Finding Balance at DrupalCon

My First DrupalCon

I was excited to have the chance to attend my first DrupalCon in Baltimore last week. Being new to the Drupal community I wasn’t sure what to expect from this conference. Therefore I went to Baltimore with an open mind and an expectation that I would meet some wonderful people. DrupalCon brings together one of the largest open-source communities in the world. What impressed me about this tech conference was that there was a selection of session tracks offered to suit a variety of people; developers, project managers and marketers alike. There was a track called ‘Being Human,’ of which I had the opportunity to present my topic The Art of Thought Control: Finding Balance and Managing Stress. My career in technology and my experience in yoga and meditation spans almost two decades. Yoga has helped me to maintain balance during stressful times. I showed up at the Community Stage one hour before I was due to present to make sure that the audio and visual was set up. This is when we discovered that we had some technical difficulties with the monitor. The presenter lined up right before me was experiencing the same challenges. It wasn’t long before we had a team of volunteers swoop in to make sure we had everything we needed and to do everything in their power to troubleshoot the technical glitches. As we were standing up on the stage looking out over the crowd I relished in the irony that I was being tested. There I was to give a presentation on managing stress and I was able to put my own tools into practice right then and there. We were facing a 20-minute delay with a slightly anxious looking audience. “Deep breaths, relax, it will all work out,” I thought. And it did work out. As I was about to borrow a colleague’s laptop to see if it would connect to the monitor, voila, the problem was solved and I went back up on stage. This was not my first time giving a presentation, but it was my first time not feeling nervous beforehand. I felt completely calm and at peace, despite what was going on around me. My presentation went off without a hitch. I even received some hugs afterwards from people whom I had just met. I managed to attend a few sessions throughout the week, as well as work the booth for ImageX Media. The conference was informative and fun and my expectations were exceeded as I met some really wonderful people. I’m looking forward to the next DrupalCon!

A Little About Sarah Wall

Sarah is the owner of Body Mind Spirit Business & Life Coaching. She is also the co-founder of Yoga Vacations, providing a safe space for people to explore their inner world through yoga, while traveling to beautiful destinations. Sarah’s own journey into yoga, which began twenty years ago, has taken her around the world many times and sparked her passion to give back. She’s a proud board member of Helping Hands for India, who have built a school in northern India, providing free education to almost 300 children. Sarah is sharing her story to inspire others, who are craving something more out of life, in her book “Life Reboot – An Inner Wisdom Guide to Finding Your Passion and Purpose.” Website: http://body-mind-spirit-coach.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodymindspiritcoach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-wall-7a530b105/