Meeting Aesclepius

 I found that this weeks meditative practice was more interesting yet harder to hold onto. At first I visualized the Dalai Lama, then Johnny Depp, for whatever reason. Since I know not either of these people I combined the two to create my own person wiser than myself to help me on this journey. I believe that by doing the mindfulness practices it is becoming more obvious to people that know me and what I've been through, more so to people that want what I have, inner peace. Although I am not completely at peace or satisfied with my level of peacefulness I believe that by continuing this practice will help me get where I want to be so I may better guide or help other achieve the same. It is important for me to be more peaceful as it pertains to my yoga practice because that is a huge part of the effectiveness of practicing yoga.
 As for the phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" I believe this to mean that if you've never experienced something or done something that someone else has then you will never really and truly understand their feelings or the place in which they are in their lives. It reminds me of the saying you can't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. It is part of our individuality. All we can do as health and wellness professionals is help someone along in their journey. I have seen pictures of Paris, the Louvre, the architecture but until I was there I never understood how truly breathtaking and overwhelming it all was and still is. I was raised catholic, from baptism to confirmation. I no longer am a practicing catholic but it wasn't until I was in Notre Dame, the cathedral, under the sound of the ringing bells that I was awestruck. Once I walked inside and touched the statues and saw the patchwork of the rebuilding after WWII that history sort of smacked me in the face. France is so much older than the U.S. so to stand in history, which is what it felt like, was absolutely incredible. So to describe my experience to someone close to me is so much more heartfelt, sincere, and more real is a closer feeling than reading about it in a book or looking at mass produced photos but nothing can compare to standing in the city of lights' streets, walking through the halls of a castle that once housed royalty or just breathing the air off the Seine.
 In the beginning of class we were asked if we thought it was important to be in practice of something we intended to teach. We are once again asked if we have an obligation to our clients to be developing our health psychologically, physically and spiritually and the answer, once again, is yes. If we are not whole and healthy we cannot expect to be taken seriously or be as effective as someone who does practice "what they preach". I believe that our private life practices can be integrated into our professional lives even if we do not provide health & wellness services. By doing so meditation, yoga and mindfulness practice will be a part of my personal practice so I may be more effective and helpful in my profession.
 This exercise will become part of my practice as I felt more open, receptive, and kind hearted which will make me more effective in any endeavor. It helped me become full of the wisdom and love of the person I admire. I once saw a speech given by the Dalai Lama and something about him emanates love, light, and life. I want to be a part of that and hopefully I can help other people feel that emanate from me.