This is not a story about how I fell in love with yoga, but instead how my yoga practice and studies helped me discover and fall in love with myself so that I could recognize my true soul mate if and when the universe chose to bring us together.
It is true that we draw to us the relationships we are ready for. After my divorce, the thought of a committed relationship made me nauseous so I attracted younger friends that encouraged me to have fun and not take life so seriously. When I grew tired of that, I chose the next best thing, which was to be alone. I no longer needed someone else in order to feel complete.
I imagined that this is what the Universe wanted for me. In fact, my yoga teacher Sri Dharma Mittra often says that the more we practice yoga, the more we prefer to be alone. So I put my dreams of having a family aside and just enjoyed each day.
On one spring night, an old friend Natalia came to take my Friday night reggae vinyasa class and wanted to grab a glass of wine afterwards. We were sweaty and a mess, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to post a picture of us on Facebook. I appeased her and took the photo and then we enjoyed the rest of the night catching up.
The next day, Natalia texted me to let me know that a friend of hers saw our picture and asked if he could message me via Facebook. I asked about him. She said he was a nice guy and a marathon runner. I had nothing to lose and was happy to make a new friend so I obliged. He messaged me that night and we decided to talk on the phone the next day.
On his way home from a marathon in Virginia Beach, he called me and we spoke for 3 hours. We had so much in common, growing up with a single parent, being first generation Cuban-American and even growing up one town apart.
The next day we met for lunch. Again, I had no expectations, but was pleasantly surprised to meet the kindest, funniest and most engaging man I’d ever met. We hung out for 3 hours and have been hanging out ever since.
Without yoga and doing the work to get to know myself and improve my self-esteem, I wouldn’t be where I am today… Two days away from marrying the man of my dreams…
Thank you Natalia. Thank you Facebook. And Thank you Universe!
With love and gratitude,
Brenda
Wow, wonderful! Heartwarming! Congrats!
Awesome!!!