Where I've Been and Why

One day nearly fifteen years ago, I tied on my tennis shoes, threw my gym bag into the back of our white Toyota van, and drove myself into town for an exercise class. My favorite teacher was  a free-spirited, large-boned, loud, young woman who seemed to care not a whit that there were holes in her gym shorts. She commanded us through stretches, leg lifts, and arm strengtheners, led step routines with the joy of a drill sergeant about to go on holiday, and was delighted when we flopped on the floor in complete exhaustion. On this particular day she decided to experiment on us with her new, self-taught knowledge of yoga. I was totally hooked. I could tell these stretches with the strange names were accomplishing something in my body that nothing else had done.

That was the beginning of my yoga journey. Since then, I've moved around from studio to studio, enjoying the different styles, creating muscle memories that lasted longer than some of my mental ones, especially the last place I laid my keys or my phone.

Then something very startling happened. My yoga teacher began prompting me to think about opening my own studio as she was leaving town. It had not been in my plans, wasn't something I particularly yearned to do, but I sensed a change coming in this season. Hey, my one little word for this year was "anticipation."

Remarkably, a series of doors began to open like they sensed my approaching presence. I found a yoga training school that meshed with my belief system and my yoga mentality.  I found a room in a good location that worked for my practically nonexistent budget. I picked up my feet and put them down again, trusting that it was God opening these doors.

So for the last four months, I have been absorbed with this baby yoga business, nurturing it like the small, growing thing it is. An infant of any sort is all-consuming, at least for a while. I hope I'm beginning to reach the stage where there is room in my life again for the other things I love, like writing and poetry and long walks.

In the meantime, this quote from Mother Theresa has resonated with me in the last week, so I'm sharing with you today. It's not exactly a poem, but I have broken the sentences up into lines, the way I would like to read them to my friends.


“May today there be peace within.

May you trust that you are

exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget

the infinite possibilities

that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself

just the way you are.

Let this knowledge settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing,

dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.”

- Mother Teresa
Renee La Tulippe hosts Poetry Friday today at No Water River. Stop by and visit.