A Thousand Days of Yoga

Current place: Mission Valley, San Diego CA
Current music: playing tracks by Raymond Scott, Primitive World, Martina Lussi, Sary Moussa, Jose Orozco Mora and more.
Today's practice: virtual group sitting of vipassana meditation, 45 minutes.

It started as an unwritten book and a lot of negative self talk. Here is a sample of what I mean by negative self talk:

I am sitting and looking at the abstract painting (Target, $49) on the wall of my empty studio apartment next to the busy road with a lot of traffic noise where I moved myself in after splitting with my husband of eight years. Now I have this painting to stare at in silence. I’ve wanted to start a wellness blog for a few years now, but after re-reading some of my writings, I doubt anyone would be interested in reading them. Did I mention I accidentally deleted my best writings to date when I was clearing out of the office at my previous job? That's gone now, too. The good thing about hitting rock bottom or starting over is that the only way left is up. So don’t look back. //End of negative self talk.

With this blog, I wanted to create a place where people can come read stories and not feel alone in whatever they are going through in life, stories about how mindfulness techniques can help overcome challenges and provide guidance in difficult situations. I believe that regular yoga and meditation practice can lead to better well-being and be a catalyst for positive change in all areas of life so this blog is also my life's experiment. I am newly single after my marriage of eight years had ended and am currently starting over in both personal and professional areas of my life so follow along to see how it goes.

The actual number of days I practiced yoga is more than a thousand. But I called the opening blog post 'A Thousand Days of Yoga' because this is the number of days when I had at least one session as recorded on the Insight Timer app. I've been using this free app for the last 5 years to keep track of my yoga and meditation practice.

First time I went to a real yoga class was back in 2006 when I lived in Beijing, China. The yoga studio was called Yoga Yard and had yoga teachers from China and all over the world. I did not know much about yoga back in the day, but it was quickly becoming mainstream and we started going to morning classes before work with a very good friend of mine who introduced me to the studio. And just like so, my yoga and meditation journey had begun.

15 years later, in another country on another continent in another life,

I finally decided to start a blog to share my experience with everyone who is interested in how yoga and meditation can change people’s lives. I did not go the popular path of yoga certification and becoming a yoga teacher. That’s not for me as I’m a forever student. The first thousand days is just a beginning. Welcome to this journey.