Intro

My relationship with yoga started about 10 years ago when I "accidentally" received a "Yoga in a Box" set for beginners developed by Om yoga founder Cyndi Lee. If you are not familiar with yoga in a box it includes instructional CDs, pose Flash cards, a yoga belt, a candle, incense and incense holder. How I attracted this gift I am not sure, but I put it to use right away and enjoyed it thoroughly. I would light the incense, place the flash cards in circle in my living room and do the poses in the center of that circle as a I intently listened to the CD.

As we know when on the right path everything is provided easily and perfectly so soon after my surprise intro to yoga I met Caren Calder, Integral yoga instructor, dancer, musician and Mom extraordinaire during a community African dance class in Harlem. I followed Caren wherever she held classes, loved and still love her energy and demeanor. Caren's class was just what I needed, her class is unique in that while it consists of yoga staples of pranayama (breathing), asanas (poses), and meditation she also incorporates the Five Tibetan Rites aka fountain of youth exercises which are quite challenging. I remember being sore for several days after my first class. During my favorite part class in savasana (relaxation or corpse pose) it felt like my tension was released through all the hard work I just did and everything just fell away, leaving only what was really important. I always left Caren's class lighter as if whatever issue was weighing me down before class was no longer much of a big deal.

Fast forward to the present: Since those early yoga days I have married, had a son and focused on my career in the nonprofit sector. In the spirit of good karma I gave away my cherished yoga in a box (can't remember to who) hoping it would be a good start to their own yogic journey as it was for mine. My yoga practice did not get the same attention it once did, with the occasional home practice and sporadic classes here and there over the years. For the past few years something special has been happening to me, I am feeling the call to let my creative spirit free. My intention is use my yoga practice to anchor my transformation as I lay down tracks for another creative phase of my life. This blog is my record of how it all unfolds.