Just one year ago this month, I saw in my mind's eye, a yoga mat that would allow individuals with special needs to practice yoga. I had been teaching yoga to individuals with special needs for quite some time and I often struggled with successfully cuing my students on how to transition from one pose to another. I found myself on my students' yoga mats most of the time and this went against everything I hoped to give each of my students - independence. If my goal was to teach people to use yoga to regulate themselves, how in the world were they going to do it on their own if I was always physically showing them what to do?
That is where THE MAT comes in. After I saw the picture of the yoga mat in my mind (which I refer to as divine intervention), I quickly placed my then 1 year old daughter, Gracie, in her crib for the night. I instantly began sketching the yoga mat on sheets of paper using my son, Christian's, crayola crayons. The more I drew the more I thought, this mat must already exist. So I simply began searching for the mat online. To tell you the truth, buying the mat last September would have been a heck of a lot easier than the road I have traveled on to bring my mat to life - but I would not give that journey up for anything.
After sharing the idea with my husband, Scott (thank God for you), I shared the idea with my mom. I asked her to sign my 'inventor's notebook' that I had started shortly after I realized the product was not available. I recall asking her to drive with me to the paint store so that she could sit with my children in the car while I found paints that would make up the first prototype of my mat.
So here we are. September 18, 2010. I say 'we' because I did not do this alone. My team of angels all showed up at just the right time and for all of them I am beyond grateful.
Stretch What Matters most to you and see what happens!
Namaste,
Elizabeth
