Small Victories...

Recently, I ran into a former classmate from graduate school. She had just finished teaching summer school and apparently used an anecdote about me in her classroom. "The kids still can't get over why you left a job in New York City with [an haute couture designer] to become a teacher. They think you're nuts." It's not the first time I've heard this sentiment, from kids and overly superficial adults alike, but it hits me like a round kick in the stomach on every occasion. Are children and their educations viewed with such aloofness and apathy that a career in fashion is seen as more appealing and rewarding than that of an educator?

Maybe you're wondering where I'm going with this...it all ties in with my strong belief in leaving one's comfort zone and taking risks. Sure...it would have been easy to keep running a boutique where $200,000 gowns and $1,400 shoes were effortlessly sold to celebrities and socialites, but my heart and my mind were someplace else.

The same sentiment is true of my foray into the martial arts. I practice an hour of vinyasa yoga each day and hone my Muay Thai skills with Jake at Sityodtong. The seeming dichotomy that one might assume exists between a serene discipline like yoga and a faster paced punching and kicking sport like Muay Thai does not exist for me. Instead, both compliment each other. While yoga strengthens my mind and body, Muay Thai allows me to do the same through a different vehicle. The two arts meld into feelings of empowerment, strength, mindfulness, and tranquility that, for me, are essential to how well I live my life.

Had I resisted Joe's invitation to meet and train with Jake, it would have been because I was afraid of the unknown and leery of expressing myself in a way with which I was not familiar. Had I stopped to think about it, maybe I would have been imtimidated by the fact that I had never seen much less attempted the Muay Thai style of boxing and, quite often, I am the only woman in the gym. Thankfully, I jumped in with both feet. And it has been one of the best blind leaps of faith I have ever made.

Often, when we are faced with changes or opportunities that are unfamiliar, we are impeded by a lack of motivation or self-assuredness about how we will perform. Turns out that I'm pretty good at Muay Thai, really good at yoga, and aspire to be one of the teachers my kids will remember at the end of their academic careers and throughout their adult lives.

Martial arts has become one of the vehicles through which I have found confidence and purpose in my chosen pursuits. No matter what your pursuits are, should they include martial arts or not, have your own vehicles through which you can build your physical, spiritual, and emotional foundations. Have the courage and conviction to try something new. What my younger brother calls "small victories" soon add up to major achievement.

Stacia