The Beauty of Being a Newbie

Its February and love is in the air! What is love? Its defined in the dictionary as:

1. an intense feeling of deep affection.

2. a great interest and pleasure in something.

I have spoken about my love for movement in the past. Today, I had the opportunity to try something new by attending my first reformer class (which had a Galentines team to make it even more special!). What word would define my experience: humbling.

Using a new equipment and moving the body in ways that it never moved.. is not easy. It ask of you to focus on the mind-body connection, be patient, build trust and leave your ego at the door.

Somehow, in just a few minutes, my ego and inner critic creeped up.. and it wasn't pretty. But I was able to quiet the mind and embrace the experience.

That is until I got to yoga bit later.. and there it was again. Following a sequence that felt unfamiliar and unpredictable. The movements were outside of my comfort zone to say the least. But something shifted.. as soon as that wave of frustration, discomfort and judgement came up.. I decided to embrace it (versus shoving it down or "blaming" the teacher). You need to recognize what is happening in order to be able to shift it.

In that moment, I embraced being a newbie (which is ironic since many students in the room were practicing their first ever yoga class and that was inspiring to me). What if I have fun instead? What if I laugh at myself? What happens if I smile instead of rolling my eyes? What if I soften instead of stiffing up?

And there is was, my mood changed instantly.

Having fun with no ego and judgement.

Smiling and playing.

I love surprising myself.

Recognizing my own limiting beliefs.

And practicing self-love in those moment.

What emotions creep up as you read this? What is feeling uncomfortable in this moment? What do you need to feel into and shift it? What part of you get you love a little more today?