting the lives of others, my mother, water and kids. I didn’t know how, but I was going to create a life with greater access to (at least) the first three.
Nearly two years after my father’s passing, I finally leapt. Getting “there,” to the decision to leave New York City, my home of 8 years and what I had thus far created, was not easy, but once my mind was made up, once I made it my reality, I felt free. I had made a choice. I was finally choosing what I wanted; I was empowered, for the first time. I remember when my company’s President was informed of my resignation, he immediately called me to his office, sat me down and said, “Have you lost your marbles?!?! What do you want… let me know, and I will make it happen!” I simply smiled and said, “I want more time with my mother. I want to do something that will genuinely impact the lives of others…I know you think I’ve lost my marbles, but for the first time, I actually think I found them.”
One year and two intense trainings later, I am settled in the state I never thought I’d return to (Texas), living a life I love, AND continuing to develop the muscle that has me living intentionally. I love my life, yet cannot profess that it is easy. I am both a coach and teach 15 - 20 yoga classes & privates a week to students ages eight–eighty.
Each week my focus is on a different theme or concept, which will not only impact your practice on the mat, but more importantly, enable you to carry it off the mat into your everyday life. Yoga is so much more than a physical practice, the “asanas.” Through the physical practice, we begin to move better, feel better, live better (©Yoga Better) and be more intentional.
I plan to share with you here the weekly thoughts and inspirations, so that whether you are a practitioner that has missed class or are living elsewhere, these blogs may offer you something and positively impact your life. I am here because of what the mat has taught me… My practice has inspired me not to explore from a place of ego, but rather in support of those around me; it has taught me the importance of breath, strength with ease, intentionality and developing the muscle that allows me to relax amidst physical, mental and emotional stress.
Thank you for reading.
With love,
Rachel