At the end of my yoga practice each morning, I always take a silent moment to thank my body and my teachers, and to feel gratitude for something in my life.
Today, I am grateful for new awarenesses and hard-earned progress.
Progress is a funny thing. It’s a super bitch to go through, but ultra rewarding, and life-changing in the end.
The frustrating part is, there’s very little glory on the path of Progress, at least at first. You push yourself hard, but don’t feel like you get anywhere. Everything feels like a struggle.
You start to doubt yourself, your goals, your capability, your worthiness. Why is this so hard for ME???, I hear you say, and as I have said to myself many, many times.
Out of frustration, or physical/mental exhaustion, you collapse. You quit. You take a break, for sanity’s sake.
When it’s time, it’s hard to get back into it, the routine. But once you begin again, you realize how far you had come… And that’s when it starts to feel good.
You realize your hands remember how to draw the curves of the body without you having to even think about it. You can spice a dish you made from scratch perfectly, and without recipe. Your body relaxes into the yoga pose you once found so agonizing and constricting.
It’s okay to feel excited here. You’ve made it over a huge hump. Turned a corner. Reached a point of no return. Yes, you can never go back. (Hallelujahs welcome. Also, All Dog’s Go To Heaven reference, anyone?).
You’ve done it. Revel in that. Be proud. Take a moment to let the sunshine at the top of that hill soak in.
There will be many more humps, goals, things you wish you were better at on your path. But know that you have pushed yourself and persevered. Try not to forget this feeling.
And remember, the next time you are pushing hard but feel like you’re getting nowhere… You are moving mountains, as my dear friend Tessa would say. Forming new habits. Learning. Creating new pathways in your brain and muscles. It’s hard work.
Stick with it, and you will someday stand on the mountain top again, breathe in the cool crisp air of triumph, and exhale pure joy.
P.S. You’ve come this far, now don’t look back. I’ll have an article on this coming soon!
So…
What hills have you climbed? What used to be hard that you now find easy? In anything in life! Post your triumphs in the comments below!
Know anyone who beats themselves up for not being an “expert” yet? Please share this with them!
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Love ♥ Hugs
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