People I Love

I recently made a big decision to get back into the engineering world. What does that mean for you? I'm not so sure. I'm still goin
g to teach yoga. I'm still going to write. I'm pretty sure that it won't change your world in any drastic way.

What does this mean for me?? It means that I need to earn PDHs again to get my license back to active. It means that I need to plug myself back into a network that I removed myself from two years ago. It means meetings and luncheons and busyness. Oddly enough, I'm doing it all with a huge smile on my face. You see, I recently read a book that put everything into a little more perspective for me. It's called Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing by Jed McKenna. It put enlightenment into a totally different perspective for me, and made me realize that the things I thought I was looking for were actually there all along, and the things I thought I needed were not necessarily true. It made me question all of the things I was doing to find myself and my purpose and encouraged me to look at the world as a play where everyone was playing their roles. It made me realize that I stopped playing my role while I was trying to figure out what my role was.

The dream I had last week confirmed that for me. I dreamt that I was driving on the interstate and suddenly had the feeling I was going the wrong direction. I drove over the grass in the median to get to the other side only to drive a little ways before there were cars and trucks coming at me. I dodged all the cars and trucks, got myself turned around and was to the break in the median where I could get turned to the other side when I woke up. The right side of the interstate, though, was on the other side from where I originally started. I feel like this has something to do with me being in the engineering field before but for the wrong reasons. I took a detour off to a path that was going against the grain but one that I had to take in order to know the direction I needed to take to get on the right path.

When I was in engineering before, if someone were to ask me why I was an engineer, I would have said that growing up I was good at math and science, so Dad said that I would be a good engineer. I had no purpose in my engineering career. I was there because someone else told me it would be a good idea. That's one of the big reasons that I left engineering. I needed to figure out what it was that made me tick. I needed to know why I was here. I needed purpose.

I recently started meditating a lot more. I thought I was meditating before, but I started practicing yoga at The Ivy House in west Nashville and learned that the guided meditations and yoga practice that I had before was not really getting me where I needed to go. It wasn't getting me to my truth fast enough. I started praying for more clarity in my life. I started becoming more aware of the answers I was seeking. In an Awareness Yoga Immersion last month, I learned how to meditate and learned a particular style of meditation that ended with the questions, "Who am I? What do I want? What is my purpose?" The more I've meditated with those questions, the more I have become aware of what it is that I truly want. It's been stewing in the back of my mind for the last couple of years, but the Awareness Yoga has helped me really ground it and figure out the next step I need to take.

So, what I've known for a long time that I want is to help people. I just didn't know exactly how before. I can only help people through what I've been through. I can only teach the lessons I've learned. I've been through grief from death and grief from divorce, and I want to help people going through what I went through. I want to open a house similar to The Ivy House where people who have gotten a divorce or who have experienced the death of someone close to them can go to heal. I want to have on hand a financial advisor. I want to teach them the things I've learned through life experiences and yoga, and most of all, I want them to have a safe place to live and sleep where they can heal. So, what's stopping me from doing this? I need the space. What's stopping me from having the space? I made some poor financial decisions after my divorce. What am I doing now? I'm healing my financial life. I'm attending Financial Peace University. The next step is to get a job doing something I'm good at. What would that be?

I'm actually good at a lot of things. Something I've realized recently while helping Beck out with his homework is that I'm good at engineering. I actually get it. I'm not even embarrassed to say that I enjoy talking about it. I've come to find my love of engineering again. Pair that with my newfound purpose, and I'm ready to get back into the world of engineering again. So, what does this have to do with People I Love?

A couple of days after I came to the realization that I was ready to get back into engineering, my dad reached out to me and asked if I wanted to go to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) luncheon that day. His coworker wasn't able to attend, and I was going to be able to take his place. I didn't have any plans, and refer back to the first paragraph where I mentioned I need to get PDH's in order to get my license back to active status. Twenty-four to be exact. I need to get 24 hours of professional development in order to be able to work in the field of engineering again. This led me to say yes to my dad's offer to attend the ASCE lunch. As I drove to lunch, I had butterflies in my stomach. I hadn't seen most of these people in two years.

As I walked up to registration, my eyes focused in on the man standing just behind the registration table. Mike Kusch of Sherman Dixie was one of my favorite people in the industry, and he was standing there with the biggest grin on his face. That was the kind of greeting I needed to wipe the butterflies from my belly and send them flying out around me. I smiled as I hugged that amazing man, and then started to look around the room, meeting the eyes of several other people I loved. I had forgotten how many people I know and love in the engineering industry. These people I just left without so much as an explanation two years ago still lit up when they saw me.

I found out later that people at other tables were asking if it was me as if I was a local celebrity or something. This was the kind of greeting I wanted but never even thought about as I was figuring out how to get back into the field of engineering. These are the people I helped without asking anything in return and who would do the same for me. These are the people who make engineering fun. These are the people I love, and I was reminded last Thursday that they love me back. I'm so grateful to have more clarity in my life and for it to have led me back to these amazing people! I'm grateful I have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow, and I'm grateful that I get to meet new amazing people every day to add to this beautiful network of people. I'm also grateful for you for joining me on this amazing journey!

Love,
Emily Rose

Why Combine Running and Yoga??

These are just some musings that I had this morning as I lie in bed with my crystals focusing on my breathing.  I hope you enjoy!

I think a lot of people understand the benefits of yoga for a runner, but I'm not sure everyone understands the benefit of running for yogis (a person who practices yoga for you not-quite-yogis-yet).  I'll start by discussing the benefits of yoga for runners if you're not quite there yet.  Running (or walking) is so good for your body in many ways, but it can also take its toll if you do it a lot.  

Here are a few examples of why yoga is good for runners!

©      If you favor one foot or leg over the other, you may build up one side of your body more than the other, causing your bones to be misaligned and leading to injuries.  Practicing yoga can help balance that back out, and while it may or may not change your gait, it will certainly allow you to continue running and doing what you love.

©      If you’re running every day, your body is going to get fatigued in one way or another.  Even if you’re stretching before and after a run, our muscles get tight and start to pull at our bones and can lead to injury.  Yoga lengthens and tones those muscles to better allow them to propel us along the trail, road, sidewalk or greenway.

©      Yoga can greatly increase the muscle recovery after a run.  A true yogic breath draws so much oxygen into the body that will be carried to the muscles and allow them to recover that much faster.  Plus, if you add the yoga poses to that breath, it helps the oxygen get to those muscles!

©      Yoga can get deep into those muscles that you might not get to with regular runners’ stretches or doing your 10 minute stretch session after your run.  That’s right, I used to be one of those people, and still am occasionally…

Ok, now why is running good for yogis??

©      Running is grounding.  Yep, those feet hitting the pavement can actually draw the energy down and allow you to be more present in your body.  So, if you find yourself a little spacey (and no offense to yogis everywhere, but a lot of us are), head out for a nice walk or run and see how that changes your outlook.

©      Running or walking can be a meditation.  I found myself running along the trail at Percy Warner Park recently repeating one of my kundalini mantras to myself and then out loud as I ran along.  Sat-ah-nam-ah, sat-ah-nam-ah, sat-ah-nam-ah….ooohhh…I feel better already!  Other things I’ve practiced on my runs were breathing in for a certain number of steps and then out for a certain number of steps.

©      Running naturally deepens the breath and helps to expand lung capacity.  So, if you find yourself struggling with the deep breathing exercises in yoga, head out on the trail or the road and notice how deep you have to breathe as you increase your heart rate.

©      Running can get you out in nature.  I have recently taken up trail running.  It is the most amazing things I have done for myself.  Running on the road is fun and all, but running in nature gives me a high that I have never found anywhere else in my life.  And who doesn’t need to spend more time in nature??

©      Running allows you to see things you may not notice otherwise.  Look up at the sky or at that beautiful tree as you run by.  Oh, I’ve never noticed that house or the way the hill slopes down to that beautiful creek.  Talk about being present…I have found myself so present in life on so many of the runs I’ve taken lately.  Such a beautiful thing when you are aware of the things around you!

©     Running can free your inner child!  I love running downhill.  I go fast.  I skip over obstacles.  I open my arms out to the side as if I’m flying.  Even in my childhood, I don’t remember being that free.  I fall so in love with everything.  I giggle.  I play.  I love.

I hope you enjoy this!  I’m sure there will be more to come.  Go forth and run, yoga, and love!