Finding Yoga

I wasn’t your traditional child who finished high school and went straight to college. In fact, I was far from traditional. I barely got out of high school. I totally loved my friends but I just didn’t learn as other kids did. I couldn’t sit all day and listen to a teacher talk and not have any visualization to understand what in the world she/he was talking about. After all I had spent all my early days watching animals in nature and riding horses. I soon began to feel like a failure. I did love Physical Education and I was darn good at it. I loved Art and I was ok at that too. I didn’t understand why I need to learn about what happened years ago or the reason certain chemicals blow up when you mix them together. I was very practical and thought let’s live in the here and now, the present. Don’t mix chemicals – that’s just not good for you.
Once I was old enough to start band I began playing the saxophone. I really loved it. I practiced every day and most of the time I made 1st chair throughout middle school. Between band , PE and Art I managed to stay in school! By the time I reached middle school my parents were divorced and my mom had gone back to work to provide for us. She was a damn good provider! I was pretty much on my own (in today’s world I would have been a latchkey kid). I would come home go watch the animals, practice my saxophone, ride horses, then eat dinner and go to bed. The homework often went undone or I would do it on the bus to and from school.
By the time I got to high school I had had enough band. I was afraid of the time commitment and how I would have transportation to after-hour events so I let it go. Somewhere between 14 and 15 I got my hardship license, because I got a job at Southwood Threater (now a laser tag place) on Ben White and I needed transportation to get from place to place. I loved working! In fact, I loved working so much I began skipping school so that I would be ready for work! Then I got a job at Foodland for my Uncle. That was even more fun and my friend Suzanne got a job there also. It was a blast. My fondest memory was that you could eat any broken candy bars. Boy was I great at breaking candy bars. Needless to say I wasn’t  setting myself up with good Karma. But from what I am seeing if we all throw our cards out on the table, we’ve all done things that we are not so proud of. This is the muck and the bottom of the pond. The muck we learn from.
Within a year I had decided I didn’t need to live at home anymore. I had learned everything I needed to know and was ready to live on my own! Ha! I moved into an apartment on Riverside Drive. Had no furniture except a bean bag chair and peace of foam to sleep on. I entered the DECA program where you work one half a day and go to school half a day. Thank God for these type programs or I probably never would have graduated. I only told my very close friends where I lived because I was somewhat afraid I could get in trouble. After all I had told the apartment building I was 18 when I signed the lease and I am somewhat sure it is illegal for a 15 year old to live by oneself. (Especially one that rarely goes to school). A lot went on in that time. Too much to share, too many wounds to open. Maybe someday—but all in all—I made it.
This is just a little back ground that will help you understand my need for stability, grounding, grace, dedication, meditation—all the lovely things that Yoga teaches.