On most Tuesday nights for the last six years or so, you could find me in class with Marissa, practicing yoga. If you had asked me pre-yoga if it would be possible for me to stay committed to any sort of exercise routine for that long, my answer would have most definitely been no. I’ve never played a sport. In middle school gym class, I was the one ducking from the ball when we played volleyball – which is exactly why I took golf for high school gym. I’m literally incapable of running and when I was in girl scouts, I had to be rescued from the middle of the pool when I couldn’t finish swimming the mile (no swimming badge for me). All of this to say, that sticking with yoga for that long feels like quite an accomplishment. The best part is that going to class has never felt like a chore. Marissa deserves a good deal of credit for that.

When I took “New to Yoga” at a studio in Conshohocken all those years ago, Marissa happened to be a sub for one of my classes. I liked her so much that I decided to go to her regular Tuesday night class. Let me tell you, it was not pretty. I would leave class a sweaty mess with legs like jelly, but I stuck with it and it got better! Even when I was huge and eight months pregnant, I kept going to class and Marissa would dutifully give me modifications to accommodate my enormous belly. Although the physical side of yoga has been wonderful, it also made me take more quiet time and think about things differently and to accept the processes of getting better, rather than just demanding perfection right away. I am so grateful that I have yoga in my life now.

Sadly, tonight was my last regular Tuesday night class with Marissa, since she is moving on to bigger and better things in yoga therapy. I am so happy for her and simultaneously, so sad for me. *sniff sniff*

I figured there was no better time for me to share the beachy yoga photos that I was incredibly honored to take for her a few years ago. She is a beautiful yogini and a beautiful person.

Aren’t these photos with her son the cutest? :-)