Enchated by a Yogi: Did I just find my calling?

I had a feeling something really important was going to happen this month-- besides the 25th anniversary of  of my time here on planet earth, of course.

As I mentioned in a previous post, R and I were enchanted by a yogi man last Friday night. {I may have claimed that he was a guru, but I can't really confirm that}. What was so special about this chance encounter was it was totally by divine intervention. The yogi man even said he wasn't suppose to be there that night, and yet, he felt a weird magnetic pull towards the Kava bar -- When he found us and realized why he was there. {We weren't going to go to the Kava bar either because we had been drinking wine-- but we felt like we needed to be there too. *Chimes in Twilight Zone theme*} Most of our life events revolved around our intuitions pulling us around-- that's just how we be.


Some back story: In the weeks leading up to that night, I had started practicing yoga daily again. For the past several years I have been pretty lazy as far as working out and stretching goes, but I started to develop insomnia again last month, and extreme stretching trumps any kind of sleep aide for me. I was mostly hanging out with P90x guy since it is the exact level of extreme that I need to sleep like a baby and I don't have extra cash for Yoga classes at the moment-- Also, I know the routine fairly well, so I can put the creeper on mute. {Does anyone else think P90x guy is kind of a creep?}

Rob and I use to go to class together all the time, but life just got in the way, and we had to settle for at-home-yoga-ing once every few weeks. I should also mention that despite my lack of practice, I am really big on the power of positive, focused, present thinking and calming of the mind. I'd say meditation, but I am honestly not that good at meditating-- it is an art form I have yet to master.

But, I do say my Ohms and they feel good. I even have a permanent reminder:

{I got my Ohm when I first started practicing yoga on a regular basis at age 19, 

and then I got the tree around it last April-- it's kind of a crappy pic}

OKAY, so all of this isn't completely out of the blue.. I've always been interested in eastern philosophy {at age 11, I refused the Catholic Church as my faith, and told my mother I was a Buddhist at heart-- at the time I hardly new anything about Buddhism but those philosophies felt more true to me than anything I ever experienced in church. Now I call myself a spiritual & scientific woman of the universe.}

While we were chatting with yoga man, I realized that I haven't been honest with myself about where I want to go or who I want to be in my life-- I realized that I have been struggling so much because I am not really doing what I am passionate about-- even though I am actually doing what I thought would be the Holy Grail for me, and that's freelance art. 

Despite my dream job, I have just been feeling so dissatisfied-- Until... I started practicing Yoga again full time. 

SO what I am getting at here is... I have made the decision to put my art career on hold in honor of devoting myself entirely to the practice of yoga. In a few months, once I've regained my flexibility I will start applying for scholarships to become a certified to teacher. I'm waiting to start applying because once I am certified, I want to be in the place mentally and physically to be a true leader in the practice. I've always wanted to be a teacher, spiritual leader and healer-- but for some reason, the path I was suppose to take never presented itself to me... then we chatted with the yogi and here I am now.

It's funny how it just all makes sense now; We've been thinking about our five-year-plan a lot lately, which more than likely involves a move out west, and I have had so much anxiety about where I will fit into that picture career wise-- I mean, I have to have a job, and without a full college degree under my belt, let's face it.. My options are somewhat limited starting out anywhere new-- and freelancing is {really} hard work with out a lot of passion or local clients. I was almost envious that R found so much satisfaction creating art-- I've wanted to be an artist most of my life, so it was really discouraging to feel so unhappy with my career choice. I LOVE creating art, but something was still missing. If I am honest with myself about my feelings towards art I am most satisfied whilst learning about the history and religious/philosophical significance behind the painting.

So that is my big announcement; I think I am most excited about the lifestyle change. Diet, routine, mentality; Yoga brings so much harmony to your life and I am just so grateful that the opportunity has not only presented itself, but R is on board to help support me achieve those goals. 

I'm also glad that this year has been  so chaotic; I feel like a beautiful lotus emerging untainted through the mud-- bringing light into the dark-- a perfect start to my journey as a full time yogi. {fun fact: my first tattoo was a huge lotus on my shoulder}

Do you yoga? What are your favorite forms of yoga? What do you like the most about a yoga class? What do you like the least?

Namaste!

r