Southern Pines Vs. Middle East
I was only looking for a place to practice hot yoga. My ego and cold feet desperately needed it. After completing beginner Army introduction in Fort Jackson, South Carolina I ended up at Fort Bragg, North Carolina with a rental car to call my own. In my life, a car has always represented FREEDOM - freedom to explore wherever I was living at the time. This is a gift in life that many people on earth do not experience. I feel as a society it's one of the little things we take for granted. Anyways, back to North Carolina..........
In my Navy career I always felt compelled to get away for a little adventure to see what is out there, no matter where the tour of duty took me. In January of 2011, I was lucky enough to end up at a duty station near a cute town called Southern Pines (SP). It was a 45 minute drive from the Army base I was going to be working at, however, 100% worth the drive. Initially, I was only to be in North Carolina for a brief time to get my introduction to the work I would be doing and I was scheduled to go to the Middle East for a 7-8 month timeframe. I arrived in North Carolina on a Friday and was told to report to duty on Monday so I took a journey to the Hot Yoga studio in SP. I was still very new to the practice of yoga and lucky me when I showed up to find out the class at 5:45pm was called "Kick your Asana" and it was only the teacher, me, and one other lovely girl.
The class was challenging and fun, and the best part was the way the teacher (Virginia) and classmate (Christine) made me feel. I felt welcomed & loved. I asked about a good place for dinner and without hesitation they recommended an amazing restaurant. Because of the "feeling" I couldn't wait to come back for yoga (yes, 45 min drive) the following 2 days.
Long story short, my work ended up keeping me in North Carolina and not the Middle East. I was blessed enough to stay in the area the entire 8 months, become part of the community of SP, regularly visit the yoga studio, crossfit gym, & make friends whom turned into family. I look forward to returning to SP for more visits and reunions in the future. I could write an entire book on the things I discovered about myself on my yoga mat while I was living there. That is the cool thing about this wonderful human experience, you never know what amazing things will happen when you set off on an adventure.
Written: July 3rd 2018
