I decided to start a blog.
Why you ask? Because I’m a narcissist? Because I like the sound of my own voice? Because I want to post a MILLION photos of cats? A little bit of all three and then some.
The real reason is that today I have felt the most inspired than I have in recent memory. My big brother, my best friend and companion of the last 26 years has made the decision to leave his job. A job that was slowly killing him — a place where he felt defeated and abused. Of course these are my words and not his, but over the past 4+ years, I have been cheering him on to leave, to start something new, as if it is really ever that simple. He is a new husband and would eventually like to be father, not the ideal time to close a chapter and open a new exciting one; but when is? That being said, he is smart, kind, patient and one of the most wonderful people I have had the pleasure to know. He will be fine. More than fine. GREAT. His decision has forced me to think of my own life.
A little bit about me:
I grew up in an entertainment based house hold. My mother is a former professional dancer who performed with some of the best US dance troupes in the country and has even performed on Broadway. My father was a DJ for a top NY talk radio station and has since moved to a business man starting from the bottom to purchase and run television and radio stations throughout the US.
I caught the “bug”, as they say, and made the decision to make music a major part of my life. I picked up the piano and violin at a young age and began my classical training. To say I fell in love with music is an understatement. It was my whole life. It was my life soruce. It helped me deal with boys, who never liked me, cliques, of which I was never truly apart and was, at the core, really my best friend — my reliable companion whenever I needed it. When it was time to start exploring colleges and majors, it was a no brainer that music had to be the focus of my education. Knowing many musicians, however, I knew I would never reach the level of a performer as I had dreamed. So I did, what I thought, was the next best thing and that was majoring in music business.
I have been lucky enough to work for amazing companies. I interned at Carnegie Hall which was truly a life long dream and was swiftly snatched up by an international boutique music management agency. That was four years ago…
And I’m still here.
Music management might seem like a unique and fancy career choice and I suppose it is in some ways. Little did college prepare me for what the business was really like.
I’ll spare you the details, suffice to say, my beloved music and all that comes with the business swallowed me whole. Perhaps this had something to do with being in NYC where if you are not working 10 hour days and constantly glued to your smartphone then you aren’t ever really going to “make it”. It has had ups and downs like anything, but I found myself, like so many people, have to find an escape from my work life.
Which leads me to this blog.
I have always had issues with weight. Unfortunately it is something that plagues my family. Though they are far to blame. My involvement in music has made me the person I am and as I LOVE myself, I will forever be grateful to it. Like many passions though, my health was compromised. Long rehearsals gave way to junk food and playing at fancy parties meant being able to throughly enjoy chocolate fountains. I never had time to do a sport with my lessons/rehearsal schedule. Not that I would have even tried as I am uncoordinated and was lazy at the time. I was single, living in the city and would take an elevator any chance I could. It was time to make a change.
I signed up for a gym. I hated it. It smelled, the equipment was never cleaned and there would always be some creep that was there hitting on me and every other woman in the place instead of hitting the weights. I went daily, but my heart wasn’t in it. I would go for 30 minuets and head across the street to the Pathmark to stock up on the 4 for $10 frozen “healthy” meals that I thought would lean me out. I lost a few pounds but my blood pressure ( which has always been high ) skyrocketed. I had little energy and my skin broke out. What was I doing wrong?
Then one day, I saw a neighbor of mine who I saw every evening on her daily run. She was in great shape; healthy, not skinny but strong. She was beautiful and more than that, even though we never spoke, I knew she was a kind person — she always smiled at me and waved. As inspiration is the main point in this post, she motivated me to take the 3 year old running shoes out of my closet and run.
It sucked. One – two miles had me wheezing. I had a constant stitch. My feet KILLED. But something happened. I was reborn. There was something so peaceful about running through my neighborhood with music in my ears and the whole world around me. I was alone but surrounded by people. I would lace up morning or night, 5 days a week and run as much as I could. Sometimes that was a mile, other times it was 4. I could gather my thoughts. I would mentally prepare for the work day or, conversely, work out the frustrations of the day.
All of a sudden, I started craving REAL food and wanting to cook. Anything to fuel my runs. I found myself looking forward to steamed cabbage and carrots, spinach and black beans. Trying new recipes and going to farmers markets to grab the prettiest vegetables and fruits I could find. I lost weight. A lot of weight and everyone seemed to notice.
My confidence grew. I cut my hair in a pixie cut, something I would have never done before. I bought clothes that I would have never even dreamed to wear before. I met a boy who I am now going to marry. To sum up, running was the genie in a bottle I had hoped for. It changed my life.
In order to push myself even more, I signed up for my first half marathon in Oct 2012. The training was grueling and challenging. I used the same focus that I used for practicing my instruments, but was not used to the fatigue and aches. I got hurt. Bad. My knees and hips gave out on me and I thought I’d have to withdraw from the race. Luckily, I just got by finishing in 2:15 and it was an accomplishment unlike anything I had experienced before. I had to keep going. Though I knew I had to make some changes.
A runner friend of mine who has participated in my half marathons than I have fingers, suggested that yoga was absolutely necessary for runners. I scoffed at the idea. I had taken a “yoga” class in high school gym. I say “yoga” in quotes because they put in a yoga DVD with no real instruction on the poses, on the practice, breathing, NOTHING. I injured my back and said, “never again” to Yoga.
Not wanting to injury myself again, I took my first class. A small class with a long haired French hippie who I hardly understood. He did, however, teach me ujjayi breathing and called me a natural yogi from the first class.
I didn’t feel like a natural, but I peddled on, joining my coworker to yoga on a lunch break once a week. I started feeling stronger, the poses made me feel powerful, the breath made me feel like I could get through anything, rather important for a runner and, you know, a human being!
After a solid 4 months of practicing once a week, I started to up my practice to twice a week when I found the ONE, my perfect yoga teacher, a former boxer who kicks my butt while still helping me find my inner strength, peace and purpose. I now practice everyday, 3 of which with my teacher and have not had a running injury since.
I give you this long bio to say that I want to share my life with you and to anyone that is interested in changing their life and feeling the best they can. I have been lucky enough to find a healthy passion and am using this to detail my journey to making it a career. I think learning from others is the best step to achieve this goal, so I invite you to comment, share or better yet, run with me! Let’s practice together!
I am currently training for my first full marathon in November, the Philadelphia Marathon, am hoping to start my yoga teacher training in the Winter and, oh yeah, I’m getting married in the Spring. Its going to be a thrilling ride and I hope you can join me on it.
My teacher asks that we dedicate our practice before we begin. With that same thought in mind, I am dedicating this blog to my big brother, who I hope reads this and believes in himself just as much as I do.
Love
Sarah
P.S. I love cats and will be posting pictures of them constantly. If you do not like cats, this is not the blog for you and also, you should like cats. They are AWESOME and practice yoga too! The sexy lady you see above is my cat Haggy. She’s a riot.
I run, I asana, I repeat 