Shortly after graduating from college I found myself in the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C. I had just started a summer internship at the Nation’s capitol. I had never been to the East Coast before, I was young, and had zero idea what I was doing. Putting yourself in a position where you know noone or your surroundings is daunting. Especially in a city that never stops it was quite the challenge. Some days were good, some were frustrating, but little did I know how much that city forced me to grow.
Being an only child I was protected and coddled a lot in my life. If something didn’t go the way I planned my parents fixed it for me, I always had someone fighting in my circle. However, when I moved to D.C. I found out noone really cared about my petty problems and it was in those first few months in the city that I realized my personal strengths. The strength to preserve and problem solve on my own.
DC 2011
I missed buses, I walked miles in the wrong direction in a business suit in the middle of summer, I found myself in neighborhoods I shouldn’t have been in. For the most part it sucked- it was frustrating. I couldn’t call my mom to solve my problems. I was all I had in the big city and I had to make it work.
I ended up finding my way, I loved what the city had to offer and the feeling of annonimity so I stuck around. I joined an employment law firm and started to find a career path. I rented out an apartment by myself and did what I could to survive the daily grind. Hustling to the metro became the norm. Realizing that you were at the whim of public transportation and had little control over the outcome was humbling.
It was in those months in the city that I found yoga. I had never done yoga before, but in my 400 square foot studio apartment with not much besides a bed and a TV I found a practice. I began to stretch my body and expand my mind in ways I didn’t know was possible. It was just me and my mat mostly every night for about eight months. It was in those days of solitude that I learned who I was; what made me tick, my core values and beliefs, and my inner strength.
Headstand 2013
Ironically, it was during that same time when I found cannabis. I was introduced to the plant a few months before graduating college, and one of the favors I did still need my mom for in D.C. was how to get the product to me. (Flash back five years ago and weed wasn’t readily available like it is now) It was something about how cannabis allowed me to relax and process thoughts after a long day of work that I knew was a good fit for me. I was a drinker in college, but I think that was mostly just a phase to look cool. Pot was where it was at it – it expanded my mind intellectually when I needed it and allowed me to relax and calm the thoughts when I couldn’t turn my mind off.
It also passed the time. Instead of being alone in an apartment with nothing to do on the weekends I was able to smoke and suddenly the mundane became exhilarating. I would journal, brainstorm new ideas, stretch on my mat, and go on mini-adventures to the grocery store down the block. Cannabis and yoga were my partners in D.C. my only allies and friends.
Shortly after I moved back to Colorado to pursue a Master’s Degree in Environmental Policy. I am still with the same law firm working remotely, with now two cats and a boyfriend. The constant remains through yoga. I became yoga teacher certified in January 2016 with an amazing Guru, Saul David Raye who taught me about Bhakti and how to find my bliss.
Today I teach a weekly class to a steady group of students who have grown in their practice with me. Together we are evolving into more conscious beings or at least giving it our best effort for the hour we have together with aspirations of being more mindful in our daily lives.
The city changed me for the better. Without the struggles of being alone in a foreign place who knows where I would be today. Take chances. We only have one life to live and the present moment is now – don’t let it pass you by.
When were you introduced to yoga, cannabis, or both? When was that life changing moment for you?
