Sometimes in life we end up discovering a path towards growth and transformation that we never imagined possible. This is what happened to me with yoga. I had practiced yoga before. But, something was different about both me and about my practice this time around. So let me tell you a little story about how I am finding space to heal and grow through yoga because I think it’s something that a lot of other people could benefit from, too. At the end of class several weeks ago, a teacher I love and admire spoke about consistency. She talked about how we needed to be consistent in showing up for ourselves, both on and off the mat. That message really struck a chord in me and allowed me to see the different ways I was holding myself back from being consistent, especially with my yoga practice. You see, it’s not that I haven’t “wanted” to show up. But, the experience has been uncomfortable for me. And, sometimes it has felt a little bit too raw. In fact, the first time I took this teacher’s class, I realized I was out of my league. The women in that class were very talented and knew how to flow right through the moves. Meanwhile, due to disc problems and an injury, I sometimes struggled to stand with my hips even. I didn’t go back to class for a while. As a personal development and life transformations coach, I took the time to look into this deeper, realizing that my experience in class played right into my core wound problem – feelings of inadequacy. I worked on my own healing in this area for a while. Weeks later, I made the first move towards directly facing down my fear of physical inadequacy and I returned to class. I committed to pushing myself just beyond my physical limits and then giving myself permission to allow myself to stop once I hit that point. All was well. But, then, to my surprise, a much bigger problem occurred. About 40 minutes into class I felt a strong wave of emotion rush over me. Unusually strong. I felt it coming and I couldn't do anything about it. I started crying and I couldn’t stop. Needless to say, that was super uncomfortable and I didn’t go back to class again for another few weeks. During the next couple of classes, I was able to “control” the tears. However, that deep need to cry was still there. At the same point in each class, there was this overwhelming urge to just lay down on the mat in child's pose and ball my eyes out. One night after yoga was over and my kids were in bed, I had a late night coaching call with one of my spiritual healing coaches. There was something about the combination of the yoga and that call that felt like it cracked me open. I cried on the phone with my coach. I cried after. At 2am, when I am normally dead asleep, I was up crying. I cried the next morning. I cried texting my mom about it. I cried writing to my yoga teacher about it. It was as thought that night cracked something open in me. Something that was so desperately wanting to be healed, but I kept refusing to let it be, continuously suppressing it and pushing it away. My life coach (a different coach who has helped me in immeasurable ways heal from my previous relationship) gave me a closure assignment weeks ago. I hadn’t done it. But, that night it just poured out. This was accompanied by a ton of healing tears, of course. I have never felt the same since that moment. There is a certain lightness about me now that was not there previously. And, it turns out that there is some science to my experience. We actually store a ton of our emotional stresses in our hips. Certain positions in yoga are referred to as “hip openers” and when we open and release the tension and stress in our hips, these emotions can be released. The transformational journey can be a very messy and emotional one. We all have additional layers to expose and most of us have wounds to heal. But, it’s in the process of letting go, relasing, accepting, and allowing, that we can experience our biggest transformations. As New York Times #1 Best-Selling author Gabby Bernstein says in her new book, The Universe Has Your Back, “When you think you've surrendered, surrender more.” Since that night when I was “cracked” open, I have followed my yoga teacher’s words and I have made the commitment to be consistent and show up for class and show up for the healing work. I’m doing this for myself both on and off the mat. How about you? Feel free to send me an EMAIL or comment below and let me know how yoga has helped you heal on your transformational journey. In Love & Light, ![]() Ali Jencik is owner and president of Radiant Energy Wellness, LLC, where she serves as a personal development and life transformations coach. Her expertise is in empowering women to gain clarity, set intentions, face down fears, and build confidence so they can design the lifestyle of their dreams. Her FREE download "Design The Lifestyle of Your Dreams" contains seven simple, proven, actionable coaching steps that show you how to design your dream lifestyle NOW. You can download it today by clicking on this link: https://alijencikrew.leadpages.co/lifestyle-design-guide-october/
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