Tucked away in Atlanta, GA is my home shala, @balanceyogaatlanta If I had not found Balance 4.5 years ago I would not be sober.
I am from a small town, population 500, in Georgia. I rode a bus for an hour up and down dirt roads to go to school in the neighboring towns 15 miles away. This is football country, sometimes basketball and baseball if the high school is making a good run. Not even soccer back then. Definitely no yoga.
My first exposure to yoga was when I dated Kristy in graduate school circa 2002. She was a Jewish girl turned Buddhist and had an active yoga practice. She ultimately left me because I was an asshole, a drunk and an addict. The email left open on my computer to hery advisor forever etched in my mind, ” My boyfriend is an addict…” A decade would pass before I found myself in Atlanta teaching high school. Eventually I was recruited to work as a web developer for a startup in Buckhead. On the outside things seemed great, but I was beginning to unravel. My addictions left a wake of debt, and a lack of savings caused me to scramble when housing prices in Inman Park increased. I could barely stay afloat. My anxiety was overwhelming me. I would start drinking earlier in the day.
My coworker Sarah barely knew me. She gave me an affordable place to stay above her garage. I was tired, depressed and broken. I was simply waiting to be found out and lose everything. In June of 2013 I sought professional help. I admitted all my transgressions, vices and addictions. As we treated my drug addiction, I was unconvinced drinking was a problem.
Six months later, sitting alone in my room, I typed “basic yoga atlanta” into Google. A few weeks later I started a basics of Ashtanga yoga class at Balance Yoga.
At Balance I have found discipline and accountability; vulnerability and strength. My practice led me to quit drinking. The Balance community supported me. The teachers never gave up on me.
Thank you.
People would say life is about balance. I was never able to just have one drink or only “party” on the weekends.
For me life is not about finding balance. It is about showing up and doing the hard work. #yoga
364w