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july2019yogajournal.com.auGinaTomaineis a yogateacherandmagazine
editor in Philadelphia. Her work has been
published in Prevention, Women’s Health,
Runner’s World, and other publications. Learn
more at ginatomaine.com.
yes.” He put the ring on my finger, and
he held me while I cried. In that
moment of “yes,” my world expanded.
We drank champagne and ate fruit in
front of the ocean while the Tulum
sun rose, pink and hot on our skin. I
could hardly believe my good fortune—
engaged in Tulum at sunrise. In that
moment, instead of fear, I chose
gratitude.
“Will you marry me? He
asked. I was so incredulous,
I couldn’t speak...”I saw a beachfront yoga class
almost immediately after—Tulum,
thankfully is crawling with them—
and I asked my fiance(!), if he’d like to
take it together. I was still shaking
from the metamorphic decision I had
made: unwavering commitment in the
face of fear. I hoped familiar asana
would steady me. Internally, I repeated
my mantra as we walked into a large
triangular wood pavilion, perched on a
hidden natural cliff in the jungle,
overlooking the beach as if it had been
there forever.
Our yoga teacher, a young woman
from Mexico City with a sing-song
voice, instructed us to let go of our
fears, to open our hearts, to experience
the beauty of the moment we were in.
I was exactly where I needed to be.
I still had my dark corners—I may
always—but I could learn to live with
them and still claim the life I wanted
and deserve. I could live in the present
and not in the past. I could be here
now, soaking in the jungle, the ocean,
in a magnificent place where
afterward we would eat fresh coconut
and bike carefree down the beach road
and hike up Mayan ruins and speak a
little Spanish and accept a glorious
chocolate mole cake that said
“Felicidades.”
As I looked over at the joyful,
patient man doing yoga next to me, the
waves crashed out ahead. I took his
hand for just an instant, and he
smiled. And then we raised our arms
together, side-by-side, to salute the sun.