A few years ago at my work gym, there was a yoga instructor I frequently encountered in one-on-one yoga sessions. Here I was new to NYC, completely new to the idea of a ‘work gym,’ so let’s just say ‘one-on-one yoga session’ wasn’t even on my lexical horizon.

With only one semester of ‘Introduction to Yoga’ under my belt and the ability to hold crow pose for, like, only a millisecond, I was no experienced yogi. This teacher was nevertheless kind and patient…and relentlessly spiritual.

Each time we met, she would ask me to ‘set an intention’ for my practice. I was like, ‘Ummm, to play hooky from my desk for a jiffy?’ or ‘Maybe to work off that extra popover I had at lunch?’ I don’t know much about purpose, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what she meant.

I’m still no yogi, and I still have trouble seeing past the immediate, the surface, the tangible in many circumstances, but I wanted to dedicate this blog, aka ‘my practice,’ with a sense of purpose and intention. I mean, it can’t hurt, right? So, here goes.

This blog is a means of expressing myself and sharing my life – reminding myself to be present each and every day. It’s a way for me to process and reflect on experiences – exceptional and mundane. It’s a path for connecting with others – loved ones across the ocean, new friends I’ve just met, and future friends out in the great, wide open.

Whether it be the wind playing through tall, sun-dappled trees on a warm June afternoon, the solemn insistence of ferocious, dark waves thundering against a rocky shore, or even just treating myself to a sno-cone after an arduous visit to the DMV, I want to take the simplest moments, places and things and hold them close to my heart for as long as I’m blessed with the ability to do so. Life is, after all, one big sea of lovely. 

It is my sincere purpose to ‘live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.’ But let’s be real. I have very little interest in living ‘sturdily and Spartan-like.’ I’ll leave that for Mr. Thoreau. In the meantime, you can find me eating, drinking, and being merry.

So, time’s a-wastin’! Away we go!

xo,

R