Strength, Courage and Wisdom
Courage has many faces. The most visible form is the one found in the headlines and piped to us through the news. Remember when Captain Sullenberger safely landed a plane on the Hudson River? There is no way he could have practiced that scenario, but in the span of a few seconds he somehow summoned the courage to do something utterly absurd and saved countless lives.
Heroes have it, warriors and soldiers have it, survivors have it. It is a quality we all aspire to have to a certain degree, yet those of us with "normal" lives may not feel like we get the opportunity to exercise our personal courage.
Perhaps we discount the little things in our lives that give us the opportunity to trust, have faith and be brave. Learning to recognize these small opportunities is a valuable skill for times when a big crisis shakes us to our core.
Examples of courage in its everyday form are all around me. It takes courage to move to a new city you have never even visited to start a new job. It takes courage to give a big presentation to a room full of people you do not know as a young intern. It takes courage to start a new career at 40. It takes courage to learn how to drive a car. I recently started with a private client who had my name and phone number for two years and just recently called to begin. It takes courage to start something completely new.
Everything begins exactly where you are. In yoga we start with the foundational poses, and we build strength and courage to move to more advanced postures. The process by its very nature is progressive. The quality of your practice is not measured by the complexity of the shapes. The quality of the practice can be measured by its effect on your response to the many stresses that occur in your life. My hope is that whatever your practices are, that they allow you to react positively and creatively. To help you build courage to take on even bigger challenges.
It also takes courage to travel. Our Italy retreat THIS September is a go and I have some spaces left! Clearly there is hesitation to travel abroad post pandemic, but if you can summon the courage and have the time, Italy is fully open and I invite you to join us. Click HERE to check it out.
xoxo
JK