Jo, the Amazing Sailing, Running, Yoga Loving Lady

When I got to Tampa and checked into my hostel, I didn’t really know what to expect.  There weren’t a lot of people around and I was just kind of sitting there working on the website.  Nursing my sunburn but still wanting to be outside, I grabbed my journal and sat in the shade writing.  This woman came out by me, said hello and then minded to her own business.  Not thinking anything of it, I sat there writing and then meandered back inside.  Later, when I came out for a water, we began talking. 

She perked my interest immediately when she mentioned she had been sailing on a boat with her non-official husband for seventeen years.  Just digesting that is huge but then to understand where this story goes from there makes it into a story needs a hard cover.  While we got into the conversation of why she was in Tampa, she asked if I was hungry?  With that we were off on a mini-adventure to find food and ended up at possibly one of the best Indian restaurants I have ever had. 

At dinner, we started talking about Yoga and the place it takes in her life.  It is the way she lives her life and is frequently in India to see her guru.  Back home, she teaches yoga but her favorite is her classes with children.  There she has the opportunity to really influence the kids so that they find a place for the values Yoga teaches in their daily lives.  This got me thinking to the idea of it takes a village to raise a child.  No time has this statement ever meant more than now when children have so much coming at them from technology, friends, media, and so on.  Jo makes sure that the life lessons come out in her classes so that the children can benefit to their fullest from it.  Her stories about how amazing these children are really touched me and I hope that I get to cross paths with Jo in the future.

We then started chatting more about life on the boat.  The owners of the boat had a baby and for five years, he was on the boat with them.  In this video, he is in the picture that really sets what life on the boat meant to Jo.  While on the boat though, Jo was always giving to the communities that they were visiting so she taught Yoga.  She shared these pictures with me and to see the excitement and gratitude in all these children’s faces is overwhelming.  

After hearing all of this involvement, she then spilled that she helped run the Olympic torch for the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.  Yeah, I know!  I’m hoping she sends me that picture because I will add it to this post.  It was a true pleasure meeting you and continue to put your greatness into the world.  You help all of us because of it.