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Blithely Me

I am a human, being human, most days. I am a partner, mother, grandmother, yoga instructor, and teacher. I ebb and flow with each moment in my life. I deeply connect to who I am and experience this crazy world through these crazy eyes. The picture really sums me up. I am an optimist. I have been long wandering at times, but I have never truly been lost because I am always where I need to be.

The Art of Learning

I was a professional educator. These days, my students are among my greatest teachers. I am more interested in sharing knowledge with my fellow humans to improve mind, body, and spirit. I am content only when I succeed in passing on my love for learning. If asked to surmise my life philosophy, it would simply be that the art of living is practiced, never mastered. It is constant, never static. It is a passion shared.

My Yoga 

I have been practicing yoga since 1992. I began as a yoga student in Miami under the tutelage of Bobbie Goldan, a student of B.K.S. Iyengar. I began my journey, like so many others, in pain. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, and to add insult to injury, I was squashed under my husband’s horse in a spectacular accident, leaving her & me with permanent damage. As a once competitive athlete, I was really struggling with my new pain-filled body. As an academic, I struggled with a fugue-filled mind and waded through the nebulous of a once-clear thought process to teach subjects I knew so well. As a human being, I mourned a once vibrant life with a saddened spirit and aching heart. Yoga was my last resort.

My yoga has changed and mellowed over the years. I will be 63 this year and have had to honor my body in that process. My yoga is a little more Yin than Yang some days, and I am cool with that. I can still balance, invert, and sweat my way through even the most physical of classes, but really, who wants to do that anymore? I might just have to agree with my friend who told me your yoga is different, but its importance will continue to be better and more meaningful every year.

My commitment is to walk with the joy of knowing I can and do it without pain in my mind or body and to celebrate the success of others doing the same.

My Writing

For me, cooking and writing are decompression. I can spend an afternoon submerged in my kitchen or at my desk and disregard the rest of the world and its goings-on. Both are truly a practice of mindfulness. I write to get ideas on paper so they don’t clutter my mind. Blogging is my way of communicating that I am an active citizen of the world.

My poetry is quirky, and I hesitate to put it out there. My dearest friend says it’s very heady. I used to think that was a dark mark, but I have decided that I like the idea of being a heady writer. I am at total peace with who I am.