By Diana Dalton
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03 Feb, 2023
It took me many years to start practicing yoga consistently. I would take a class and then be so sore that I wouldn't return, sometimes for months! This went on for years until 2002, when my mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. I knew deep in my heart that I needed to change my lifestyle or I would be facing the same situation. Fear is an excellent motivator! I knew I couldn't make these big changes on my own. and I also knew Yoga was an entire blueprint for healthy living, even if I was pretty fuzzy (ignorant) on the details. I took a leap of faith and signed up for Teacher Training at Synergy Yoga in Miami Beach to deepen my practice and find out what all this yoga business was about. I graduated in June 2005 and began teaching immediately. 18 years later, I can say with confidence it was one of the smartest decisions I ever made. I am healthier, stronger and have more ease and freedom in my body and mind than I ever could have imagined. Yoga works, you just have to do it! The first ethic in yoga is ahimsa or nonviolence. Had I known this when I started practicing, I might have been more gentle with myself, not pushed so hard, and been so sore that I did not return for months... I say might, because that person was pretty rigid- in body and mind- so maybe I wouldn't have gotten the message! While we might come to yoga for any number of physical reasons, trust that the practice infuses all aspects of your being and life. It really is a gift, a gift I treasure so much I've made it my life's work to share it with you. May you learn from my mistakes without having to repeat them. I invite you to start on your own yoga journey. Join me for Yoga 101 Miami, let's be healthy together!