Namaste (What Does That Even Mean Anyway?)

A couple of months ago, I was approached by two lovely ladies that own Buddhi Yoga in La Jolla and was asked if I wanted to take their Yoga Teacher Training. Now, I've been practicing yoga for about 11 years and completing a teacher training was on my five year plan, but definitely not on my 2 month plan. Having just left my stable income producing job, working on building a running coaching/training business, building a brand new virtual community and website for runners, leading November Project, holding it down as the lululemon run ambassador, etc, etc made it seem impossible (if not plain stupid) to drop the money required and put everything on hold for 3 full weeks to participate. I had excuses for days, but in the end, why not? It was an amazing opportunity to be taught by 3 unbelievable yoga teachers and to immerse myself in yoga and meditation for three weeks... which maybe was exactly what I needed during this crazy time in my life. So I said yes. And, thanks to the amazing humans at November Project, my supportive loved ones, and my understanding clients, all of the details worked out and it was one of the best decisions of my life.

I could write a novel about all of the personal growth and insight that came out of this training, and a second novel on the new relationships formed. But we'll save that for another time.

As a runner, one of the biggest turning points in my running life came when I began to consistently practice yoga in addition to my running. Yoga has the power to balance out what we do to our bodies when we run in many ways. It helps stretch and elongate tight and overused muscles, it helps strengthen underused muscles, it helps us connect to our breath and learn how to use our breath to help us, and the focus and meditation amplifies our mental game. But yoga is incredibly intimidating for beginners in general, and especially runners.

You walk into a yoga studio and everyone is talking very quiet, it smells like essential oils, people look like they can easily turn themselves into human pretzels, and you are already feeling scared and uncomfortable. Then class begins and the teacher is speaking other languages (that's called Sanskrit), those human pretzels really can get tangled up and manage to look comfortable doing it, you're sweating about 1000% more than the people next to you, and no matter how hard you try, your knees won't get straight and your heels won't touch the ground in downward dog. And then to top it off, after you fall asleep in your corpse pose, the teacher makes you 'Ohm" out loud and says this magic word (namaste) and everyone repeats it. What is this? A cult? And what does that word even mean?

The runner in me wants to be the yoga teacher that changes all of that. The yoga teacher that makes yoga less scary, that helps you understand which poses are best for runners and why, that reassures you that there are no prizes for straight legs or heels touching the ground, and that helps you learn how the deeper aspects of yoga can and will change you, as a runner and as a human.

So I hope to see you on the mat! Runner's Flow is waiting for you.

LP

*P.S. Namaste has many meanings, but it's often used as a parting greeting in yoga meaning the light and soul in me acknowledges and respects the light and soul in you, and in everyone.