Cherrell, on Transformation. Sling Diaries, Vol VII.

The Sling Diaries, Volume VII. A photo-documentary chronicling the art of baby wearing in the lives of families around the world. Over the course of six months, Sling Diarists will create their own Sling Diary though a series of diary entries interpreting a unique theme given to them each month.

Meet all of our Sling Diarists here.

ON TRANSFORMATION

Letters to Freya: Transformation

My first yoga practice came to me at a time of desperation and, what I am now aware of, depression. I was going through a divorce and needed some serious grounding in my life.

The studio was walking distance from my new one bedroom apartment within a not-so-pretty four family house.

I revamped the inside of this 100 year old historic home to make it my own.

MY first place.

I had never had my own place before him.

Yoga soon became the healthiest addiction I'd ever had. It transformed me in more ways than one.

It helped heal my heart from the guilt I felt for leaving, even though I knew it was best for me. It transformed my body into the strongest and fittest it's ever been. And it allowed me to release the tension and stress that I carried with me every day for the many months that followed.

Not sure how I would of coped without it.

Once a day, if not twice a day, I would walk or ride my bike to this little studio. It was on the second floor, squished between a wine parlor and a vintage toy shop.

A long rectangular room with exposed brick on the left side. A true sanctuary for me.

Some practices made me laugh, others made me cry. But I always left just a tad bit more forgiving - proud of the decisions I made. 

I sought to find myself those two years.

Answering my many questions: Who am I? What do I want? What don't I want?

And by the end of that time, I had my answers. Maybe not in its entirety, but a rough draft. The new and improved me. I found your Papa at the end of this small journey, and I would never look back.

There might come a time in your life where your heart will be broken.

Pains me to even fathom it.

But the product of a broken heart is always transformation. Whether good or bad, you'll be changed. You'll learn from the lessons. You'll take away the good, and leave the bad. And you'll be someone new.

And I'll always be there to help ground you.

November 25, 2013.  At the studio. Roughly a month into my yoga routine. The studio is now in the transformation of becoming a book store.  The owner of the building was kind enough to let us in and snap a few pictures upstairs. This studio will always have a special place in my heart.

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