The rain has been relentless in California this year. Cloudy, cold winds and big rain drops without a moment of reprieve (a bit of an exaggeration) since the beginning of the year. I just finished my semester at Mira Costa Community college. You see, I headed back to school for yoga certification when my son went off to college. It seemed to be the logical thing to do.
Always listen to your instincts. Even if you think you don’t have them you do. Imagine a 48 year old woman immersed in Sanskrit language, muscles in the body, the eight limb path philosophy, Dosha, Kosha, The Four Immeasurables, 196 Sutras, asana practice to learning cuing poses to discovering that all of the philosophy that you ever loved actually originated over 1700 years ago, not just with William James, Buddha or Jesus.
I sat each week for 7.5 hours on my yoga mat after practicing a yoga flow from a rock star teacher that inspires the soul, to being so absorbed in this new information, I almost felt like I was getting away with something by being there each week. I skipped to my class.
I made buddies with my classmates. I shared vulnerable secrets I dare not tell the rest of the world, but yet hung all of my insecurities out to dry in front of these special peeps that will forever own a little piece of my heart.
What can I tell you? To become inspired again when the light dims is like discovering the sun shines again every morning, but somehow you had missed it. I managed to rise up and extinguish those internal fears that kept directing me to the checkout line with the sign that says ’45 and up-almost expired line.’
From a confident woman, I found myself being quiet and introspective as I went within to figure out what all of this new information meant to me. I found out that yoga is really more than just a pose or a class at a gym down the street, but like a life on another planet that offers hope to anyone that wants to fly their own rocket ship over to become part of that world.
But buckle up. It will take some work. Some practice and some honesty directed toward inner self and your inner self-worth.
What are you worth? What is this journey about? Do you deserve inner joy? You know, the hard questions the philosophers think and 
you wish you could skip if you could because there’s too much fun on the phone right now with apps and such. However, I will let you in on secret. To ponder such great thoughts, is actually lots of fun. Who knew? I mean, I have always loved philosophy, self-help, Guru type-in-your-face-buck-up-and-be-brilliant-type books. You know the kind: Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Louise Hay and don’t forget my favorite-Norman Vincent Peale.
Unplug for a bit. Rewind. Dig in. Ditch your cozies. Wear Yoga clothes. Buy a journal. Drink water only from canisters made of tin. Watch your diet. Do your homework. Read more. Think less. Be ZEN. That was me for the last four months. And, life found me smiling again and feeling like my old self.
YES.