I can't do that yoga pose!

Most of our day is spent doing things we are comfortable and familiar with, the routine of daily life, perhaps along with a few challenges and changes throughout the day. But what if we routinely asked ourselves to do things that we didn’t think were possible? Things that perhaps took us outside of our comfort zone.

Your response might be ‘why on earth would I do that’? But why wouldn’t you try new things, and extend yourself into new experiences? These are the things that will show you what you are truly capable of, and it is probably more than you realise.

'Thinking' is the key word here. Our minds maintain comfortable boundaries for us, often for good reasons. But do we get complacent? Remind yourself, the way kids do so naturally, that exploration, challenge and being comfortable with feeling uncomfortable are an essential means to extending yourself and leading on to a more fulfilling life. Even when your thinking mind tells you that it is impossible.

Start small          
A good way to rediscover your potential is to start with small daily practices to remind you and demonstrate to yourself that you can do more than you think you can. Yoga practice is one of the ways we can do this.

What is you started to explore a posture that at first seems impossible. But with daily practice, and approaching it with sensible steps, you might just amaze yourself and remind yourself that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Warning…Your mind will say:
“You can’t, what you are thinking? You’ll never be able to do it, it’s a waste of time.”
(notice your mind doesn’t say watching 3-hours of tv is a waste of time …)

Then your mind might say:
“Maybe tomorrow…”

But your response could start to be
“I may not be able to do it, but I can start to work towards it.”

Then get on your yoga mat or to your yoga class and get started. A weekly class is a good start. Then maybe talk to your teacher about a small home practice - which is even better as it brings positive daily habits into your life and the outcomes can be greater than you ever imagined…