Upside Down after Two Years

It wasn't planned, but perhaps it was fitting that I led an inversion workshop at the True North Yoga studio yesterday. Two years ago, on July 31st, car packed with clothes, house plants and my yoga mat, bike strapped on the back, I walked out of the corporate accounting department for the last time and drove north. That was it. No more job. No more suburban house minutes from Whole Foods and P.F. Chang's. No more yoga studios, except the one I was going to create.

On August 1, 2009, I taught my first class as a self-employed yoga teacher in the basement of the Schroon Lake Community Church. One person showed up. I taught the class anyway.

I was scared. I wasn't going to cover the rent and insurance with one student. But I kept going and classes got bigger, slowly. They are still growing. The business survived.

I survived, even without decent Chinese food.

It's okay to be scared. Scared is what makes you hesitate before you walk into traffic and keeps you from leaning really far over the cliff. Of course with a well-anchored rope and a sturdy harness you can go right over that cliff. All it takes is trust and the right tools to work through scared.

Many people are scared of inversions. It's understandable. You are relying on body parts that don't normally support all of your weight to keep your head from hitting the floor. But the inverted asanas are also very liberating. Once upside down you are open to a brand new perspective.You discover how powerful you are. And you learn to trust yourself.

Now that's something to take off your mat.

The next time life throws something scary at you, whether it's a cliff or a career change, you can trust yourself. You've got what it takes to work through it.

My daughter and I are celebrating our second anniversary of life in the Adirondacks by tackling that scary cliff. Next week we're going rock climbing.