Thanks, Human Breathing!

This morning, I practiced at my home studio for the first time in a month. This picture was taken in my home immediately afterward by Z.

There is so much to say about my yoga roots, my home and my yoga family at Human Breathing that I get overwhelmed with emotion and can barely think straight. My yoga practice is a gift that I give myself and my family but I would not be the yogi or human that I am without Ron Coughenour and Human Breathing.

I came to yoga in the depths of struggling to conceive a baby. I was depressed, hormonal, overweight and often times felt completely hopeless. I had tried everything from western medicine to acupuncture to green to dairy free to whole fat dairy. I was exhausted.

I had decided to go to the closest studio and find relief, but I had read the times wrong and class was already in progress when I got to the studio. I peaked in the window and ran. The next day, at the local farm market, I saw a dude wearing a shirt from the studio. I told him I was thinking about starting yoga there. He offered me a hug and then told me that I should come to class that very night. I felt like I should. So, I did.

That dude turned out to be the owner of the studio and my big brother, Ron. That day was over 6 years and several yoga mats ago. Yoga was instantly powerful to me. I spent a lot of time at the beginning crying through my practice and sweating like I never knew a person could sweat. It was awful and wonderful and I could not stop.

I was so bad at yoga. In fact, I am still so bad at yoga. But that is the secret. We are all bad at yoga. The point is to allow yourself to be bad at it. To sit with it. To not judge it.

I have practiced yoga in dozens of other studios and while I enjoy it, I know that my home is Human Breathing. At our studio, we are real, we are zany and we love each other fiercely. The women and men who practice there are blazing torches of light. They are strong and wise and lift me up in ways that I cannot even fathom.

It is the intention of Ron that has created more than a yoga studio. He has created a family. I am deeply grateful to my yoga practice for all the wonderful blessings it manifests in my life, including the sisters I have met in YTT. And I bow with deep gratitude to my original teacher, Ron, and the community at Human Breathing. Thank you for loving me even when I feel unlovable, thank you for supporting me and thank you for being part of my home. 

I hope I will be back to practice with you all again soon! Namaste!