2014 Kicked Ass!

The wonders of 2014: 

2014 has been the most wonderful, eventful, exciting, stressful, full of change year yet! I have amazing friends out in CO I had to say "see ya later to," got to reunite with many friends from home, moved, discovered a wonderful sport and returned to a wonderful sport, got so much family time and traveled to new places. I may be unsure of what the future holds, but I sure am damned excited to see what 2015 has in store for me! 

"Goodbye" v "See ya later"

I'm not good with goodbyes. And they're not uncommon for me. I haven't moved around that much, but I do live pretty far from my family and travel a lot. So between visits with my family and friends I meet on travels, I do have to say "goodbye" a decent amount. 

Sometimes "goodbye" really does mean goodbye. I remember when I found out my family was moving from Atlanta. I remember crying with my best friend on the playground while a teacher tried to comfort us. She reminded us that this was an exciting move for the family and that just because we wouldn't see each other every day didn't mean we weren't still friends. We could visit each other and write letters; keep in mind this was pre-Facebook. It was a comforting reminder. 

20 years later, I've moved again. Moving after college was difficult, but we all knew it was coming. (I've kept my two best friends as close by my side as possible considering I moved across the country!)  This time it's a little different. I'm sad thinking about leaving Colorado while I'm also just as excited about what the future of this move has to offer. I've made some amazing friends in Colorado. Friends that I tear up when I think about not seeing them everyday. Friends that I didn't know were possible: that love to be outdoors as much as they love fashion, dancing, and watching marathons of Modern Family; that I can tell absolutely anything to without fear of recrimination or judgment while also knowing they'll tell me the truth and call me on my s**t; that I can have deep philosophical discussions with and immediately dissolve into fits of hysterical laughter; that love to travel, to challenge themselves, and experience new things. 

It's that last characteristic that comforts me now. I may be ready for a life change, but Breck will always be special to me. Just because I can't live there right now doesn't mean I won't visit or don't love to ski or that my relationships weren't important. The community there is what makes it so hard to leave! That, and that it was a piece of cake to ski nearly 100 days last year. 

The relationships I've formed are true and lasting. Hence why it was so hard to leave. But also why I won't ever have to truly say goodbye. They'll be there when I go back to visit and they'll be there when they come to visit me. iMessage threads and phone dates will continue. And when in doubt, we'll always have Facebook.

A plan for every breath...

About three years ago, I arrived at MYS at 6am to teach my first official yoga class. I had my playlist, my notebook with my quote for the class, and plenty of nerves! I also had written down my plan for class. Not just general postures or areas of the body to work, but a list of each breath, pairing it with a pose or a transition. I was ready. And then no one showed up. 

Over the next couple of months, I planned each class out like this. Making lists of each breath of the class, and working hips or hamstrings or backbends, or working our way to a pinnacle pose. My classes were attended, but I hadn't found a niche yet. People in my ski town came to yoga to stretch out after skiing and mountain biking, not to work arm balances (my love!) 

I had a revelation during one such class. Our pinnacle pose was grasshopper, a super deep twisted arm balance. A prep pose for us was side crow. I had it all planned out. Except no one took side crow! I had to adapt. 

From then on, I always began each class by asking for requests and letting everyone know to please always practice what was available to them that day. I would loosely plan class, but always be able to adapt when things didn't go the way I planned. 

Over the three years of my teaching in Breckenridge, I developed a following. People came to my classes, especially hot core fusion, to work on inversions and arm balances, to do a million vinyasas, to laugh and jam out. I still modified my plan when necessary an asked for requests, but I learned not to create a rigid outline that would never go as planned. 

Off-the-mat application: when I moved to Colorado, I was taking a step away from the rigid plan I'd made for my life. I was going to go to law school, become a lawyer and be married by now to some stock broker. Cheesy, but by listening to my heart (and to the great advice from my parents), I took time to go with the flow. To ski, dance, travel, date...to just be. I've learned it's good to have a loose outline of things, to have goals, but to be able to adapt when necessary and to enjoy what's happening in the now!