Yesterday, I taught my last class at Asha Yoga, and Thursday evening my girlfriends took me out for wine and dessert. Goodbyes are sad for certain, but I feel so much hope and excitement for this new adventure.

I will post an update in a couple of weeks with more information about my new home. Until then…wish me luck on the move!

xoxo

Kai Ryssdal’s final note…
Courtesy of the New York City school system… Officials there are rightly concerned about childhood obesity, which is why they’re set to approve a new rule covering what kinds of foods can be sold by student groups during the school day.

Certain flavors of Doritos, though, are totally okay. Pop-Tarts, too.

So disturbing that our school systems prefer processed snack foods to homemade treats because they trust the nutrition information more than the body’s own ability to regulate hunger and satiety. People, we need to collectively make some change. This decision by the New York City school system is not going to make a dent in the “obesity epidemic,” believe me. Teach your children to listen to and honor their bodies, not to count calories.

Now she’s more than just a memory to me, she’s a good friend and a role model I still look to for support. I remember calling her last winter, after Victoria was born, feeling so overwhelmed and scared. I was in California and she was back in Virginia, but she talked me through that transition just like she talked me out of anorexia years ago.

I love you, Kate. Thanks for everything.

I hope you won’t think too poorly of me if I tell you that, with all this in mind, I ran around the first half of today like a chicken with my head cut off. I’ll spare you the details, but when I finally rolled out my manduka mat and tuned into some Girish (thank you sweet baby Victoria for good afternoon naps) it was like coming home. And literally, at home, in my living room.

I never used to think I could enjoy or even really have a home practice, but since becoming mommy to my sweet one, it’s become my regular way of getting in my daily (or every-other-daily, or at least a couple-times-a-weekly) asana. And today, I love it. I think that’s a sign of how yoga has changed me, actually–because now instead of flying through some sequencing and jumping up to pee or answer the phone or jot down something I have to do, these days when I practice in my underpants amidst toys and books and the phone rings…those distractions of home surrounding me just dissolve into the background. I’m able to truly tune into my body, have a genuine, breath-filled practice, and it feels as complete as when I’m in the studio.

Of course, I do miss the inspiration from amazing teachers, and the community of practicing with other people, which is why I take a class whenever I can. But the point is: we carry our yoga with us. From the studio to the home, from the mat into life…

Now, back to my To Do List!

last night i was with old friends in virginia, outside in the summertime. hugging, laughing, exploring.

now that i’m no longer lounging under my down, i feel awake enough to hear the birds chirping outside my window on this early sacramento spring saturday. i’m sipping my tea and watching baby v comb the carpet with her pink plastic fork.

hey, today is one of my last saturdays teaching at Asha Yoga. won’t you come out and play?

and, i found some new things to be grateful for, my husband and daughter aside (because they always come first, bien sur)…
1) honey. not only do i spoon it from the jar into my mouth for a sweet treat and dose of allergy-prevention, but now i cleanse my face with it too. believe it! softest skin, totally natural. (thanks mom!)
2) a sudden influx of what i love to call fan mail (cause how cool is that!). thanks to each of you who have read my book and written to tell me how it made you feel. i do my best to respond to everyone individually, but sometimes i fall behind. i love you & am proud of you too!
3) sleeping. deeply. lately. thank goodness for that!
4) because no gratitude list of mine is complete without a mention of chocolate, i recently discovered Vosges Haut Chocolat, and I especially love Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar. $6 a pop at Whole Foods means it’s a rare treat, but surely worth it when i’m willing to splurge.
5) my daughter is learning to walk!

My time in California has been full of beautiful, loving friends, a vibrant yoga community, fresh produce year-round (I will miss that, for sure!) and accessibility to authentic Mexican food at nearly every corner (drool…). All of those things, plus my two years at CCA, my three years with Summit and of course, meeting my husband, have made my almost six years as a California resident rich with happy memories. Not to mention learning to ski in the Sierras, hiking up Shasta and Mt. Whitney with Jeffrey, delivering my first child here in Sacramento, walking onto Golden Gate Bridge with my dad, drinking beers in the Mission with Nat and Alex…and so on.

But. I’m ready for a change! And I know Alabama isn’t Virginia, and I know my world there will have challenges, but I am full of this sweet, warm sense that I’m kind of…going home.

I’m participating in events for a few schools. Check out my calendar and see if you can make it to a book reading!

I do believe, however, in positive intentions for making change & promoting growth in life, and I for sure think the New Year is as good a time as any (if not better) to look back at the last year (or decade!) and ahead at the next, while asking the question, “Am I living the life I want to be living?”

I believe we are the authors of our own lives. I believe we can cultivate the sort of quality of life that we most value and admire, and that brings a whole variety of happiness into our worlds. So with that said…here’s a few of my intentions as 2010 approaches:

1) I’m starting off with my friend (and brilliant writer) Kate Baggot’s idea for a decade full of pretty dresses. I think that sounds divine!
2) Less gossip! Zip it, Peach.
3) HORSEBACK RIDING. I really want to do this.
4) More time with friends, more girls nights out.
5) Fewer hours in front of the laptop.
6) Finding time for hikes with my hubby.

Notice that nowhere on my list does it say finish college, recover from an eating disorder, move across the country, get a master’s degree, get married, write a book, have a baby, or anything too reminiscent of the last ten years. I’m thinking small in the ’10s. Just like, living my life. (That’s not to say I won’t necessarily have another baby or get another degree or write another book…it’s just to say that, well, I’m not going to commit myself to those things!)

What’s your list like?