Who am I?

I am:
1. Human.
2. A wife. To the most patient and hilarious man I know.
3. Mommy to the World's Most Wonderful Dog.
4. A daughter. To the World's Coolest Parents.
5. A total Yoga Nerd. I'm spend my down time studying Light On Yoga, and puzzling over Pantajali, designing sequences, and occasionally actually spending some time on my mat.
6. A Student. I graduated college and then medical school years ago, but as any Nerd will tell you, once you train yourself to study, its hard to stop!
7. A food nerd. I also read cookbooks. I've done this secretly and then not-so-secretly since I was 7 or 8. Like my yoga nerdism, I read about cooking about twice as much as i actually cook.
8. An artist. Not a very good one, but with enough talent that it CAN be relaxing, not skilled enough that I don't find it occasionally incredibly frustrating.
9. A visual junkie. Like most human, probably. I adore museums, hikes, street art, pintrest, glossy magazines, Craftsman houses, and am in constant search for asana photos.
10. An Actual Nerd. I love comics and science fiction and fantasy and RPG and Star Trek and MST3k... the list goes on.
11. In constant pursuit of skills. My husband used the term "Ninja Training," but I'm obsessed with a Lifelong Quest to acquire multiple skills. Currently working on knitting, piano, hand stands and arm balances,

I believe in
1. Moderation in all things. Even though this is obviously problematic (what about moderation in.... moderation? *head explodes*)
2. Mindfulness. Knowing what we're doing while we're doing it, understanding the implications of our actions, recognizing and responding to what our bodies are telling us are the keys to finding peace and health.
3. Compassion. This means remembering to be compassionate not only with others, but also with ourselves. It sometimes seems easier to be kind to others all while being our own harshest critic. When we accept our own faults, we are much more accepting of the foibles of others.
4. That everyone is doing the best they can, and we can all do better.
5. That Wisdom comes from the meeting of Feeling and Reason.
6. God. As a concept, as a part of humanity, as a spiritual force, but definitely NOT as a bearded man in the sky.
7. Science. While accepting that science requires some belief, and if history teaches us anything, science is very frequently wrong.
8. Yoga as a source of healing. When I use the term 'yoga,' I am referring to the Union of Body and Spirit (when I refer the yoga you do in stretchy pants, I use the term 'asana'). When used appropriately, and as long as we don't expect too much of it, it can be the Answer to a lot of the problems common to the human experience.