On Qualifying

A few months ago, I taught an evening class at my home studio in Munich. It was a sunny spring day and I started class with a statement of gratitude for feeling the sun after so many long winter days. A student in class said, Maybe for you. I was inside all day. You get to teach yoga and be out in the sun. Wish I could.  I hear comments like this very regularly. They remind me again of how blessed I am to do what I do, but even more they imply that there are underlying assumptions at work which draw arbitrary lines between the dreamers who DO with just the dreamers. Whether this student dreamed of being a yoga teacher, an artist or a freelance programmer, I have no idea. At least from her words that evening, she seemed to have disqualified herself from what was outside of her present reality… happiness, a fulfilling job, a healthy body/mind were for other people (like me) and not her.

The first noble truth according to the Buddha: Everyone suffers. No one has it easy in life. Even your friend who is the CEO of his own successful company, your sister with the “perfect marriage”, and the yoga teacher next to you in the effortless handstand. They suffer too. And thinking that others have it easier than you, or possess some kind of immutable quality that makes life go their way is not only inaccurate BS, it is also a surefire mindset to send you down a lifetime path of stagnation. Who wants that? If you are reading my newsletter, I know not you!

Second noble truth:  That said, suffering is optional. We control our perspective. We control our suffering. Evolving, growing, accepting change, learning from past mistakes and moving forward with lessons learned... this is hard shit for everyone. I came to being a yoga teacher after my first year of law school. I had a nagging voice I like to call intuition that told me it wasn’t for me. My future self wasn’t going to be happy in this job and I knew it. I had a full scholarship; so my friends, colleagues and family thought I was nuts for giving up a $120,000 education. I was scared, so I tiptoed in by “taking a semester off,” which gave me the space to listen more clearly to what I already knew. When the fear of change wasn’t so front-and-center and visceral, the path forward was clear.

Past thought patterns that tell us we can’t achieve the things we want – vibrant health, a fulfilling job, love – are justsamskaras – well-worn paths in our mind/body system from our past unresolved crap (karma).  They exist. We all have them.  So we shouldn’t be too surprised when they fall in our path and momentarily block our view. But if we don’t want a life of stagnation, we don’t cling to them like a life preserver.  We embrace the fear of change, listen to our intuition and get out of our own damn way.

You are a verb, not a noun.. Constantly changing and evolving. So use this to your advantage when you make decisions.. for anything from little decisions like, how is my future self going to feel about binge-watching TV? or how will my future self feel if I meditate this morning? to big decisions like how will my future self feel if I continue with this job that has me completely out of rhythm with nature/my heart/my soul? The future self, the one you are evolving into, is wise. It has learned from what didn’t work in the past and is sooo over that shit.

I’m told I am quite good at helping people get out of their own damn way. I’m a compassionate straight-talker who sees the highest in people I meet. If you want to work with me, I have some life-changing courses coming up: 

September 29 - October 13, 2017 - Yogi Detox - a 2 week program to release toxins shed excess weight or bloating and spark your energy (online and in-person available)

October 25-December 27, 2017 - Align to Thrive - a 10 week peer-supported health coaching program designed to help you uplevel your health and wellness habits. 

Step into vibrant health. There is never a "perfect time" to get honest with yourself about how you want to feel and do something about it. The time is Now.  Sign up, or schedule a chat with me to discuss your health/body/wellness goals. 

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