I just got back from Level 1 with Baron Baptiste in Hawaii. Yes, yes, that sounds very glamorous. The reality is that I didn't see much of Hawaii and that instead I lived in (often soaking wet) yoga clothes, sharing a room with other yogis, practicing/growing (sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally) for 16 hours a day, running on 5 hours of sleep (without caffeine)... all inside of a big plastic yoga bubble (to keep the heat in). While that may sound like an edge in and of itself - add into the mix that my husband got injured while I was gone (and he was also out of town) and had to have major surgery without my support... and, I got sick as the cherry on top.
So, I ask myself - was that where I met my edge? In the moment, I felt there. In the moment, I wanted to just go to bed and sleep; my body didn't feel like it had much left to give (or receive). I thought I was done. I thought I was at my edge. So, I wanted to leave the room and rest... and guess what? The Baptiste staff wouldn't "let" me; they said I had to stay.
What? I'm an adult?! I "have" to stay?! I say "nah-ma-not-staying" to that! Well, at first I did...
...And then I just stayed. I felt truly awful, but I stayed.
Robert Frost: "The way out is through"
B.K.S. Iyengar: "The pose begins when you want to come out"
Baron Baptiste: "Do the work"
We can do more than we think we can do. We limit ourselves. We quit before we need to quit. We pull back when we could stay. We're stronger than we think. Like - STRONG. Really strong.
The next time you think you're at your edge, ask yourself if you really are. In a pose, in a conversation, during a run, with a task, in your body. Are you really at your edge? I wasn't, but I thought I was. You may be - but are you open to the possibility that you may look back later and realize you weren't - that you had more. I believe we all have a much further away edge than we think we do. So, the next time you think you see your edge, reach out and flick it a few more yards away. You'll thank yourself later.
What? I'm an adult?! I "have" to stay?! I say "nah-ma-not-staying" to that! Well, at first I did...
...And then I just stayed. I felt truly awful, but I stayed.
Robert Frost: "The way out is through"
B.K.S. Iyengar: "The pose begins when you want to come out"
Baron Baptiste: "Do the work"
We can do more than we think we can do. We limit ourselves. We quit before we need to quit. We pull back when we could stay. We're stronger than we think. Like - STRONG. Really strong.
The next time you think you're at your edge, ask yourself if you really are. In a pose, in a conversation, during a run, with a task, in your body. Are you really at your edge? I wasn't, but I thought I was. You may be - but are you open to the possibility that you may look back later and realize you weren't - that you had more. I believe we all have a much further away edge than we think we do. So, the next time you think you see your edge, reach out and flick it a few more yards away. You'll thank yourself later.
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