I’m writing this blog post because it has been heavy on my heart to step outside of my comfort zone and get more personal with my followers. I’m a very private person, but I know that if I truly want to impact others, I have to dig beneath the surface and share more of myself with you. And today, I want to encourage you to be happy exactly where you are in your yoga practice.

In the “perfect” world of social media and blogging, we oftentimes display our highlight reels—the perfect yoga pose, the perfect healthy meal; the perfect mommy-and-me moment; and the list goes on!  

I post a lot of pictures on my blog and social sites with great alignment, great lighting and sometimes in beautiful settings. Please believe, I fall in and out of poses, have multiple takes and sometimes have to give up on a posture altogether because my body isn’t in the mood to do it that day.

I love curating content to help educate and inspire my followers, but my life is far from perfect and the same applies to my yoga practice! Sometimes I go several days without practicing yoga because my full- time job, mommy life, wifey duties and so much more become my priorities.

I’m always acknowledging the importance of practicing self-care and I believe it’s necessary to live a fulfilled and healthy existence, but I know that it takes dedication and sometimes we can’t balance it all the way we thought we could.

And that’s OK.

I want to inspire fellow yogis to come to their mats and dedicate time to loving on themselves through asana and meditation, but I know that sometimes the act of even coming to your mat can be difficult.

We go through so many emotions throughout the day.

Trust me, I’ve been there. I have had days when all I could do was lay on my mat because my mind and body were too paralyzed by self-doubt, fear, self-criticism, hurt, pain and stress.

There is no such thing as a perfect yoga practitioner. The word practitioner is defined as: a person actively engaged in an art, discipline, or profession… it is an ongoing process of continuous learning and exploration.

Today, I encourage you to take a moment and be thankful for where you are in your yoga journey.

The fact that you started is a gift. If you’ve gone on a hiatus, that’s OK too. Think about what brought you to your mat and get back to it when the timing is right.

I am here to encourage you. I am here to acknowledge you. I am here to let you know, that just like you, I am navigating this yoga space as a student first, then a teacher.

Namaste,