Coming Home

“In traveling, a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.” -Samuel Johnson

There was a time in my life when I did not want to go home. Whether it was coming back from vacation, returning from work travel or just heading south on I-71 from a regular old Wednesday in the office, I dreaded going home. I lived in a beautiful large house with everything I could have possibly wanted: a big indulgent bathtub, a chef’s dream kitchen and a lovely fireplace. Such a sad thing…not to want to go home. But now, coming home from Italy to my tiny apartment in the city, I couldn’t have been more eager.

Back then I didn’t recognize that my home was always right inside of me despite what else was going on in life. Rama Jyoti Vernon says: “With yoga…you will hold to the peaceful center that always is and always has been.” For sometime, it had been difficult for me to define my core, my truth. People always say: “Just do what makes you happy.” I often wanted to say, “Duh...I know that.” But how do we determine what makes us happy or more importantly, what taps into that peaceful center?

While in Italy, my teacher Amy Ippoliti shared some practical exercises that may help give you some insight into your core being or your truth or the gauge or barometer by which you measure your actions, plan your goals and realize your dreams. Even if you already know your truth, these simple contemplations are healthy reminders and can serve as simple tune-ups to make sure that we are staying true to our core:

• Surround yourself with good company. Make a list of the names of the people who you spend most of your time with and ask yourself: do they enhance my life?
• Do the things you love to do. Write down the things that bring joy into your life and commit to doing those things more often.
• Make a list of the things that are you good at doing. Look at this list often to give yourself a little esteem boost!
• Give and get hugs. Be touched. And if you don’t have anyone to hug, schedule a massage.
• Remember your breathing. Like one of my yogis once said: “If we’re not breathing, what are we doing?”
• And finally, remember: what you consistently do everyday, you become.

My journey to Italy was so valuable. In the hills of the countryside, I left behind the things that were no longer serving me and I am inspired. Inspired by my teacher. Inspired by the interesting yogis and yoginis that I met from around the world. And inspired by my trusted travel companions, Denise and Erika who remind me to adorn my inner goddess. Mostly, I am inspired by my truth and I am reminded that “There’s no place like home.” -Dorothy Gale, from The Wizard of Oz (my favorite movie)

Hope to see you this Saturday, October 18th for a powerful core practice!