Intentions

Something got me out of bed yesterday.

Maybe it was that I woke up without a deadline looming over my head.

Perhaps it was my excitement about returning to one of my favorite yoga classes at my favorite gym, Lifetime Athletic.

Or that I knew my mother would make me dinner (cuz I'm still a big baby).

All of the above.

Plus, I was excited the fact that I would actually have a minute to sit down and post on the blog today.

I know, it's been a while and what actually inspired me to blog was something that my yoga teacher Erica Sergott said yesterday during practice.

It was really simple.

Morning of NYC Marathon!

At the beginning she said "Set an intention for your practice today" and I immediately thought of my breath. 

I haven't been running regularly since the New York City Marathon because:

     1. I needed and still need a break from running after that back-to-back-marathon-palooza (Marine Corps followed a week later by NYCM) followed by life.


     2. I've had some pretty major breathing problems since the beginning of November, when thick smoke and particulate matter filled the air of Northeast Georgia because of wildfires as close as four miles to our town.

Two doctors visits, one x-ray, one CT scan (clear!), and two different steroid prescriptions later, I'm slowly approaching a state in which I can breathe again without feeling like I'm drowning in peanut butter mixed with molasses and Elmer's glue. Breathing is essential.

Erica Sergott, yogi extraordinaire!

I've also been under a bit of stress lately. If you read my Women's Running Magazine post from last week about my goals and accomplishments from this past year, you'll understand why. And also, if you are new to this blog, you should know that I'm in the midst of writing a book. That's been giving me a little bit of anxiety.

But back to yoga yesterday morning.

I set my intention for my practice. It was--

"Thank you lungs for allowing me to breathe." 

Throughout the practice Erica reminded me several times to call to mind my intention for the practice, and it refocused me in a really powerful way.

My breathing became less labored, and I became less afraid of giving my full self to movement. I gave into quietude of the mind, and to opening myself to the bounty of good that has come my way in the last two years.

I returned to my intention, expressed gratitude for my lungs, and then reminded myself of the intent of everything that I do in the name of fitness, including this blog. I recommitted to health and wellness a few years ago, because I was letting them escape from my life. I started the blog because I wanted to share the journey with others.

So here I am. After a hectic-in-a-good-way year I want to recommit myself to blogging on this platform and continue to share my journey with you.

Thank you to Erica, yogi extraordinaire for helping me to realize this with a simple but incredibly meaningful yoga practice.