Trust and Take the Leap 🦋

"The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."
— Unknown Author

This year has come with a lot of change, shifts, pivots, new directions and endings. This year has been about getting out of the comfort zone and stepping into the unknown, it has been trusting your gut and intuition to take the leap.  It has pushed me to get out of my head and into my heart and allowed me to examine what is important to me.

When I talk about the shifts and changes that this Hermit year has brought, I think about the phrase I’ve been working with, trust and take the leap. It’s the moment where you throw caution to the wind and move into a more authentic way of living.

In July, I embarked on a solo road trip. My intention for this road trip was to get a piece of me back that I had been missing. a rediscovery of myself.  Starting in the desert, I made my way up the California coast making stops in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, with the final stop being  the Redwoods National Park up in Northern California. Along the way I camped, hiked, and reconnected with friends and family. The unknown of it all made it worth it. In the quiet liminal space I discovered things within myself that I had forgotten.

I think taking that solo journey into the unknown awakened something in me and set wheels in motion that I cannot see yet. It’s brought me back to writing this newsletter that I had put away for the past three years, wanting to teach again, being more creative, knowing what the word yes feels like in my body, and finally trusting myself to know what I need.

Taken on the James Irving Trail, Redwoods National Park

I have been in a moment of self-study or svadhyaya in Sanskrit. This is one of the inner practices of yoga (niyama) that I was introduced to in my first yoga teacher training 8 years ago. It has taken me 8 years to see this niyama play out in real time. It is something that is both past and present. I can look on the past and see how I grew, I can look now in the present and see how I have changed.

I know that society does not really give us time to do self-study. The daily distractions of life, the pull of social media and the news are enough to keep us occupied and sometimes that is easier. But if you are curious about how you have shifted and changed, take some time to reflect and write about some of the major pivots, endings or beginnings, and changes that have happened this year and see how and what has shifted.

So much of why I like teaching yoga is inviting the students to meet themselves where they are at and come as they are in that moment without judgement. I love seeing the transformation of students from the beginning of class and at the end of class. 

The hardest part is trusting yourself enough to take the leap but I promise it will be worth it once you do.