Today I am starting the 30-day Yoga Journey from Yoga with Adriene* on YouTube.

Yoga was one of the magical things that brought me back into connection with myself after I quit drinking over three years ago. I have been practicing somewhat regularly since then, but my resolve has fallen apart a bit since Covid shut everything down a year ago. I joke about my quarantine-sized butt only fitting into stretch-pants these days, but honestly… it’s funny because it’s true. I have gotten a bit flabby and out of shape. I have decided it is time to recommit to a healthier lifestyle and restart my daily yoga practice!

I began taking yoga classes at a local studio in my town a few months after embarking on my recovery journey when they offered a free class on Easter. I walked in to the cute studio loft space located on the second floor of a classic downtown brownstone and immediately feel in love with the place. The woman who greeted me had a face full of smiles and was wearing a loose-fitting tshirt that read, “Unicorns are my spirit animal.” I knew I was meant to be there.

For almost 2 years I attended weekly classes on the mornings my kids were in school. But in late March 2020, that studio, like places all over the globe, closed its doors to in-person instruction. I struggled to maintain a regular yoga practice on my own. Pandemic depression and isolation overload settled heavy upon me with its packages of Oreos and nightly ice cream… and now here I am, stuck in the inertia of stagnation. 

Inertia, or Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, was always one of my favorite topics to teach in freshman physical science. It’s easy to visualize how an object in motion tends to stay in motion, but somewhat more difficult to accept that the opposite is just as true.

Once we have achieved “rest,” we cannot shift out of our inert state without a force applied upon us. We just sit there, in the couch hole carved out by our rumps, and sink further and further towards the center of the earth. And it seems like the longer we remain stationary, the larger the force needed to unseat our sluggish selves.

So today I am applying Force. Inspired by the early March sunshine and my approaching coursework for This Naked Mind Recovery Coach certification, I am opting to become an object in motion. 

Who’s with me?

Whether it’s getting back in physical shape, reclaiming healthy habits, reducing alcohol consumption, or finding the next adventure in your life, let’s get unstuck together!

What do you need to jumpstart in your life?

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*Interesting side note: I have a storied history with ‘Adrienes’ (Adriennes/Adrians/Addies), beginning with an Adrienne who gut-punched me on the school bus in elementary school and called me “Farmer Ted.” There was a different Adrienne (this one went by Addie) who chased me around a high school cast party with a butter knife because apparently I was flirting with the guy she liked. One of my all-time favorite students was a male Adrian during my second year of teaching. He entered my class already labeled a “troubled” student (behaviorally-challenged as they say) and placed in the “remedial” group. Turns out he was actually quite smart, just high-energy and in need of attention. He became my teacher’s aide that year and aced Physical Science. Then there is Adrienne who married my childhood best friend – she is an amazingly cool woman by the way (Hi Adrienne!!)–  but I made a drunken fool of myself at their wedding many years ago (when I was newly divorced and a hot, hot mess… sorry about that). And of course there is the Adrienne I met at the aforementioned yoga studio (also an awesome woman—Hi other Adrienne!) … you can read a story about how I met her right here. So it’s only fitting that I finally connect online to Yoga With Adriene after resisting doing virtual yoga for over a year. Thanks, Yoga Adriene!