Try Easier

I came for the stress relief; I stayed for the physical and spiritual transformation. It seems like yoga is everywhere these days and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing! In yoga I've found an ever expanding and evolving physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional journey. 

While I loved my first yoga class and how it made me feel, I did not get serious about yoga until stress began affecting my health and I realized that my coping strategies of wine and whining were not effective. I had gotten to an age and a point in my career where long hours and a sedentary lifestyle were taking their toll, and ended up with some health problems and some depression. Knowing that I needed to change my path or see both get worse (and that just heading to the gym was not going to cut it for me - I needed more of a hook than just an endorphin rush), I thought back to a series of yoga classes I had taken when I first started practicing law in Delaware. I decided that I'd get back into yoga. I took a "brand new beginners" course at a local studio, I went on a yoga retreat to Sicily (something I'd thought about for years, but dismissed as too self indulgent), and in the end, I took a year long course to become a certified yoga teacher. These choices, the practice of yoga and the changes I've made in my life because of it, have had an immeasurable positive impact. Yoga is above all a mindfulness practice and a path of self discovery - the physical practice of yoga evolved to facilitate sitting in meditation. As we develop the mind/body connection and get to know ourselves better, we develop and strengthen skills that serve us in all areas of life. We gain the maturity and acumen to work smarter, not harder, and to depend less on force and more on flow. We can better understand ourselves and so focus on creating a success that produces a better quality of life. 

Yoga offers a way to connect with self and community that is profoundly positive and affirming. Teaching allows me to share the power of mindfulness, the clarity and self-awareness, and the physical benefits I continue to discover through yoga, and gives me a wonderful excuse to pursue my own education. I do still drink wine and whine, but not nearly as often!