Kicking Cancer Carnival!

The Kicking Cancer Carnival was amazing. The Yoga Flirt girls really put together something fun and wonderful. After chemo Wednesday and Thursday and Friday in bed, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to stay. I was expecting to do fine with the yoga, do as much as the intro to YF class as I could manage, come home for a few hours and return for the end. It was so fun and inspiring that I did both classes - 3 hours of exercise...not too bad for a chemo girl! - and stayed until the end. The best part was watching the Queen and her princesses perform, and I wasn't going to miss that!

It started at 9:15 with Cathy's yoga class. Casey had an "ah ha moment" when Cathy helped him to position his arm in one pose. He loved her class and I'm hoping I can get him to the studio on Tuesdays now! It was great to see me YF buddy, Sonja. Jana and Irene from AJHS (You will always be from AJHS, retired or not, Irene), Rob and Gabriella were there and several people I don't know. The yoga felt so good and made me feel better. I was a bit nauseous going into it, but yoga never fails to make me feel better. I probably would have had trouble making it through the day if we hadn't started with yoga. Next came the Into to Yoga Flirt class taught by Becca and Angela. Doing the warm up, which is awesome, and relearning the uturn and sugar spin made me long to get back into a Yoga Flirt class. I miss the fun, the excitement, the challenge, the camaraderie and the feeling of euphoria I have at the end of every class. I can't wait to get back into Yoga Flirt next fall!! The class was full and everyone had fun.

Next came the carnival. People were coming and going throughout this part of the day, but there were always women there, having fun. The games were awesome. I especially loved when someone would ring the gong, which cost 4 tickets, Angela would count down and all of the flirts, in unison, would say "cancer sucks!" and do a sexy YF move together, reminiscent of the bend and snap in Legally Blond. Love it! I got to wear a pink crown and a tutu! The silent auction and the raffle were awesome and people left with some cool items. The Wellness Kitchen did the food, so there was delicious soup and potato salad, plus cookies shaped like high heels. Oh, and a popcorn machine, too! Cathy's wonderful husband, Michael, sat outside all day and sold tickets and signed people in. He was under a sun shade in the rain, all day. What a great guy! Love you, Michael.

There were four of my former students there. Autumn, the flirt who did a fantastic job doing the PR and getting the word out to the media, was in my class in 7th grade. Love her - thanks, Autumn! Brook came with her mom, Debbie, who is a level 7 flirt and a professional photographer. She was photographing all afternoon! Courtney came with her mom, and they both attended the intro class. Betian, who volunteered in my very first AVID class, came and she brought Destiny, another former student. Even though they are all over 18 and haven't been my students in awhile, I have been really missing my daily interactions with kids so seeing 4 of them yesterday made me very happy. Awesome to see you, Autumn, Brook, Courtney and Destiny!!

I think that every woman at the event who didn't know me introduced herself and wished me well. One woman brought me a picture her daughter colored for me when she told her where she was going. She even framed it! Another shared that she came because her mom died of cancer. Jean, who was briefly my sub this year, came and it was great to see her. Meghan was there, and we hadn't seen each other since the early days at Yoga in the Vines when she was pregnant. We both look different! Linda had to work but she took the time to stop by, give me a hug and buy some tickets, which she gave me. Marcie, my wonderful massage therapist and Becca's mom, came and got to see Becca do pole moves and dance for the first time! I think I may be able to convince Marcie to join me in level one!

I hope I'm not forgetting anything or anyone...it was a crazy, sexy, fun-filled day. The queen and her princesses all danced to a different Michael Franti songs, which was awesome and made me very happy. Michael's music is perfect for YF, with his sexy voice and lyrics. Angela did a great job shaking it!! I can't even express how much fun it is to watch these women dance. They do jaw dropping pole moves, and they just look so strong and sexy. Cathy has given us all something precious and wonderful, and we all love her for it, so much.

So, I was able to be at the carnival all day long and I took both classes. Not bad for someone who had had 8 rounds of chemo, and one just 3 days prior. I would not be this strong and able to do this were it not for Cathy, Jean, yoga, and Yoga Flirt. Jana said to me that I need to be a spokesperson for what yoga can do for you, and I agree. Everyone should practice yoga, in my opinion, but especially cancer patients. I wish every female cancer patient in the world could enroll in Yoga Flirt level one. They all can't, but if you are fortunate enough to live on the fabulous Central Coast, you can!!!!! I'll be starting over in level one in the fall. Who's up for joining me?

Gratitude, love, respect and hugs to everyone who planned, worked, donated, attended,
etc. I am, as usual, feeling blessed and very, very grateful.

Here I am this morning, still wearing my heart on my cheek and my Yoga Flirt tattoo on my chest:

Namaste,

Jill