"We all let people into our lives, but you will find the really good friends, let you into your own."

As a kid, I vividly remember spending a good amount of time wanting little else in life than a canopy bed. And not just any canopy bed. I envisioned it looking like something out of the 14th century, with long heavy drapes that I could close off and read my books or just be alone with important adolescent thoughts. Whatever those were. I figured I would find a way to live in the outside world as much as I needed to and then hurry back to my canopy refuge. Oh how I wanted it...but, alas, it was not to be. Another woe in the life of being the oldest of a large family. (Insert hand to forehead, eyes fluttering, dramatic sigh) Instead I shared a double bed with my sister where we dutifully drew a line down the middle each night, threatening bodily harm if even a pinkie made its way to the wrong side. The latter teenage years I shared it with my dog, who while hairy and with incurable dog breath, did love me, and I her.

But life is all about creating space. We do it all day every day, both consciously and unconsciously. We build homes and parking lots. We have lockers and desks and cars. Children build tree houses, tents and forts. Spaces within spaces.

Yes,that's me. Aren't I adorable?

We leave open seats in between strangers at movie theaters, we frantically find the dividers on the grocery belt to define our space in line.

We crave a defining element that belongs to us and us alone. A place that sometimes simply says: this is mine. Or perhaps deeper levels of wanting to create a space that we feel will inspire us. I believe this simple desire is one of the reasons myself and others are drawn to the practice of yoga. Yoga, through our breath, is a science that unifies our body and mind, and it's in this newly created space that we start to learn, create, grow, and be inspired.

Laying in final relaxation pose on my mat, in my space, I feel safe, strong and renewed.

(Before class,Maya Tulum, teacher training)

With this blog, I suppose it is another attempt to carve out space. A yoga-rific space if you will, where people can come to share, connect, inspire and learn how to practice yoga on and off the mat.

"Yoga is not just a workout, it's about working on yourself."~Mary Glover