Masterpiece in Progress

I first started dabbling in yoga when I was 22. I was slowly recovering from a major surgery after doctors found a softball sized tumor in my pancreas. I ended up having to have my entire spleen and 60% of my pancreas removed. Apparently, you can survive without the entirety of these organs but, I can tell you, it is not always easy. I had almost died in the hospital from this unknown tumor but miraculously I survived. And I have a serious scar to prove it. While I was grateful to be alive, I had no idea how hard the road to recovery ahead was going to be. I felt sick, weak, and tired most of the time. One day during a routine doctors check up, I had a wonderful, beautiful nurse who recommended yoga to me. She said it was great for rebuilding strength and posture and would help to manage stress and deal with trauma. I have changed, evolved, stepped back, moved forward, made mistakes, fallen down, cried, lost myself, found myself, built strength, made friends, discovered peace, embraced my insecurities, battled my hatred, found my beliefs, started over again, and again and again, all on my yoga mat. This is my personal journey through yoga and life. And what I have learned through it all is that you have to have intention. When I first began attending yoga classes I was introduced to the concept of setting intentions. Basically asking yourself why am I doing any of this. And this pertains to life off of our mat as much as it does on. Setting an intention at the beginning of the day, at the beginning of a yoga practice allows us to decide what we want out of our life, out of our practice. Instead of going through life on autopilot, we begin to take control. We begin to live a life that is beautiful, authentic and meaningful to us. So Finding your purpose, your path, your reason, your why just may be the first step. I am lucky to be alive. You seriously have no idea how precious life is until it is almost taken from you. I have a purpose. I am still coming into my why. It is still changing, growing, manifesting. A beautiful masterpiece in progress. What I do know is that I want to be happy. I want my soul to feel free. I want to live in alignment with who I am and how I feel. I want to wake up everyday with purpose and go to bed every night with gratitude. I want to dance outside with no shoes, get my feet dirty, my hair wet. I want to live a simple and peaceful life enjoying yoga, music, nature, and my family. I want to take care of the earth that we live on and I dream that one day our children or grandchildren will know a more peaceful, safe and beautiful world.