How I Got Here

Hi!
     My name is Ali Snapp and I grew up in Los Osos, Ca. A small beach town on the central coast.  I grew up playing sports and being very active.  I played soccer quite competitively for four year and ran track in high school.  Two broken feet, ruptured calf muscle, severe spinal lordosis, patella-femoral syndrom and three broken fingers later I got to the point where I could no longer do the things I was use to doing.  This was devastating. I didn't know how I could be active while dealing with these injuries and the healing of theses injuries. At one point it was difficult to walk very far and stand for extended periods of time.  So I did my best with the injuries I was dealing with.
     I found yoga in an odd way, through my job.  I was hired to work at a yoga studio and sell yoga memberships and help students find the right classes and guide them along in their yoga journey.  I had heard about yoga but had never tried it.  I was under the impression I needed to be flexible inorder to do yoga.  Therefore, I was very nervous about starting a practice.  I was blessed to have kind and understanding teachers from the beginning.   They put me at ease and taught me to accept where I am.  They told me yoga is a practice and every day will be different.
     This was a big shift for me as a former athlete.  I had to shift from the mentality of I want to win to a mentality of I am here.  I could not look at a pose like a soccer game or a race I wanted to win.  Yes a pose has a point of full extension but it can't be viewed the same as winning a race or a game.  I had to come to terms with the idea it may take me years to fully extend through a pose and I may never get there but that is not what it is about.  Furthermore, once I have attained full extension within a pose there is still more I can work in while I am holding the pose.  I had to come to realize yoga is about being present in the moment and accepting where you are and being ok with that.  Knowing that we are ok just the way we are.  Yoga is a journey not a destination.
     I am honored to share this journey with you and would enjoy and appreciate any comments or personal stories you would like to share.

Namaste