We talk about motivation a lot in the wellness world. We know it’s important and can help us achieve our goals. We don’t often talk about the barriers and obstacles that prevent us from unlocking that motivation that may reside within us.
My perceptions of the yoga world and my body kept me off the mat for months. I’d longingly look at yoga with admiration, but this fear that my body wasn’t meant for this type of movement would plague me. I’d scroll on Instagram and see beautiful women doing these amazing flows where they defied gravity and basic physics, and the negative self-talk tune would play repeatedly in my head.
“I’ll never be able to do that.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
“I’m not thin enough.”
“I’m not good enough.”
And those thoughts were still there when I rolled out my first Five Below mat and tried it. Those thoughts are still sometimes there, even now.
I love yoga. I love how it makes me feel, the parts of myself it allows me to explore, and the empowerment I experience from a hard vinyasa flow. I’d rather do a boat pose and get myself stuck in a compass pose than run on the treadmill any day; yeah, that fun pose you see to the left. But there are still some days when I get on the mat, and it just isn’t working for me.
Some days, I don’t feel as strong or flexible as the day before. Some days, my body is sore in places I didn’t know existed, and some days, I’m just downright tired.
Beyond my body’s perceptions, these obstacles challenge me the most.
Overcoming Obstacles
How do I work through them? I don’t.
What do I do instead? I honor them. I allow them to take up space.
I allow myself to fail. To stumble. To rest in a child’s pose while the rest of the room is flowing.
I need to because, for so long, failure wasn’t an option. Listening to my body was foreign to me. I’d shrink myself down to make others comfortable. I always pushed to keep up with the rest, but yoga has taught me that it isn’t about what the rest of the room is doing. It’s about you, your needs, and your wants. Those were things that I had never prioritized before, and now that I do, most of the time, I’d like to think I am a better person.
We can’t pour from an empty cup and if we’re still pouring even while doing things that are supposed to fill us up, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose?
Be gentle with yourself, honor the obstacle, and observe it. In most cases, there’s always tomorrow.
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