cheesy but true... life is about the journey, not the destination
I am many things, but one of my favorite identities is being a yogi. I have been practicing yoga for a total of 6 years. I also practice in martial arts, specifically Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
It was through yoga and martial arts that I found the strength, the voice, and the confidence I was craving my whole life.
It has given me a peace of mind and the flexibility needed to adapt with these changing times. I would love to share my journey with you.
my story
I found yoga and martial arts through pain and injury. I have a disc in my neck and in my lower back that are both ruptured from car accidents. I have pain in both my hands and wrists from a bicycle accident. Let's just say, I found myself at 40 years old with an old body unable to do much of anything. When I tried to do something, I would get super sore and take weeks to recover from it. I was overweight and always exhausted.
During covid lockdown, I was in a car accident with my family. That was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It was the catalyst that woke me up from my mediocre existence. It shined a light on my pain, bad habits, apathy... all the shit you don't want to look at, that you think will maybe go away one day.
The hard truth is that the shit doesn't go away until you actively do something about it.
I started moving my body and I started to heal.
I am 43 years old, and today I feel the best I've felt since I was an athlete in high school. I have so much more purpose in all my endeavors and I feel confidence in my body and my mind. My brain functions better. My whole body functions better. I feel alive and all I want to do is continue on this path and trajectory to be even better than this.
I'm an addict. The addiction is being healthy, and I love every aspect this health journey entails.
Being in my old self and my old body would look at someone like me now and see all the sacrifice and hard work and think, jeeze, that's just too much. Looking at me now, and where I am today, I think, wow, it was totally worth all of the hard work and I didn't feel like anything was a sacrifice. As you change, your priorities and wishes change. You change.
I have changed. I'm not going back.