October 6, 2018
Wow! It has certainly been a long time since I've posted anything here. School, studying, and other social media platforms have been occupying more of my time in the past couple years -- but that will change, now!
To catch up on what I've been up to, please feel free to check out my Instagram page @greenspakatie as well as www.facebook.com/kratuwellness. In addition to school and work and studying for the NYS board exam, I was also collaborating on retreats at the beautiful Windrift Hall in Coxsackie, NY -- visit www.thoughtlessspaces.com to learn more about these lovely escapes to the magical Hudson Valley region of upstate New York.
My biggest news is that I have finally received my license to practice massage therapy in the state of New York, woohoo! I was licensed in NJ a year ago this month, but the journey to NY was much tougher. Tbh, the two years of classes and taking the exam (twice!) was harder for me than obtaining my bachelor's degree (which I somehow earned in roughly three years, a year faster than most). It may have actually been the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life -- including childhood in a twice-"broken home" (two ugly divorces by the age of 12), backpacking through entire continents, moving halfway across the country to a state where I knew no one and had never been before, and surviving life in NYC (often times at or close to the poverty level) for over a decade and counting.
Why was this seemingly simple thing so challenging for me? Perhaps because of all the science that was required (never my strong suit); perhaps because of the commute and the hours, in addition to a long commute to a job with crazy hours (between work and school I only had one day off most weeks to catch up on chores and errands and rest); perhaps because I wasn't prepared for how tough it would be to get back in the habit of being in school, and to wrap my brain around the idea of changing my career in my 30s; perhaps because I wanted it sooo badly that I created a veil of anxiety and self-doubt to shroud myself in; perhaps because I had allowed myself to release all my self-care practices and fall into a couple spirals of depression along the way. Probably all of those things.
But finally, after many lessons learned (and, let's be honest, that I'm still learning), my path scattered with bumps and potholes, plagued with thoughts of "I will never get there / I don't deserve this / I am doomed / I am a failure" etc etc, the day has come. I did it. There are moments where I am still in disbelief, but mostly I have been floating on clouds and walking on rainbows since I received the news. I owe so much gratitude and debt to so many, but for now I am also allowing myself to experience a sense of pride -- something I have never really allowed myself to feel before. I wanted something, I worked for it, I fell down and got back up again, worked some more, and accomplished my goal, achieved my dream. Now all that's left is to LIVE my dream -- aha!! I'm sure more challenges lay ahead, but having this accomplishment with me always, I feel more confident to face anything that comes my way.
I am delighted to get started.
With Love & Gratitude,
Katie :)
P.S. Coming soon: A discussion of the Yoga Sutras, one at a time. I will be exploring each of Patanjali's teachings of the Yogic Path, sutra by sutra, every week or two right here on this blog. So stay tuned for that and other sharings about Ayurveda, Massage, and whatever else pops into my head! ॐ
