A Note by Samantha Knies Gray
Happy birthday to … me! I turn 39 today, but if you ask my kids, they’ll get a mischievous smile and tell you I’m 45 … or 63 … or 100 (little rats!). If you ask my dad, he’ll tell you it was absolutely a foreshadowing that they brought me home from the hospital on the 4th of July because I turned out to be quite the firecracker of the family.
My early years, however, I was quiet. My kindergarten teacher still remarks to my mom when she sees her out that I didn’t speak to her for the first 6 months of school. And my dad says that I didn’t really start talking until I was 14 and then they couldn’t get me to shut up. To be honest, he’s not wrong. I was a painfully shy and anxious child, and I 100% credit horses — particularly my very first horse, Daisy — with bringing me out of my shell and actively (maybe too actively) into life.
As I continue on with my year of ultra-intentional living, I’m reminded over and over again to slow down. Life doesn’t have to be 100 mph in the fast lane every day. It’s ok to take days off from work (I do know this comes from a place of privilege!), to let the house get dirty, to take a nap, to practice my own yoga on the mat, and to put myself first as often as I can swing it.
I’ve spent the summer riding and showing horses more than I have since college. The little GrayGirls and I have put our Holiday World passes to good use. I’ve discovered my green thumb in our fruit and vegetable gardens. I’ve let go of so much anxiety and depression. And on my days off, the girls and I have enjoyed lazy mornings and pancake breakfasts and walks with the dogs and barn chores together. They’re learning to put their tablets away and be present in a way that I have never been able to give them before, and I am so thankful for this time with them.
As I enter this last year of my 30s, I can truly say that I am the happiest, healthiest, and strongest that I have ever been. I’m in the best shape of my life, mentally clear, and feel better now than I did in my teens 20s, and I credit so much of it to my yoga practice — especially these last six months — for teaching me to slow down and take it all moment by moment, at peace with the changes in life (and a little less firecracker-y).
This month, you can join me in-studio and online for Ayurvedic yoga related to balancing Pitta Dosha. We’ll practice slowing down and cooling off. I’ll have extra special tips, practices, and recipes to share with my classes to keep you calm, cool, collected, and thriving all summer long.
(Oh — and hopefully, the fastest you see me moving this summer is on a lively buckskin gelding named Troubadour who also doesn’t know that he’s aging 😉)