Failure-I'm Over It and Going to Yoga!

Can you think back to the last time that you tried to do something new or different or completely out of your comfort zone? Something that you knew eventually would be positive and wonderful, but just taking that first step was a little terrifying?

For me, last night, I leapt into something new. It took courage for me, and strength, but with the encouragement of some incredibly inspiring women, I was able to do it. I would love to share it with you, because you may be having some doubts about something in your own life. You may be feeling an itch to learn a new art form or change career paths or maybe have another baby! Maybe you just need that little push from someone to let you know it will be alright. We are all scared sometimes. Nobody is great at everything. Even those people who seem to be perfect on the outside really are not. If you're lucky enough to be let into their world, to know the real them, you'll see that most people around us have these kinds of feelings, too.

My new, yet previously terrifying, experience is yoga. I've only gone once, so I promise I'm not going to change my blog to be about exercise or being a perfectly balanced mother. I still love my chocolate and this place will always be crazy! This post is really about my fear of failure and how I was able to knock it down a notch last night! I'm constantly encouraging my kids, my friends, my mom and everyone else I know, but I'm always the last on the list to receive any of my own cheers. Aren't we all? That's just the nature of motherhood: take care of everyone else first. Our time will come when the kids are grown, right?

My journey to trying yoga has been about my health. My migraines and the stress my body carries have reached a point where my doctor told me, "Just take time away from your kids every day, and you'll be fine. They are the reason for all of your troubles."

Totally a cop-out diagnosis and totally not realistic!

Like most moms, I spend time away from my kids as much as finances, reason, and emotions will allow. In the meantime, I have been trying medication, chiropractic, and physical therapy for my headaches. Over the past month, the idea of attempting yoga slowly started to creep into my head. I see so many of my friends who share beautiful photos of themselves in yoga poses.

Incredible.

 

Inspiring.

 

Impossible?

You know what I mean. Who can really do those poses? Pregnant headstands in the morning. Hot mama of four making it look so easy on the beach. Obviously, people can do them, and these are women I am proud to call my friends.

 

 

I used to be as flexible as these women. If they learned to move their bodies into such amazing positions after motherhood, then I could at least go to a class to learn to breathe and bend a little, right?

Once the idea of yoga popped into my head, I asked a few of my good friends in town about their experiences with yoga. They all offered to go with me if I tried it! I mentioned it briefly to my physical therapist that I was considering it. He freaking ran with it. As soon as I said it out loud to him, I was committed. There was no turning back after the words came out of my mouth. Accountability. He was going to be asking me about it again, and he even taught me one pose before my first class. Within a matter of days, I had my plan for yoga.

Day, time, place, instructor.

I borrowed a pretty purple mat from one friend. Another friend was going to meet me there for moral support.

I was still scared out of my mind.

I emailed the instructor, letting her know I was coming for the first time. This is a snippet of what I told her:

I've never done this in my life, and I'm pretty nervous to try something new in front of other people! I don't normally expose myself for failure, so it's a big step for me. I'm really looking forward to this new journey for my health and myself, because I'm a very busy mom of four kids.

 

She responded with the most amazing message and offered to meet with me twenty minutes before class started. When I arrived, she greeted me with a warm embrace. She talked to me about her own fears of failure, and what aspects of her life she wished she could do better. Hers was cooking. She said she always wished she could be better at cooking or even learn to enjoy it a little, but she just hasn't been able to...yet. Then, she asked if I liked to cook.  

 

Talk about the right question for me. She could have asked me if I liked to sew or garden or run...all no. But she asked me about cooking. So, yes, I do love cooking. I don't know anything about yoga yet, but I can cook.

 

She let me in on a little secret, that even though she was a yoga instructor (and would blow my mind in the next seventy-five minutes), she, too, has areas of her life that are not perfect. Whew!

 

So, yoga.

 

I did it. It was hard. It was fun. It was refreshing and rejuvenating. Some of the poses were easy for me, some were a challenge, and some I just didn't figure out yet.

 

It was only my first day.

 

Nobody cared what I was doing or what I looked like or if I stumbled.

 

I didn't fail because I went. That was my first step.

 

I am going back next week.

 

I would love to extend a special thank you to the women in my life who have inspired me through this new journey: Cathy, Renee, Anne, Elizabeth, and especially Jen and Meghan, who are featured in these breathtaking photographs.

 

Tell me, do you have something you've been considering, but you are just too afraid to try it? Why not bite the bullet and do it? I'll be here to encourage you!