I am often able to apply lessons learned in yoga to my daily life. The past two weeks have been no exception. In fact, my eyes are more open. I’ve been practicing (can I just take a minute and note how much I love how its called PRACTICE) yoga for nearly 3 years. I’ve experienced probably about a dozen teachers. Recently I’ve seen huge strides in my practice.

I can remember when I started and just how difficult it all felt. I couldn’t touch my toes (only barely can now!) and all I really enjoyed was child’s pose and shivasana (both are rest poses). After each class my body hurt. I kept thinking, will this ever get any easier?! I couldn’t believe people call downward dog a rest post! My arms were burning, I couldn’t breathe consistently through my nose, and my balance was all over the place. I felt as far from graceful as one might be. Hot mess is apparently the term. (There is a reason my mother affectionately calls me grace and it has everything to do with my lack of balance!!!)

Photo by Eoin Finn
Someone about to move into crow pose, one of my soon to achieve goals!

How often do we feel this sense of wonder and inexperience as well as that rigor when we try something outside of our comfort zone? I can only image what kind of dialogue would run through our adult heads of we had to learn how to walk or talk again. I imagine frustration. Impatience. That “are we there yet?” mentality. And many of us choose to feel that way in our daily life. Cars are going too slow. The queue is too long in the grocery store. I have to wait forever for the internet hookup. And these are daily experiences, not new practices in our lives!

So, Creatives. What does that mean for us? It means roll up your sleeves. Every time we face a new canvas, a blank journal, or whatever substrate you use, we are moving outside of our comfort zone. We don’t always know what is going to happen. And yet we continue our creative PRACTICE (oops! Funny that word should show up again…). Because it is important to us. Because it fuels the soul. Because we feel called to create.

How much are you holding back from your potential success and/or happiness?

Despite having some skill/knowledge/understanding of our creative discipline, there is that clumsy uncertainty in our creative process. It can include the pushing, stretching, and occasional bruised shin.

In the past two weeks I’ve been really close to or achieved new yoga poses I never thought myself capable of; my new teacher is an amazing cheerleader who either intuits or knows by training just how far we can really go. And it was only because she told me with such confidence that I could do it, I tried. Yes, I still need to refine my movements and build some muscle. And I may want her to spot me for a while. But, it makes me wonder: what other limitations do we cast on ourselves? Perhaps I can do more than touch my toes.

BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: Our preconceived notions of what is possible determine our future reality. Reflect: how might you be holding yourself back?