Clay County native Becky (Potasnik) Proctor dropped by the Clay Public Library on April 5, 2022, to donate a copy of her self-published book, God Really, Really Likes You, Everyday Lessons in Faith, a collection of personal stories regarding her journey of faith. The book is not available in stores, but can be purchased for $11.99 from Amazon.
According to Proctor, the book is a compilation of weekly inspirational messages she wrote for her yoga students. For the past ten years she has been leading Christ-centered chair yoga classes for seniors in and around St. Pete Beach, Florida, where she now lives.
“Yoga is the considered new physical therapy and has become very popular for all ages. There are two things that make the classes I lead different. First, they are Christ-centered, meaning the focus of the class is to worship and honor God with our breath and movements.” Each class begins with a Bible verse and prayer. Proctor’s advanced training through Duke University Integrative Medicine in yoga therapy for seniors allows her to offer movements that are safe for the aging body. “My students range in age from 65 to 92. We work to improve breathing, balance, strength and stamina and we give God the glory for it all.”
In recent months, she and her mother, Nebo resident (and yoga student) Marlene Potasnik, have been studying family history and have realized the importance of preserving stories. “Mom recalls some great stories from her childhood and years as a young married woman living in Widen, but she has only her experience to draw upon. She is the last of her siblings, so she is the keeper of the Cooper family stories.”
“A few years ago, I gave Mom a spiral notebook and asked her to write her life story. I gave her a few open-ended questions to get her started. The stories she wrote led me to ask even more questions about what it was like growing up in the 1930s, going to high school in the ‘40s and so on. We are all a culmination of our experiences, so preserving our family stories helps us understand each other and appreciate each other even more.
“I encourage everyone to write their memories. Ask older relatives questions and do it now. It is a gift to yourself, your children and to generations that follow.”
