My Crazy, Wild and Liberating Journey to a Mindful Life
EVOLUTION DAY
I’ve had many different careers in my life… First, some heavy-duty mom-ming of 2 kids (got married & pregnant right after University!)…next, as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer…then as a Thai Bodywork Practitioner, and then as a yoga instructor and studio owner…All really great things that I could do part-time while my kids were at home!
THEN…I experienced a big shift…it happened when my youngest graduated from high school and moved away to university. Our home wasn’t buzzing with busy kids, after-school activities, and all the things that go together with teenagers. I felt absolutely lost. I didn’t know what to do now that I had no kids at home! I had an empty feeling that I had never experienced before…I was directionless.
Not sure how I learned about MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) but I decided to take an online MBSR course to learn more about meditation and mindfulness. After just a few weeks, I was hooked. Absolutely hooked! I knew that teaching mindfulness meditation along with yoga was the right path for me.
I had started vipassana meditation when I was in Thai Bodywork teacher training years ago, so despite having a consistent meditation practice, the skills I learned with MBSR (and the teacher training courses I took through UMASS and Brown), helped me gain a deeper insight as to how I wanted to live my life.
All of the emotions I was experiencing (sense of loss and a feeling of being stuck), and even the emotions I didn’t KNOW I was experiencing (chronic anxiety) became manageable with mindfulness and the formal meditation practices I learned with MBSR. I learned to ditch the self-judgment and embrace self-compassion more than I ever have.
Not only have I become qualified to teach MBSR, but I am really excited to be in the SIY teacher training program (Search Inside Yourself…started at Google) SIY adds a component of Emotional Intelligence to the practice of mindfulness. It’s an incredible thing to be a part of a worldwide cohort of like-minded people out to help make the world a better place.
So, maybe my path to a more mindful life hasn’t REALLY been wild and crazy…but it sure has been liberating!
