Yoga was given to me. I did not seek it out. For years I assumed yoga was just mild exercise and a bunch of stretching, some kind of artsy-fartsy fitness routine. And every once in a while I would hear a celebrity say they had found yoga and it changed their life. That sounded great for them, but I was too busy engaged in "real" exercise to give it much thought. Then some friends began to talk about yoga and how it was helping them...then more friends. I was intriqued. Finally I attended a class with a friend who would not let up on asking me to go. Wow! At the time, I was involved in an outdoor sport which consumed all of my free time, so I did not return to yoga that summer.

Eventually the leaves turned, it got cold, and it was time to look elsewhere for my fitness fix. I started attending yoga classes on a regular basis and quickly realized yoga was a powerful exercise of strength, flexibility and balance. This was in the physical sense. Then one class, I believe we were in half moon, it hit me that yoga worked on strength, flexibility, and balance of the mind as well as the body. Without knowing it, the asana practice and my attempts to land a well aligned pose were actually aligning me internally.

It has been said that sometimes there's a breakdown before a breakthrough. This certainly happened to me. After several months of almost daily practice, I saw my life in a way like never before, and some of what I saw I did not like. The pot got stirred big time and I almost quit practicing. Things that had been on the back burner for decades were now front and center. The bottom line is that yoga was aligning my mind, body, spirit and heart. Anything that was misaligned got straightened out or cast out. This process still continues. For me, this is the true purpose of yoga.

There are many teachers that help me by example and by guidance on the yoga path. Some even suggested that I become a teacher. Initially, I resisted the idea but eventually took training to further my own practice. Like everything else with yoga, that initial mindset changed. Now I want to help in kind and offer the gifts of yoga to others through my assisting and teaching. It continues to amaze me how so much can be accomplished on a two by six foot piece of flat rubber.

I'll see you on the mat!