Transitional Me

Work towards management, work out 5 times a week, continue your nutrition courses, practice and share these lessons, play with your nieces and nephews, laugh with your closest friends, file your separation papers, get your veggies for the week…..wait, what? Separation papers, when did that happen?

I was never a girl to dream about my wedding, but I certainly never expected to be, as my friend calls it, a Divorcee. And before 30? Now here I am, Stranger me, with a new challenging and scary job, an unfamiliar house, an unfriendly budget and an unwelcome 20 pounds to keep me company. There was a certain time period that this newly gained ‘freedom’ allowed a kind of release that was long awaited. Unfortunately as all things do, this fantasy land comes to an end and reality smacks you in the face.

So here I am, trying to figure out how I arrived in this stranger’s body and trying to figure out who the new me is supposed to be, when I hear the ‘bing bing’ of my past life sending me a text message. This message was from a friend who stood by me week after week as we practiced yoga and savored those moments of feeling strong, free and in charge of our destinies. Since feeling in charge of my destiny was something that currently felt far out of reach, I scrambled to read what wise words I knew must be waiting for me. On the screen I read “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you. Kushala Yoga is the Port Moody studio that I love and they’re doing a yoga challenge in May; I think you should check it out.”

With two days to spare before May 1st, I decided it was time. I signed up and walked in the warm, fresh and comforting studio that I immediately knew would pull me back time and time again. Barefoot and nervous, I wrote down the message my soul was begging me to share: “By practicing yoga in 20 classes, I will begin my journey back to health- mind and body “.

After 20 classes in 31 days, here I stand. I have taken a breath.

I have taken a breath while I laughed, while I cried, while I mourned, and while I learned that it’s okay to not be okay. And I know as I grow in my yoga practice that I will continue to breathe until one day I will look over with compassion and gratefulness at Stranger Me and Transitional Me. And I will thank them for helping, one step, one tear, one pose and one breakthrough at a time to find the Me that I’ve learned to love again.