Balance

Finally, at 48 years old, I’ve reached a point of balance in my life.  Well, most days!  If you had told me in my twenties that is would take this long I may have reacted with fear and/or disbelief.

I am a business owner, wife, and a mother of a 12 year old son Jonah.  As such, my life is a balance between a mundane suburban existence, the usual business and family stresses, and of course, the many inspirations in my life that keep things interesting.  In finding this balance, I’ve learned to find those inspirations, sometimes buried in the mundane.

I’m lucky my work life affords me the ability to be there for Jonah, one of the main inspirations in my life, as he maneuvers his way through school and life.  Much of my day involves getting him to and from school, hosting play dates, going on school field trips, volunteering in the school, driving to after school activities and helping with homework.   You must be wondering what kind of business I own… well I own not one, but two yoga studios.  As soon as I say that to a stranger their eyebrows perk up, and a little smile comes to their lips.  Most think this is unique, and sexy way to make a living.  They don’t see the 90° days when the AC breaks or when a teacher can’t find a substitute for tomorrow morning’s 6am class.  For the men I meet, they just visualize tightly clothed beautiful women twisting their bodies into unbelievable poses.  They are intrigued…but basically I own a business that has all the ups and downs that every business has.  What is different in my business is the yoga, my inspiration in the everyday.  I am drawn to helping people feel healthy and good when they wake up in the morning.  I see how yoga changes my student’s lives, and I watch their love of yoga grow.  The teachers who teach at Yoga Haven are equally inspiring.  Each one has a gift, and they are each a puzzle piece of this yoga community.

When my husband David and I moved to Westchester from New York City, I struggled to find community.  I felt a tangible void.  The saying goes, “If you build it they will come”, so I created my dream, Yoga Haven, and sure enough, out of a 600 square foot room in a two story walk-up, people showed up and a community grew.  Yes, there were times I lost balance and thought I was crazy, but David was there to help me back.  Fourteen years later, when I decided to open a second studio (gulp), Jonah and David where there again to help me navigate the ups and downs.

So yes, you need the fun and exciting moments, but mundane is part of the balance too.  Everything can’t be fun and fabulous.  If it were, those things would become mundane!  The inspirations in my life are like little gems that spark in front of my eyes.  I see a student have a revelation about their body, or Jonah makes me laugh so hard I cry.

We all need inspiration.  What is it that makes your eyes light up, gives you the energy to work all night, sparks a creative energy you don’t have doing other things in your life?   Maybe it is something as simple as learning how to knit, or something as challenging as changing careers, or learning how to stand on your hands at age 48!