what is your intention?

I grew up in a house where I was kept away from the secular world. I went to church and took ballet. That was pretty much it.
Later in my professional career as a dancer, I danced because it was something I loved... and I worked hard at it to please God and my teachers.

But durring a ballet class, you don't normally stop to think

"what the hell am i doing here? why am i torturing myself? why do i return to the verbal abuse? why does my body hate me?"

you just hold your breath, dance until your sick, and wait to hear 1 good thing- anything to validate you.

After a neck injury and lots of personal reasons, I left the world of professional ballet for a better, happier, healthier life...

I'm trying to be more hot and healthy, but do a form of working out that my previously exploited body can handle.

I had tried yoga before, but for some reason, today i felt possessed to try hot yoga.

1.5 hours in a sauna with sweaty people stretching. no music. The only thing to inspire movement is the pounding of your heart and how you decide to breathe.

and then the instructor says to the class " take a moment to think about your intention. why are you here? what do you want to work on? who are you doing this for."

I failed to ask those questions when I was dancing. I just worked.

And what got me through my first hot yoga class was thinking about what brought me there. That I wanted to be healthier for me, hotter for my husband. I want to focus on my core. And i want to control my breathing so that i can handle my stress better.

Thinking about why you do what you do puts everything in perspective and keeps you balanced.

I'm not super into all of the spiritual aspects of yoga. But the fact that i can apply something so intimate to my own relationship with God, and use it in my own life makes it so valueable. I think I'll really like doing this for myself.

NOW, the rest of the day is all about celebrating the past 2 years, and the decades to come. I love my husband so much. I love how thoughtful, playful, generous, intelligent, comforting, hard working, and uplifting he is. He is reasonable. he is so joyful. he's hotter than ever. we have such a wonderful life together.