I know y’all are wondering: If she finished the 200-hour training last November, when’s she ever gonna get that tattoo?

Well, my daughter and I took the 200-hour training together, and the plan always has been that we would go get tattoos together to celebrate the end of the training. But somehow we haven’t quite gotten around to it. In fact, this goal had gone cold for me.

However, Sunset magazine just published an article on the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, which is not too far from the yoga studio where we trained and where I now teach. This tattoo parlor is run by two women, and their website looks really inviting. So we (my daughter and I) are re-committing to getting this done in the near future. 2 years ago

I’m thinking it will be a little vine of flowers twining along the outer edge of my foot. Something that would show in yoga class, but also something easily covered. 3 years ago

I completed this goal today, as part of an all-around wonderful day with friends (and one good friend in particular, who also got a tattoo of her own today). I’m really happy with the way it came out. It’s a dragonfly, with lavender plants and an Aum symbol, but at my son’s suggestion, I also added a spider web and spider. You can’t see the whole thing in one photo, because it wraps around my leg, but this should give a pretty good idea of the way it looks. I LOVE IT! :) 6 years ago

I’m going to Zebra later this week, to accompany a friend who wants to get her first tattoo. I also thought that this would be a good opportunity to get another one myself, if I could just figure out what. I’m still up in the air about whether or not it’s appropriate to get the Gayatri Mantra, so I started thinking about other ideas. I think I’ve come up with a good one.

I’m thinking about a dragonfly, which is hovering above some shoots of lavender, with an OM symbol underneath. It sounds a bit dorky written out like that, but I did a quicky sketch earlier tonight, and I like the way it looks a lot. It’s all going to be realistic, rather than stylized, and coloured-in instead of monotone. I’m still not entirely sure that I’ll end up getting this; I need to let the idea settle in a while and see how it feels (although, in a way, I can already imagine it there on my calf, and it feels comfy). Plus, I want to “check in” with Dragonfly to make sure s/he doesn’t mind me getting this tattoo. But I think that the fact that I was inspired to come up with this design is probably a good sign.

If I do decide to get it, I’ll post the sketch (or, more likely, a picture of the tattoo itself; actually, I’ll probably post both), along with my thoughts on what it all means. (The tattoo itself probably won’t happen until sometime in March). But right now, I’m happy with the idea. So, I’ll see how it looks after a good night’s sleep. 6 years ago

I know what I want, but I’m not sure if I’ve “earned” it, or if it would be respectful and appropriate. (I’m thinking about having the Sanskrit text of the Gayatri Mantra tattooed on my upper arm). Must do more soul-searching before I decide for sure. 6 years ago

Putting this goal on hold until inspiration hits. 6 years ago

Trouble is, I can’t quite decide what it is that I want. I’d thought that, when the time finally came that I was certified, I’d know what I wanted. But I’m getting pretty close to completing the program, and I still don’t know.

That’s all right. Inspiration only takes an instant, after all. 6 years ago