This is a monthly email on how to sweeten your life through Yoga. Feel free to share it with your friends! If you no longer want to hear from me, you can always unsubscribe.

​

Hi Reader,

I recently took part in a mentoring workshop on the topic of Trust.
It made me think about how confidence & clarity are not just for type A personalities... it's something we can all learn to develop.

Trust is central to living a good life. In fact in the ancient text of the Yoga Sutras (a manual for emancipation), Patanjali tells us that while a lucky few are naturals, for the rest of us, becoming free is a gradual process that starts with cultivating Shraddha, an unshakeable conviction/trust in our own journey.

I think we start our lives with a lot of assurance but various exerpiences erode it over time. Whether it's silencing our voice to fit in, comparing ourselves to others, conforming to expectations. Bringing the body under the control of the mind so we lose touch with our felt sense of being. Sticking to a limiting story about who we are, what we "should" and "can't" do. Eventually we forget how to access the deeper knowledge that resides within. The world quickly becomes restricted and scary when we doubt ourselves.

On the other hand, when we have trust, we can open to wherever life is taking us. We know we are able to meet any situation and take the necessary steps to move forward. This can take us to our edge, where our hopes meet our fears. This is for sure an uncomfortable spot to be in, but it's also where we grow the most. The more we flex this trust muscle, the more we're able to lead the life we aspire to.

Fortunately, there are many steps we can take to reclaim this warrior quality and learn to "take off the armor" (a great analogy offered by Pema Chödrön in her book The Wisdom of No Escape).

Some practical tips:

😌 Carve out regular quiet alone time. A daily 10min meditation practice is gold. But even taking short breaks everyday with zero external input can give you the space you need to get to know yourself and tune into inner guidance.

🌹 Clarify what you want. How would you like your life to look and feel like? Let yourself dream and find out what motivates you. Having clear intentions will give you tremendous energy, cut through any hesitation, and help you stay focused.

👟 Don't wait to take action. Even if you don't feel quite ready, just take the first tiny step. You might be positively surprised by the results. And if it doesn't quite work out you might still learn a lot... or realise it wasn't such a big deal after all! As you repeat this, you learn to shed old layers of protection.

🛖 Seek a supportive community to stay motivated & accountable. I find that I'm bad at keeping my own promises. So putting my name down for an open mic or enlisting a friend to go surfing helps break my resistance to doing hard things. Trusting has everything to do with developing relationships and putting ourselves in the world.

I hope you enjoyed this month's reflections as much as I enjoyed pondering them!

A couple of news on my side:

I'm runing my very first workshop! It's about Inversions & Arm Balances 🤸🏻‍♀️

Happening on June 19th, 11:30am in the gorgeous Botannix studio.
​
Open to ALL, from beginners to experienced.
You can sign up here.

​

🇫🇷 I'll also be traveling to Europe from July until mid-August to see family & friends. I might be a little more quiet during this time.. but I have a little parting gift in mind so stay tuned ;)

Big love x

Lou