perspiration
Herstory – Part 1
The year was 1996, a dark period of inertia. My days were laced with conflict, grief and depression. I looked down at the dial between my feet and the infernal numbers said two-six-zero (2-6-0). I am female, and only five (5) feet, two (2) inches tall, so as you might imagine, that wasn’t an ideal or healthy weight for my body. “It is really time to do something“, I thought to myself with an odd combination of panic, horror and resolve. Shortly after that 
eye-opening encounter with the scale, I did actually do that something—and it changed my life forever.
Before I go on to the rest of the story, I want to go on record saying that I am eternally grateful for the place where I work. If it were not for the sheer serendipity of being in the right place at the right time, the amazing things that followed might never have happened. My place of employment provided me with access to a tiny gym, where I began my daily rendez-vous with the Stairmaster. Our institution’s leadership has forged a culture that promotes physical fitness as a means to achieve well-being. They believe that this is one of the keys to the attainment of overall wellness. Their holistic philosophy is that both the individual, and the collective benefit when self-care is made a priority. For this, we are very lucky. That kind of support was an incredible boon to me (and it still is today).
The year was 2003, and it was a year of challenge and trial (and also of friendship and triumph)! Some overwhelming life circumstances inspired me to accept a friend’s invitation to participate in a 200 hour yoga teacher training (YTT) program in a nearby city. I had long since fallen miserably away from my yoga practice, and I longed for something that would reconnect me to that sense of vitality, purpose and belonging. I had become utterly disenchanted with playing the gym rat, so I gave up on all the nutritional supplements and backed off from the zeal of my workouts. My cute little clothes were tightening and the numbers on the scale told the rest of that unforgiving story. I was gaining back The