The mind is such a wild thing really. Depending on which way we direct the mind, or which way the mind directs us, will have the most profound impact on how fully we will experience life living in this amazing body.
Our mind has the capacity to hold us back from living full out, and we all know this to be true from experience. It is called FEAR. And it creeps into our head as a way for our loving mind to keep us safe. But the irony of it all really is wondrous. The mind can, and will if given the opportunity, come up with countless of reasons why we should hold back from living full out.
Just the other day I faced that at an indoor trampoline gym. And this is how I handled…
The Mind Keeping Us “Safe”
I had a great desire in my heart to do a double front flip into the foam pit. Oh the fun this would be! It would be exciting, energizing, wild, and fun to zip through space like this!
But my mind was wanting to keep me safe. It was saying things like, “if you open to early you could maybe snap a knee, and if you don’t make it all the way around you could maybe snap your neck.” The inner dialogue didn’t stop there, heehee, it wanted to create more stories like if the unspeakable craziness like that DID happen, what THAT would mean, etc. WOW, the mind is so dang creative!
BUT there was another part of me that really really wanted to go for it.I mean really, although I signed a waiver and landing head first COULD be deadly, the probability of that happening was slim to none. But oh did my mind wanna fight that argument.
I had a moment of clarity that I WANTED to do this and that the ONLY way for me to do it was to put myself into a 100% CERTAIN STATE of being. Shoots, I walked across 2000 degree, burning coals last year by changing and owning my state, a double front flip into foam should be CAKE!
There was only one thing for me to do. Get myself into a peak state where I was bigger, way way way bigger than my fear, and with 100% certainty GO FOR IT!
And I did.
And it rocked!
Your Mental State Contributes To Your Full Life
Oh the exhilaration of double flipping in the air again! Yahooo!!!I use to be a gymnast, 22 years ago. And I guess you can take the girl out of the gymnastics club but not the training out of the body.
However, without the mind being trained to let the body be the amazing miracle it be, then the body will never get to fully play as designed. And I am NOT ok with that being the standard for my life.
The last time I double flipped was so many years ago I can’t even recall. I do train my body though, about 5-6 days a week. I love challenging my body and seeing what it is capable of. Yet, that usually includes burpees and backbends, not double front flips.
What I am getting at here is that with the right mind-set, YOU are capable of incinerating FEAR and playing full out. The benefits of that include enjoying a life where YOU get to be the boss of YOUR LIFE (not fear). YOU get to feel empowered to LIVE YOUR LIFE, no holding back!
(Image taken at my last retreat! Look at these faces. Incinerating fear into total JOY!)
A Hawaii Yoga, Fitness & Adventure Retreat Inspires Living Full Out
“Feel the fear… AND DO IT ANYWAYS!” was a theme of my last yoga, fitness and adventure retreat here on Kauai.
The attendees were so freaking amazing and they blew my mind each day! 4 of the 6 retreaters were over the age of 60 years old (this has never happened on one of my retreats before and I didn’t quite know what to expect) and they ROCKED the week more FULL OUT than any of my other retreaters thus far! (So of course I am holding the space for my April 21-27 retreat to be, “How can it get even better?”)
If there was a rope swing, they were swinging (and one woman even back diving off the swinging rope inspired from her childhood days), if there was a wet cave, they were swimming in it, if there was a muddy trail, they were taking it on barefooted with wild enthusiasm, and if there was a waterfall that could be jumped over…. YEP, everyone was JUMPING! Oh, and can’t forget all those amazing handstands too! Dang!!!!
If fear has held a grip on you living full out this is a message for YOU sweet friend. YOU YOU YOU were designed WAY WAY WAY bigger than that fear. What you are capable is mind-blowing, I promise you that.
Get out of your own way. Get bigger than that fear, with 100% certainty GO FOR IT. Life is too short to look back and wish you would have tried, wished you would have given it a better shot, wished you would have had the nerve, wished you would have squashed all that silly fear and finally let YOU come out to play.
Feel the fear, but don’t let it own you. Feel that fear and KNOW you are bigger. Feel the fear, AND DO IT ANYWAY!
Retreats On Kauai Photos And Food
I will be sharing more of our retreat adventures with you soon, but if you haven’t seen any of the photos from my February Yoga, Fitness And Adventure Retreat On Kauai yet, please check my FB Retreat Page here. There were so many magical memories created!
Next post I will be sharing an incredible, sugar-free dessert recipe that was a huge, unanimous HIT at my last kauai retreat too! Imagine a cross between a girl-scout Samoa cookie and a thin mint, but RAW, nutritious and oh so insanely delicious!
Can’t wait to share soon!