It was a 6am yoga class at my beloved Balance Yoga Studio in Woodinville, Washington–the typical, misty, foggy February morning that nearly convinced me to claim an extra hour of sleep. Instead, freshly committed to my fitness goals, I stretched out on my Washington-February-morning colored yoga mat and waited for Antonella to begin…

She invites us to set our intention for our daily practice. Intention? I can’t even decide what to wear in the morning, assuming I even want to get out of bed in the first place…how I am supposed to set some ‘intention’ is beyond me…

My life on rewind races through my mind…the irony of those intended yin moments would make any yoga instructor hot to trot.

How am I even here? I was engaged to a man I still think the world of. And then I wasn’t. I lived in a big four bedroom home. And then I didn’t. I had a full and healthy and committed family. And then it changed. I was happy and at peace and driven. And then I was paralyzed.

It all happened so fast, or so it seemed.

Deep breath…focus on Antonella’s soothing and welcoming words. Let everything else go. Impossible as that seems, I haphazardly sucked air in and let it it go in an even, calm breath, subconsciously muttering ‘growth and grace.’

Those were the two words that set my yoga intention on that foggy February morning. Since then, those are the two words that have guided my body, protected my heart, given hope to my soul.

I suppose that’s the yoganalogy of life…that you’d grow stronger, more flexible and confident…and that you give yourself and others grace when you undoubtedly fall.

So, here we go. Deep breath. Calm exhale.

To ‘growth and grace,’ my friends.