I toyed with the idea of starting this post with an April Fool's Day joke - something about deciding to go back to a job in the corporate world. But, I've never been good at lying, even if it is just a joke. Plus, I figured you wouldn't really believe me anyway. It's been over six years since I worked my last day in Human Resources, and while owning and operating my own business has its ups and downs, I can't imagine going back to that type of work. I love setting my own schedule, doing work that I believe makes a difference in the lives of others, and having my pets as my coworkers.
That said, I love to learn, and am always looking for ways to expand my knowledge and skills. I tend to say yes to a lot of things because I'm curious and like to see what else is out there that might be of interest. So, even though I know it's probably smarter to streamline my business and simplify versus add new services, I can't help myself.
In the last six months, I've become an independent travel agent (so that I can help retreat participants get trip insurance and find flights), and I wrote a book! Well, technically right now it's a manuscript since it's not published yet. I'll tell you more about my manuscript soon, but if you've been noticing my Mindful Monday posts lately on Instagram and Facebook, you might already have an idea of what that's all about.
When I went in for surgery on March 11 to have part of my knee replaced, I had to face the fact that I might not be able to teach yoga and lead active retreats around the world forever. I'm three weeks post-op, and while recovery has been slow, I'm about where I should be at this point. The cats are thrilled to have a warm body on the couch all day and compete to see who can get the closest to my face. The puppy (she's two years old now, but will be the "puppy" until we get another dog one day in the far-off future) is getting fed up with the fact that I'm occupying her couch all the time and not able to hike with her. Mala is still quite careful around me – she's keenly aware of my fragile state. She only "forgets" that she isn't supposed to jump on me when I get home from physical therapy because she can barely contain her excitement that I'm back.
I don't feel ready to start teaching my regular yoga classes this week but plan to be back at it starting next week. I also am excited to re-launch the Yoga to Thrive classes that I was offering in the first half of 2023. I'll be teaching a series of four Thrive classes on Fridays in May at noon Mountain Time. My last two retreats of 2024 aren't until September and November, so I'll for sure be good to go by then. Between now and then, you can join me on the water for stand-up paddleboard yoga classes, which resume on both Evergreen Lake and Big Soda Lake in June, or for a one-day local retreat. I'll be getting those scheduled and posted in the next month, so stay tuned.
A huge thank you for all of the support and kind words you've had for me following my surgery. Knowing that I have such an amazing community of people rooting for me helped on those days that I was feeling low – when I thought the swelling was never going to subside and my sleep was spotty. My primary focus is getting my strength and full range of motion back. I can't wait to be back in the yoga studio and on the trails.