Yoga is an opening to an internal exploration that creates an ongoing conversation for me between my mind, my body and the outside world.
In 2002 my Thai father died of prostate cancer. The pain was crippling and caused me to begin, what I now consider, a life-long journey of diving deep into my soul. I had a thirst for knowledge that would lead me to a healthier lifestyle. I was not exactly “unhealthy”…meaning I exercised daily, but I was living each day in my mind…thoughts ran rampant and often controlled my moods–and I was rarely present. I was living in the future or in the past.
My father had come to the United States in his early 20s and, at that time, was maintaining a healthy lifestyle similar to the one he lived in Thailand. He had spent time as a monk and had consumed a mostly vegetarian diet during that time. Decades later when he was dying in his early 70s, that lifestyle had long been forgotten and was replaced with the over-indulgent Western traditions that put too much on his plate, in his wine glass and not enough time in meditation or exercise.
I took a break from my life-long dream job as a long-time TV Newscaster in San Diego and cared for him in his final months before he died on Labor Day 2002. Then I quit my job, realizing my thirst to understand the soul and a truly healthy lifestyle were imminent.
I started Live Fit Magazine, an online video magazine, with the goal to help people live happy, healthy, enriched lives. My search to help and serve others, helped me.
Yoga was one of the first awakenings. It impacted my life by helping me control my thoughts, channel my breath into areas where deep pain still resided from my father’s death. It was the outlet that grounded me and taught me to live in this moment and in full appreciation of the moment. At first, yoga was an exercise that I tried to power through while the ego rose steadily trying to push its way to the top–”I can do that pose.” “I can hold it longer.” However, soon the ego was enveloped by the sounds of a ujai breath that almost provided a light to guide me out of ego and into a space that was filled with love and peace. Yoga, for me, soon became synonymous with relief. This is why I must practice yoga.
I start my Power Yoga Teacher Training this week and am eager to see the transformations that will happen both on and off my mat. I invite you to join me in my journey. I’ll be posting my explorations, realizations, and thoughts that I hope will empower you as well as me and the world around me.
Namaste!
