My first time leaving the country on my own,
I was 19 years old, and no one I knew had ever solo traveled before.
This was before influencers were a thing, and everyone I knew thought I was crazy!
I was so scared alone on that plane to Italy, but had the best week of my life sleeping in a dorm room at a party hostel & seeing all the sites of Rome!
The next week was even better:
I took a train to a small town on the coast, Sperlonga Italy, and met my hero.
For 2 years leading up to this trip, I practiced Yoga in my bedroom everyday on YT with Lesley Fightmaster.
I spent a week on a beach in Italy,
practicing Yoga with my hero twice a day,
eating all my meals at her table with her family,
and learning so much from all of the women on the retreat (I was the youngest person there by decades.)
Lesley Fightmaster became my friend, and invited me to her Yoga teacher training in California.
At the time I was living in Miami & a student at Florida International University. I could not afford the $3000 Yoga teacher training, so Lesley made me her apprentice and let me come anyways.
In 2019 I left Miami to travel the world, volunteering as a Yoga teacher in exchange for my room & board.
I ended up back in Southern California for an event and Lesley invited me to stay with her family.
Her son let me borrow his bedroom for a few weeks, her husband went to the grocery store to buy me vegetarian food, and Lesley hung out with me.
In the mornings we would practice Yoga together in her living room, she took me to the farmers market, treated me like family.
I went out with some friends one night and I’ll never forget getting ready to go out in Lesley’s bedroom, dancing around, putting on makeup, doing my hair and borrowing clothes from her closet.
Lesley was the kindest, most wonderful woman I have ever known.
I miss her dearly every single day.
I teach Yoga so that Lesley’s light may live on through me and through my students.
Lesley was my friend, my inspiration, my yoga teacher. I love her so much and my daughter’s middle name is Lesley after her.
If I never found the courage to book that trip to Italy on my own at 19, I wouldn’t be a Yoga teacher.
#fightmasteryoga #lesleyfightmaster #yogateacher #teachyoga #yogapractice #yogaretreat
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