This is Perry Morris Farag.
I used to call her "Plastic Perry" behind her back in church school because she had these awesome Patent Leather Doc Martins and this Sea foam green jumper made of a funky plastic looking material. The name calling was mean and short lived, but that was my early intuition telling me there was something about this person, I admired and deep down I loved this woman the day I met her. As our life paths have evolved so has our friendship.
We've moved through many roles in each other's lives over the decades from "sisters in Christ" to college party goers to roommates to power working women running companies and NOW my favorite... focusing on our own self care, loved ones and our world.
Perry meditates every morning with the guidance of the smartphone app - HeadSpace. She finds balance in her busy workweek by dropping into yoga class. She turns to alternative medicine to heal migraines and alleviating life stress. She has always been one to take pleasure in the little things in life.
You know that little kid joy of waking up on Christmas morning... Perry gets that from a good cup of coffee or from finding a fitting card to write in for a loved one. I've always admired that and many other traits in Perry, and the best part, she doesn't take credit for it because she believes who she is, is a reflection of the people and things surrounding her.
"Three years ago if you asked me if I thought I'd be able to fall asleep in a wooden room full of strangers in a yoga class I would have said heck no."
Self-Care and Yoga wasn't always a part of dear Perry's life. I have had the honor of being Perry's teacher and seeing her growth on the mat and out in her world. She soaks up words from her teachers then puts them into practice at home, in the office and when expressing herself out in the world. The best part of being a teacher is seeing how yoga subtly shifts a person from the inside out and Perry has given me a front row seat to her evolution. Now she thirsts for the moments where she gets into the sweet places in her body. Yoga is a way to sink into her body that her other workouts weren't quite getting to.
Perry, what are three things you can always do to alter your mood?
Put on a great song (has to be damn good not just any fun song)
Submerge under water...preferably the ocean. Sometimes I know the way I feel when I need to submerge and I'll run down to the beach and go in the ocean. It always does the trick
Go to sleep. Even if it's when I'm in corpse and it's for 3 seconds when I get into really deep breaths.
The last 2 are super inconvenient but I realized after having them work for me that they do the trick.
Thank you Perry for sharing your journey with me and for letting me be along for the ride! Sharing and supporting each other through our various evolutions in life brings me great joy. It also helps when life gets really bumpy and I am reminded that we all go through our own ebbs and flows and can find healthy ways to aid the waves of life.