Gratitude

It was going to happen today because it needed to happen today.  As much as I needed air, I needed to go for a run.  I hadn't attempted to since my back spasm on 11/17.  And so I put on my ultra wind resistant 20 degree gear and headed out the door, not quite sure what would happen.  But just then, my feet hit the pavement and I felt so incredibly alive.   More alive than I'd felt in the last few months.  No iPod.  Just me.  One foot in front of the other.  The perfect sound of my even breaths almost hypnotizing me with each step.  Perfectly beautiful, perfectly in the moment, perfectly necessary!  This is my peace, my sanity, my love.  All is right in the world.  Perfectly alone in my thoughts.  Running without ego, competition, a stop watch.  Running out of beauty and necessity.  Running out of love and appreciation.  Running out of gratitude.  Grateful for the power and the beauty of movement.  Grateful to be living life to it's fullest in this moment.

Purple Reign

Most of you already know that I LOVE me some Prince.  Always have since "I Wanna Be Your Lover".  I've appreciated his musical genius...his raw talent as a singer, songwriter, and as one of the most talented guitar players ever...up there with Clapton, Slash, Jimi.  So YES, I was super excited to see him a few weeks ago at Madison Square Garden.  I first saw him in 1985 on his "Purple Rain" tour.  This time around in 2010, Prince was still electrifying, supremely talented and utterly AMAZING.  No longer outrageous, this was PG rated Prince.  Maybe even G rated Prince.  Why was I secretly longing for this Prince to do something outrageous?  "Sexy M.F." anyone???  Couldn't he just hump the stage once for old time sake?  I left feeling nostalgic for things past.  Then it occurred to me that both Prince and I were almost 26 years older.  He had changed and so had I.  Gone were the super short mini skirt, fishnet stockings and spike heels that I wore to the first Prince concert.  No.  This Loi was more conservative, older, more subdued, just like Prince.  But he had managed to navigate a brilliant career, a purple reign, that spans 3 decades while constantly reinventing what he does and how he does it.  It also occurred to me that coincidentally 8 months prior to that ealier Prince concert, I had taught my first Group Exercise class.  And like Prince, I'm still at it all these years later trying to figure out how to stay continually fresh, relevant and continue my own purple reign.  This blog is my first step in putting a voice to all that I have been and all that I am becoming.  I'm excited about this next chapter of my more mature self.  And really excited to be sharing this with you.  Here's to reinvention!