I can’t help it, I have to spout off. Today begins the two year anniversary week of Embrace The Wobble Yoga. In MY facebook feed, I was reminded of that by a picture that popped up as a memory…..my dining room table in my basement stacked with a new laptop, printer, and a shoe-box for keeping receipts. (See below) I captioned the pic with “Embrace The Wobble World Headquarters, our basement, Robbinsdale, MN.”
I am now typing this post from a brand-new street-level studio with a team of 6 instructors and one administrator.
Holy Sh*t.
I am here today to profess that even in the face of political upheaval, despotism abroad, and several global humanitarian calamities, many things about this Universe remain generous, benevolent, and synergistic if not always easy and simple.
Not that I am comparing my level of good fortune with the scale of tragedy in the world, but I find myself TRYING to see the good in the world, and because of that intention, I’m actually SEEING it. We all have to start somewhere!
I know a husband and wife who are starting year #2 of a world-wide bicycle tour. So far, they have found only kindness and generosity from all the folks they have met along the way–all of them starting as total strangers (with NO shared English language) willing to share their homes and hospitality for varying lengths of time.
Another friend of mine recently pulled off a trip to Africa and a new home (not in Africa) without exactly knowing where the money was coming from until it showed up (And, to the best of my knowledge, she has no Mafia ties or winning lottery tickets. *wink.)
One of my yoga students just landed a part-time job with FULL benefits—something she never thought existed before and which will allow her to be a both a competent nurse as well as the mom she wants and needs to be for her kids.
I could list another twenty cool things like this without batting an eye, and that makes me feel hopeful and trusting of the Universe.
I guess my message today is this: PUT WHAT YOU WANT OUT THERE. Be clear about it. See and feel yourself doing it. Give yourself permission to want it. Speak it to others. Refine your wishes and refine them again. Write about them. Fantasize about them. Take baby steps toward them. Listen to the whispers around you in all forms giving you guidance. Facebook just may contain some pretty relevant nudges with a chance phrase or meme–if you are tuned in.
My journey to this place of trust and hope has had many ups and downs (like turning my marriage inside out, taxing my time with children, offering up big and small “growth” challenges”– psycho babble for really hard, emotional, gut-wrenching, mistake-ridden, regretful, fear-based, panic-stricken, irritated, cliff-jumping moments). However, I have never not LOVED it. I mean all of it. Even when I have hated it.
Now, two years into this adventure, the one constant about the whole thing is that I. LOVE. HELPING. PEOPLE. Specifically, I love helping people feel better in, around, and with their bodies. And, I’m getting pretty good at it. I love helping other instructors fill their classes. I love figuring out all of the puzzles that go along with running a small business. I love (bird’s-eye view here) the partnership richness that has occurred with my husband from walking this very hard path. I love the gratitude I feel by being constantly reminded that this whole thing is a group effort—that I am so lucky to have competent professionals who have chosen to work with me and a family and friends who support and champion this project.
Do you know that you can have that too? I mean, you can have your thing. Even if it feels like you can’t. Or it’s impossible. The key is to begin by pretending it’s true. And, observe how you feel when you pretend—-like, it should feel amazing. You can see the details fleshing themselves out. It should feel……RESONANT. It should feel maybe a little scary as well, but not too much…..just enough to give you the chills and start some butterflies in your stomach—-the good feeling kind. Like the kind you get when you flirt with someone cute and they flirt back. That is you nudging up against your power. If you are not feeling that resonance, than maybe it’s not your thing, or maybe you are close, but not quite there in your clarity or curiosity.
Then, what happens is, you spend more time thinking about what you want and how good it feels to see yourself there. And you notice more contrast between where you are and where you would like to go. And, then it may seem even more impossible to get there, but KEEP GOING. Keep pretending. Keep feeling and observing. Keep resonating.
And then stuff starts happening. Little chance encounters, tiny “yesses” from the Universe, new people and new experiences in your life that all fit together to magnetize your thing a little closer to you. Keep going. Keep refining. Keep talking about it. Keep asking for help getting there. Pretty soon you are living into your desire. You wake up one morning and You. Are. Doing. It.
You don’t have to believe me. But what if? What if you tried the pretending thing and it made you feel a little bit better? We could all use a little bit more “better” in the increasing chaos of our times. I’m serious about changing the world. This is certainly no time to just throw our hands up (whatever side of the political table you sit on) and say “oh, well!” So come along with me for the ride. We will be doing more of this in the coming weeks.
Take care, Wobblers.
Leah:)
Embrace The Wobble 