Oikos Contest!

I just read about the Oikos contest on Jenna's post over at eat, live, run and I have decided to enter :) I love Oikos yogurt, and have frequently had it as an afternoon snack with some cranberry almond granola and a drizzle of honey. yum :) I even just became a fan on their facebook page!

So here is what I could desperately use a weekend away at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health:

I know I have mentioned it before on here (without going into much detail) but this past year has been one for the record books for me and my family. It started out normal in January. I decided I needed to lose some weight and started a diet and exercise plan that I could keep in place while starting my busy season at work. As some of you know, I used to be a tax accountant so the months of January - April were pure hell for me. Long days at work doing a job I absolutely loathed did not make for a happier me. I was stressed beyond belief. Then February hit, and economic tragedy struck. My husband lost his job as a supply chain and marketing manger for an online car parts company. Since supply chain is not a career that is in high demand in these trying times, we knew it would be a while before getting back on our feet. However, much to our delight, Stephen was able to find a job relativly quickly, but there was one catch, it was in New Jersey! We were excited for the new opportunity and soon found ourselves packing our belongings, signing a lease for an apartment in Hoboken, NJ and waiting patiently for my transfer to go through and for his start date to arrive. However, in early May, economic tragedy once again struck. After everything was moved to NJ and had been there about a month the branch of the tire company Stephen was supposed to work for shut down. This meant no jobs for either of us in NJ, a year lease signed for both an apartment AND a parking garage, and no where to live in CT anymore. To put it frankly, we were screwed. I tend to internalize my feelings of stress and anger, and I began to become more and more shut off from the world, especially my husband. The weeks went on, work was just as stressful (even after April 15th, weird) and I found myself slipping deeper and deeper into a depression. As a recovering bulimic I felt myself leaning back toward my old ways of binging and purging and gave into these feelings on several occasions. I internalized everything to the point where I was suffering from panic and anxiety attacks almost everyday. Then one day while at work in a small, windowless room with another tax accountant I suffered from a full on panic attack. I cannot tell you much about that day. All I remember is asking the person I was working with if he thought it was hot in the room. The next thing I knew I was in an ambulance on my way to a hospital. I had passed out and my heart rate was over 200 by the time the medical team came. This was by far the lowest point for me this past year. After a 2 week stress related leave I decided to leave my job. And as they say, the rest is history. While things have clearly gotten much better in the past 3 months or so (Stephen and I both found new jobs and a new apartment) I still feel myself internalizing so much of my stress, and avoiding binging and purging is still a daily struggle. I have recently started practicing yoga and cannot begin to explain how helpful it has been. To have the opportunity to visit the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health for a whole weekend would be a dream come true for me. I really feel that yoga and meditation will help me in my continued recovery from bulimia, and with my anxiety. If this past year has taught me anything, its that we all need to listen to our bodies and respond appropriately. Yoga will help teach me how to become centered and one with body so that I can actually listen to the messages it is sending me, both good and bad!



So there we go! The reasons I believe I should go to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health! If I win I will clearly be taking my best friend, Katie :) She is a graduate student in CO studying chemical engineering, so she could definately use a weekend away too!