Get Out of Your Own Way
We are all experts at getting in our own way. In yoga classes I see students doing this all the time. I was in a workshop the other week assisting someone into a pose she had never done before (a back-bend). She was very hesitant but at the same time very capable of going into the pose. After she finished explaining a bunch of reasons why she probably won’t be able to do the pose, I asked her to try anyway. She immediately went into it (with a just a little help) and totally surprised herself!I didn’t really assist her at all, beside just standing there. That was all it took.
We get in our own way when we over-think things and rely too much on mental story-telling vs real-world visceral experience. Sometimes trying is the best way to know if you can or can’t do something. Give it a shot. You might just surprise yourself. If you still struggle and find that something is holding you back, ask a friend for support, just asking might give you enough courage (and motivating peer pressure) to give it a go.
