I have been living with Type 1 diabetes since 1976.  I was 14 when diagnosed.

I will spare you the whole story for now.

About five years ago I completed my initial yoga teacher training at Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshire Mountains.  After a very profound session with one of the senior yoga teachers, I had the opportunity to speak with her.   I told her I had Type 1 diabetes since I was a kid.  Her verbal response was….”Now that’s a yoga pose.”  Her emotional response was dripping with compassion.  I was immersed in one of the most profound training experiences of my life and being introduced to the deeper aspects of yoga.  I had been practicing yoga for six years prior to going to Kripalu for the month long teacher training course.  My yoga practice had transformed my body and mind.  I saw yoga as a metaphor for what I am tasked to do as a Type 1 Diabetic.  Both yoga and living with diabetes involves issues of restriction, alignment, balance, attention, focus, letting be and manifestation of life force energy (prana).  I did not want so much to be a yoga teacher, instead, I was seeking to deepen my understanding and practice.

Now that’s a yoga pose.