What Challenge are You Ready to Overcome?

This morning I taught a vinyasa class and one of my favorite students asked me to teach an intense arm balance. Immediately the room became uncomfortable- some sighing in annoyance, and others saying “Oh Crap” under their breath.

It’s interesting how people have ingrained feelings toward things they think they can’t achieve- yet how facing the reality of what their body is actually capable of on the mat is a huge gateway for them to challenge themselves outside the studio.

Yoga and meditation are incredible doubt slashers- I’ve taught 70 year old women to do crow, and have had people admit that meditation has changed their outlook on life- helping them get ahead in work, life, and love.

I promised the class I’d go slow, teach them what they needed to open the body and prepare for the pose, and that there would be a point they could stop along the way if it became too intense. The sighs turned to those of relief.

All 30 of them moved through the sequence in unison, some dropping a knee, or using a towel to bind along the way. The amazing thing was, by the time we got to the arm balance they all completely trusted me as their guide and clearly took themselves closer to their edge than ever before.

It’s the aspect of opening the body and mind on the mat that consistently draws me back to my practice; and that’s exactly what I needed after a reality check this weekend.

On an intense retreat with my business mastermind, a continuous soundtrack kept playing in my head, and it wasn’t one I consciously bought on itunes…..
It went a little somethin’ like this:

“You’re not a business person, you’re a yoga teacher. You aren’t cut out to do this, you don’t even like numbers. You should just give this whole “business” thing up before you blow through even more money.”

I wouldn’t talk that way to my worst enemy…..But I’m putting this out there in case you can relate in some way- It scares the crap out of me to think that I’m not going to be good at something. There, I said it….I never pretend to have all the answers.

But here’s the genius thing- if I had continued to stay in my head, and not in my heart, I would have thrown in the towel right then and there. However, I’m not a quitter, and if my mentor, Marie Forleo, has taught me one thing about life, it’s that “everything is figure-out-able.” Isn’t that genius? FIGUREOUTABLE…….it just rolls off the tongue.  She has drilled into us that we can do or be whatever we want, we just need to have clarity around what that is;  and then GO BIG, or go home.

…..And I’m not ready to go home

Reality isn’t all Jerry Springer and Bridezillas- it can have an upside. Someone pointed out that I had sold almost 1,000 DVDs this year, so I couldn’t be that bad at business. RIght. OK.

This morning I did a handstand, and turned my world upside down, then declared during my meditation that I’m choosing to be good at business. Not like Warren Buffet, per se, but enough to get my business where I need it to be right now; and reality is- that’s good enough for me.
HOW ‘BOUT YOU?

Do you need a reality check  re: a story you’ve been telling yourself, that’s just plain crap?  ”I’m too fat, I’m not smart enough, I was never the pretty one, I’ll never be good at_______.”  Get over it, and remember: “Everything is Figureoutable.”