Obstacles on the Path

 How to get out of the Comfort Zone & Into the Magic

The Inner Obstacle Race – Remember, Yoga practice is like an obstacle race: many obstructions are purposely put on the way for us to pass through. They are there to make us understand and express our own capacities. We all have that strength, but we need to be challenged and tested in order to understand our own capacities. In fact, that is the natural law. If a river just flows easily, the water in the river does not express its power. But once you put an obstacle to the flow by constructing a dam, then you can see its strength in the form of tremendous electrical power. – Swami Satchidananda

Yoga is like Jedi training; It teaches that we can experience tremendous spiritual growth when we harness the force to overcome the sometimes overwhelming and reactive feeling of our nervous system’s“fight” or “flight”.  Cultivating and training ourselves to take a pause, to slow down the breath and activate the “relax and release” response, ultimately allows us to rest in more peace and contentment

At this stage of the journey,  the novelty of the commitment may be starting to to wear off.  Perhaps your enthusiasm is waning, and the reality of all of the other things that you’ve committed to, all of the things that you want to accomplish and follow through, with are suddenly more important than sticking to your simple commitment of practice.

It’s totally natural for distractions and excuses to begin emerging. Some days we just feel tired, our bodies may be aching, low energy, like we have too much going on, we feel too busy.  Some days we feel like we’re failing, that this is too hard, or full of self-doubt, restlessness, even boredom. You may even feel that you are doing this challenge because you think you should be doing it, instead of actually truly wanting to do it.  

We’ve all been there.

In those moments, we want to quit..

So how do you keep going?:

Out of the Comfort Zone and into the Magic

Within this challenge, the invitation is to…. challenge yourself beyond what feels safe, predictable, and comforting.  By definition, we are stretching ourselves beyond what is comfortable, or in some cases what is the path of least resistance.  Ideally, we are coming each day into connection with our growth “edge”. And this is where challenges presents.

In yoga we talk about playing our edge, this point at which it “hurts so good”.  The place where growth and expansion can occur . We do this to build more flexibility in the body, but also to create more flexibility in the mind.  Because as we all know, the magic lies just outside of the comfort zone.

I like to think about how when I was a kid, I could sleep anywhere; under the stairs on a bench, and a dirty hostel in India, and it all felt like a fun adventure. Nowadays if I stay somewhere like Bamboo Huts for example, that doesn’t have hot water showers, has jungle life in it, and I feel out of my comfort zone.  When I feel like this I suffer.

A common side effect of growing older, is that our comfort zones tend to get smaller and smaller, thus increasing the likelihood of suffering,  So if something doesn’t fit inside the small box of what we deem acceptable, we feel any range of emotions from angry to defeated.

The Yogic attitude is to see that the obstacles and challenges that present as our teachers in disguise, helping us to harness the force, so that we can express our full power.

The key to removing power from the obstacles is to first become aware of them.  When we are able to cultivate awareness and anticipate what tends to challenge us in advance, we can cultivate the skills to gain mastery over the challenges, so that we can persevere.

• Revisit and rehearse your WHY – Go back to Day 1 and revisit your intention.

The most important way to navigate the obstacles is to keep coming back to your WHY:  Keep revisiting your intention, your Sankalpa, to that powerful desire and resolve to change, to become a better human being,  to feel more empowered, open, peaceful, harmonious, joyful, to connect better with others, to awaken and be free.

• Allow yourself to be witnessed.  Let the group support you.

What makes this challenge so special and powerful is the network of support that we are tuning into to help fuel our journey on this path of practice to attain our goal.  It is up to you, to hold yourself accountable by sharing your intention and practices with the group.   the rewards of this are truly great.  If you truly want transformation within yourself, especially on those days when you just wanna give it all up, the key it connect, share and be witnessed.

• Prepare for those moments:

Stepping out of the comfort zone and taking risks, helps you grow.expand and evolve.  It pushes you to step out of the familiar and habitual, and into the unknown.  How you respond to life, the invitation to show up, the challenges that present,  determines your level of evolution and inner growth.

Journal the Journey – Write your top 10 excuses / distractions for not showing up/following through.  What does your highest self do when the challenges present?

May your day be filled with grace and ease,

With Infinite Love & Endless Gratitude

XOXO

Francie