Mississippi Yoga

Yoga Found Me…in Mississippi

I was born and raised in Southern California and was an athlete from an early age. I started competing in High School in several sports and I enjoyed swimming and running more than any other sport. Every opportunity I had I was in a pool or on a track.

I was taught to stretch and do basic calisthenics as part of my training. Nothing else ever crossed my path, and definitely not Yoga. Over the next two decades, I became a busy software sales executive and kept up with my swimming and running as part of my “staying in shape” efforts. I was starting to have neck pain, back pain and constant pain in my knees.

A chiropractor recommended that I start doing some yoga and gave me a paper on some stretches I could start doing. It felt awkward and uncomfortable from the start. I resisted it, and ended up taking daily doses of advil to deal with the pain.

In 2007 I moved to Mississippi from Southern California for a job opportunity. I had never lived in another state, and moving to the Deep South was a transition in so many ways. My diet completely changed- I went from eating salads and baked chicken and fish to fried pork chops, hush puppies and catfish. I drank my first glass of sweet tea and discovered a refreshment I had never encountered. I was hooked!

I started to really gain weight and developed high blood pressure. I was still trying to get in a workout three times a week and running a few miles when I could find the time. The pain kept me from doing much else.

In 2009 I met a woman who was at a meditation center in Biloxi I had gone to. She had an ease and a comfort about her, and we became fast friends. She told me about an upcoming yoga workshop she was teaching and it was 6 weeks of Hatha Yoga (two sessions a week). She encouraged me to come and in her sweet southern drawl she assured me, “You will love it more than banana puddin!” which was saying something. I had to try it!

This California girl learned the art of Yoga from a Mississippi teacher who had trained in Boulder, CO. I was moving, and stretching, and laughing, and breathing and before i knew it, the workshop was over. I had found joy and relief from pain with this incredible new toolkit of movement -my favorite pose from that workshop was the Happy baby and it still is today.

Yoga has improved my overall well being and has given me a new journey towards wellness. I became a vegetarian and have added daily meditation to my routine. I am now living back in California, and I work for a software company that serves the Yoga community. Full circle from where I started, and I will always be grateful to my first Yoga teacher sharing her gift with me.