Let’s talk about the fact that doing yoga challenges you to stand in your truth; it asks you to become comfortable with discomfort.

There are people out there who cringe at the thought of doing yoga, or  who are curious about it, but just can’t seem to bring themselves to take the plunge. They make every excuse in the world to avoid it—even though they know it’s exactly what they need.

Then there are people out there who start taking yoga classes,  but then suddenly stop. They get really nervous about it and make excuses not to go back, even though they know they really need to.

People fear yoga for a multitude of reasons. 

The biggest reason I’ve seen that people fear yoga is because deep down, they know it’s going to rock their world, instigate change, yank them right out of their comfort zone.

It’s a threat to their bad habits, their unhealthy comforts; it’s a threat to the denial that they are stuck in a life that is not what they want and the idea of making changes scares the hell out of them.

The idea of looking at the truth of who you currently are versus who you actually want to be can be mind-blowing. 

Yoga will do that. Yoga will get you reconnected to your body. It will get you still. It will get you quiet. It’s going to put you in a place where you can see the truth of what’s going on, and the truth of what you really want.

And once you see that, you can’t unsee it.

From there, you’re either going to listen to your heart, and start making changes, or you’re going to shrink into denial, stop doing yoga and continue to live, wondering why the hell things are the way they are for you.

Yoga is a vehicle for change. And if that notion makes you squirm a little, makes you uncomfortable, or makes you want to scream—then yoga is probably exactly what you need.

What do you want to be different in your life?

Is there a situation that you desperately want to change? Are you in that space where you feel completely stuck, stagnant, fed-up, and you just don’t know what to do about it?

Do yoga.

The only way out is through, and the only way through is to get reconnected to who you are, and be able to hear what your heart and soul are telling you to do.

You know what you should be doing, but you’re so afraid to take the steps because it’s going to initiate change…and change is scary. People might be mad at you. People might reject you. You might fail.

So what? Seriously, so what? 

If people reject you, or cast you out, then you shouldn’t be associated with them anyway. Find a new tribe. For every person out there that would reject you, there are three others that would welcome you with open arms.

Failure? No such thing. There’s only progress. How much do you think you’ll realistically fail? How far do you realistically think you’ll let yourself fall? Odds are really good that before you failed far enough, you’d catch yourself and change course.

If you really want change, do yoga, get quiet, and take that next inspired step.

That’s all you have to do. Once you know what that next inspired step is—do it. And do it without all the baggage—Don’t worry about the outcome; don’t try to force a certain situation.

Just take the step—and then do yoga, get quiet, and listen for the next step. Rinse and repeat.

You think you can’t do it? Ask the girl who lost 70 pounds, found spirituality, and worked through a chronic life-long depression.

That was me.

In 2009, I discovered I was suffering from depression—which scared the hell out of me because it runs in my family. I’ve seen, very intimately,  the nasty things it does to people.

I also had 70 pounds of extra weight on me that I thought I was stuck with for the rest of my life.

I started doing yoga. I saw the truth of what was going on in my life, and how different it was from the truth I wanted to be living.

I felt so incredibly far from where I wanted to be.

I did yoga. And the gap started closing.

I started living my truth. People got upset with me because they saw me changing—and it reminded them that they weren’t where they wanted to be. I decided that wasn’t my problem.

I did yoga. I found myself. I’m at peace with the people who don’t resonate with me, or who think by being mad at me, they’re making me unhappy.

Yoga saved my life. Yoga helped me reclaim my life. Yeah, it’s scary as hell when you start seeing the truth. But you keep doing yoga. And you surround yourself with a new tribe. You get support. You are loved. And you realize that there is no where else you’d rather be than standing in your truth.

Jenn Givler is a Yoga and Energized Living Educator. She will help you rock your authenticity through yoga. Jenn came back to her yoga practice in 2009 after discovering she was suffering from chronic depression. Yoga help ignite amazing changes for Jenn. She lost 70 pounds and reclaimed her life. She believes everyone should get strong, get energized, and fall madly in love with life. Come hang out with Jenn on her blog at BlendedYoga.com or on Facebook.com/BlendedYoga.

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Editor: April Dawn Ricchuito

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