Growing into a new Balance
If you aren't growing and evolving you aren't living. We are biologically changing every second all day everyday! So it is only the force of nature that we grow spiritually, emotionally and physically. It's so easy to become complacent with all three of those things. Before you know it you look back and your life has gone no where. For the longest time I was growing but I was constantly being pulled back. I needed more. I found a great balance in Yoga and by becoming part of growth groups.
You see people are always acknowledging how positive I am and how happy they are for me because I look so happy to them on social media. I'm so happy they see that but they can have that too. It's not just what you see on Instagram though. I have many breakdowns. Many hard days where I don't know how I'm going to keep going. But I constantly hold onto the joy I've found in the work to being whole. The work I put in to being happy. It doesn't just come by posting a happy picture, putting a cool quote and doing a yoga pose. It takes a lot of effort and perseverance .
In my experience, people see things like yoga and/or growth groups and get intimidated. I mean foreal seeing someone balance on their forearm with their legs hanging in mid air is actually pretty scary! For the longest time I seen handstand and I thought I could never ever do that. I have a weak core. I have no balance. I have no strength. You see what I did there? I set myself up for failure before I even tried. We constantly are boxing ourselves in to these spaces. Where we limit our growth and don't allow the opportunity for unbelievable growth.
I hear so many first time students or even people who haven't done yoga say "I can't do yoga because it's slow" or "I'm not flexible". There are many things wrong with both of these statements. Most of the time it being too slow is in actuality an excuse because yoga forces you to mentally slow down, clear your thoughts and brings up a lot of emotions. That is harder than just moving slow. And being flexible is not a requirement to doing yoga! So please don't let that stop you.
I don't do yoga because it's a physical practice I do yoga because it is a learning experience. What happens on the mat helps me reflect what happens off the mat. For the longest time I told myself I couldn't practice at home. I needed someone to guide me. So I set an intention to practice more at home. Let's just say I'm getting there. I often times get very distracted and check my phone or have to take a picture. Kids running in and out of my legs or that measly 10 minutes feels like an hour. It's hard to stay focused and push myself to the edge in poses. Often times what happens on the mat is carried into our behaviors in life. This was a lesson to be learned off the mat. Often times when I don't have accountability it's easy for me to not give forth full effort. I begin to get lazy and slack some. I don't push myself like I would if I had someone telling me to keep going.
This is why we have growth groups and things that push us to continue to grow. I never understood how powerful being in a growth group was and not trying to do it all alone until I did it. I had grown so much over the past year but I was still in a place where I felt stuck. So I took a leap of faith and joined Rooted a group at church and then my Wow mastermind group! Well, that was just what I needed to take my growth to the next level. Being able to have honest conversations each week and talk about our goals and truly being intentional about them has done something to my Journey that is just unbelievable and I will forever be grateful for them. Each week I set an intention and instead of just talking about it I feel supported and have people holding me accountable to actually do them. Just like in my yoga practice when I go off on my own I can take short cuts or get lazy. I can become distracted and lose focus on my goals. However, now that I've found people who hold me accountable I see my growth going to another level.
Now that I have broken the bind of my limiting thoughts, I've found myself being able to practice alone more. Handstand, this pose was one I thought I'd never achieve. Well I've been practicing. I've been putting in the work to do what once was the unthinkable to me. I'm no pro and still have room to grow but I got up and I had hang time!!! This not only represented my physical strength but my growth journey all together. I'm able to achieve the unthinkable !
So what I'm saying is get to yoga and find your people! People in your life that aren't just there to have fun with and hang. But people who hear you out, let you talk about good times and bad, support your goals and dreams and hold you accountable and vice versa. I don't think we were put on this earth to do things alone. There are way too many people, good people at that to feel alone. If you feel this way try to be open to new opportunities. Don't limit yourself by boxing yourself into a category and saying you can't do it before youeven try. Namaste
Sincerely,
Jordan Olivia