Last nights yoga practice made me feel strong. I’ve been back in the studio for nearly 3 months now. It was strenuous and hard, but so freeing. We had a class of 5 and we were all pretty strong, able to go half way down in our chaturangas, so the teacher decided to do some advanced poses with us. We did running man, flying crows, tripod headstand, all the poses where our feet leaving the ground! It was a difficult practice and it showed me some of my muscular weaknesses. I was a bit concerned about being super sore today, for instance not being able to put my arms above my head, but instead I feel strong and empowered! Every time I feel a bit of pain or resistance in the muscles I used last night, I feel so strong. I am proud of my body. I am more confident today than I have been in quite a while.
This feeling translated in my work today too. I felt a lot more positive about things and I was really able to concentrate on what I was doing. I did say to myself, ‘f-it, I’m going to clean and organize my office,’ but that was part of this feeling of empowerment! I did the work that needed to be done so I could be more productive today. In the end I didn’t feel like I was more productive than normal, but I know what I did would have taken me much longer if it weren’t for this feeling.
I felt really good today and I want to hold onto this amazing feeling longer.
- I’m going to try to do a practice at home in the next day or so. I know how I want to feel in my practice. I know it won’t be quite the same at home, but I have a new found confidence in it.
- I am going to remember how I thought of situations today. A coworker and friend of mine was really discouraged today. I helped him through it by listening and being more positive back to him, even if it was encouraging him to do what he thought would be best.
- I am going to remember how I carried myself today. This was the first time, maybe ever, that I was standing up straight and carrying myself as I should. I have a really bad slouching habit and I am not enthralled by my job at the moment so I have been carrying myself badly. I know how it feels now.
This experience got me thinking about strength and confidence. I was raised to be a strong woman and that I could be anything I wanted in life. I got tired of hearing my parents tell me that I could have whatever I was asking for when I had a job and made my own money. This is a far cry from the way my sister in law was raised. Her parents never empowered her to be independent and strong. She had my nephew late last year and is a single mom. She said that “she didn’t know she could be so strong” after going through labor. This absolutely floors me! Parents are our first lesson in confidence and strength. Some of us can still get this even though we don’t receive it from our parents and other never do. The way you live your life and the goals you set to achieve are all based around strength and confidence. Without either of these things, you can never achieve anything.
I am so thankful for the practice I had last night. I feel amazing and I want to hang onto this feeling forever. I’ve always known that I have strength and confidence, but I have experienced it well beyond anything I have ever in quite a while. I hope every single person experiences this one day, whether it be through a yoga practice or something in their everyday life. We all deserve to feel amazing.
All The Space In-Between 