Hello! It’s Tiki here, hoping to share with you a little wisdom I gained this week. You see, this weekend I got to visit some of my best doggie friends: Isabella, Jacques, Lily, and Harvey (that’s me with Isabella in the picture above!). Now my usual walk with my mommy is a slow, relaxed stroll, and that is what I’m comfortable with. But Isabella and Jacques walk a lot faster than I’m used to, and it was a real challenge for my tiny legs to keep up with theirs. Even though I was panting like crazy, there was something exhilarating about trying to get my little legs to move faster than they ever had before.

As I was speeding along at what I consider quite a fast pace, suddenly I realized my chattery brain was getting in the way, causing me to feel stressed and kind of frightened about being in this place I hadn’t been before. Remembering what I’ve heard in yoga class a million times, I brought my awareness to my breath. It was the most amazing experience – rather than focusing on any negative aspects of being outside my comfort zone and running faster than I’m used to, I suddenly felt my perspective shift to appreciate the positive, exhilarating aspects of my run. I felt my mind quiet down and all those stressed-out feelings started to dissipate. I had an intense awareness of my body and its abilities. Even though I was running faster than I normally do, I knew exactly where my edge was. I gently pushed that edge and got just outside my comfort zone, but the entire time was listening to my little body so that I wouldn’t injure myself.

We all face challenges – whether it’s at work, at home, or in yoga class as you’re practicing your headstand. Rather than avoiding those challenges because they make us feel uncomfortable, we should embrace them because that’s how we get stronger. Whether it’s holding that Warrior II for one breath longer than you did last time or staying calm and focused when you’re giving a presentation at work, when we get outside that comfort zone just a little bit, we’re soon going to be comfortable in that new space, which means we can push even a little more to get outside the comfort zone next time. We start to gain confidence and are exhilarated by the thought of growing and challenging ourselves. And that’s when we realize that we feel completely at peace with ourselves because even though we may not be running as fast as Isabella and Jacques, it doesn’t matter - we know that we’re running faster than we ever have before. We gain a tremendous strength and confidence from knowing that we’re playing our edge and pushing ourselves to be more than we ever thought possible!

Namaste,
Tiki