Over the past couple of months I learned two important lessons:
1. I can handle so much more than I thought I could.
2. How to be present in the face of overwhelm.
In February, I started an intensive 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Pod Fort Collins, which took place Wednesday evenings and all day on Saturdays and Sundays for eight consecutive weeks. Yoga teacher training (YTT) is something I’ve had on my vision board for a long time and when the right opportunity presented itself to me I decided to jump in feet first…after a little deliberation.
Maybe you can relate. Have you ever been presented with an amazing opportunity that will help you grow and move you closer to your goals, but you were hesitant because of the time commitment and dedication that was required? It’s interesting how something that we wholeheartedly know will change us for the better could even be in question, but it’s something that happens so often. We fear the discomfort that might happen, even if it will only be temporary. We think staying where we are comfortable will just be easier and somehow better for us. We decide that we’ll just put it off until the timing works out better, but when in life does timing work out perfectly? Never.
I knew in my gut that teacher training was something I needed to participate in. It was something I wanted to do so badly, so why did I keep coming up with reasons not to? Timing was never going to be on my side, because, life. Finances have been an excuse I’ve used in the past, but that’s all it is, an excuse. The truth is, I knew I could make it work. I have an amazing support system, but even if I didn’t, I would soon be surrounded by an unwavering support system in my fellow teacher trainers and leads, so I knew it would be okay. So I jumped in feet first, made my deposit and committed myself to the journey of YTT. I was ecstatic and terrified all at the same time. My thoughts to get me through: “It’s only eight weeks of my life. It’s only temporary. I’ve got this.”
Oh life, you always have to make things interesting.
Remember that thing called “life” I referred to above? Yeah? Well, life will just keep unfolding more twists and turns along the way, and almost always when you’ve already made a major commitment in time and money. Funny how that happens, right?
About a month after making the commitment to YTT, I was presented with an opportunity to move. Now, for those of you who know me, you know how comfortable I was living in my little Old Town house. I had been there almost 4 years and I told myself I wasn’t going to move out of there until the right opportunity presented itself. Well…this was it. My boyfriend was about to buy a house in Fort Collins and we decided we wanted to move in together, right in the middle of YTT. So much growth, change and transition was happening all at once. Talk about being overwhelmed!
Great timing, universe! How am I supposed to find time to move (let alone pack!) while doing YTT, running a business, meal prepping, doing A LOT of yoga and still sleep enough each night? This is a condensed version of all the questions I was asking myself when the move presented itself. My responses: “I’ll figure out a way to make it all work.” “I’ve got this.” “The universe wouldn’t give me more than I can handle, right?”
Learning to be present.
For about a week, when I was in the thick of moving, working, yogaing and teacher training, I found myself moving from one obligation to another without truly being present in what I was doing and it created so much resistance. It was then that I realized the importance of being present. I mean truly present in every moment.
Once I acknowledged the resistance and realized what was happening, I committed to being present in all that was going on in my life. When I was working, I was working. I was there with my clients, not at home mentally packing boxes. When I was at YTT, I was there feeling each breath, each posture and supporting my fellow trainees. You get the idea.
When being present in the moment became my focus, the resistance dissipated. Of course, there were moments that I had to remind myself to be present, but I was able to come back to being present much quicker because of the awareness that I had created. Coming back to the present moment required that I breathe first.
What I learned.
Well, I survived! Here I am post-move, post-YTT and I did it! You know what learned? That I can handle so much more than I thought possible. We all can handle so much more than we think and when we have big goals, dealing with a bit of overwhelm for a short period of time is completely worth it and we will only become stronger for whatever life throws at us next.