"If we’re lucky, we realize over time that all the input we allow into our lives, both positive and negative, is like water; it seeps into the crevices and permeates our whole being.  Although we often like to believe that we compartmentalize everything, we are affected by all the things we do, the people with whom we interact, and of everything we take in, including the noise inside our own minds. If we live our daily lives without being aware of these influences, it’s very easy to allow ourselves to become polluted.  Soaking up the positive influences while allowing the negative ones to drain away and evaporate is a worthy but difficult goal. 

When I first decided to formally practice Yoga, my hope was to regain some of the physical strength and flexibility I had during the years when I practiced martial arts, as well as to reclaim that inner peace and discipline, but in a way that was gentler on my body.  The benefits have been so much greater than I had hoped.  This community has been so friendly and welcoming, and so lacking in judgement or competitiveness, that it felt like the perfect decision from the first day.  It’s a very comfortable place to take up space and to focus on goals. I feel very much at home. 

Yoga has benefitted my body in numerous ways, of course, but even more so my mind and my spirit.  The more I practice, the easier it feels to filter out the “bad water” from the outside world.  And more importantly, from my own self and my anxiety and control issues.  I’m beginning to understand that having a day when I’m not able to do this perfectly, or to execute a pose perfectly, or finish my work perfectly, etc., does not mean that I’ve failed.  It just means these things weren’t meant to happen on that day. These lessons are incredibly freeing, and I feel such gratitude to my practice and to this community for all of these gifts. Namaste."

- Donna H