My Yoga Story
Updated: Oct 13, 2022
My yoga journey started about 10 years ago. I was introduced to Lululemon during a study abroad at Bond University in Australia. It's a Canadian brand and at the time was not really available in the states. I didn't believe the craze until my friend brought me to a store in Melbourne, and thats exactly where my full on addiction to their clothes started in 2008.
At the time, I didn't even do yoga. The only experience that I had with it was when my high school swim coach introduced it to our practices weekly. Stretching meant we were let out of the pool early. I remember not really taking it seriously. It seemed so easy compared to being in the water. Normally we were forced to hold our breath, but here we were able to breathe.
It wasn't until moving to the Main Line in Pennsylvania in 2012 that I developed a need to join a community and be active. While shopping at the King of Prussia Mall, I found myself in Lululemon reading their store signage that promoted their affiliations with local yoga studios offering free classes. I looked online and found that each Lululemon store offered their own free yoga class every week. I had three stores within immediate proximity, and there was born my regular schedule of going to yoga multiple times a week.
Each week, I would take the free classes sponsored by Lululemon. They introduced me to all of the studios in the area, taught me about the different styles of yoga, and gave me the strength that forming a regular practice can bring.
Through these classes, I found Hotbox Yoga in Manayunk and for years went religiously. The Baptiste style classes are hosted in a second-story studio that feels like a tree house. This was my spot. Although traffic on 76 and parking a bit chaotic, I loved the calmness that each class washed over me. I loved the heat. The hotter the better. Each class, I would feel fully rinsed. I was in tune with my body and conscious of what it needed.
Over time driving to the city for class became hard while working my 9-5 in finance. I started seeking alternative studios that were easier to get to, but I struggled with finding the "right" spot. I continued to practice, but I wasn't very consistent for a period of a few years. I could see and feel the impact that had on my body.
My perfect class is a hot studio, with Vinyasa flow, that offers early classes, so I was thrillled when Bulldog Yoga opened a location in Malvern in 2019. There I was able to bring back my routine. Heat and upbeat music drove the classes. I was back in the groove. Then the pandemic hit.
For me the heat is what makes me want to go to class. Not having a hot studio to attend immediately threw me out of schedule. I stopped practicing and picked it back up again only when things started opening up.
Like most people I went through significant changes in my life during Covid. I quit my corporate job, started two businesses, removed myself from relationships that were not serving me, and moved.
As I strive to work on my independence, yoga is my balance. It's what grounds me. It deserves more attention then what I give it. That's why I am committed to getting my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Certification at Power of Now Oasis Studio in Bali this fall. I'm ready for my cleanse and to check in with my awareness making sure all my priorities align with the needs of my life.
Subscribe to follow my YTT journey Fall of 2022. I will be looking to produce a meditation series following the experience for you to enjoy. I am also actively looking for sponsorships of brands to collaborate with so please contact me if interested in partnering.
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xx