This yoga thing looks good on you.

Building on the last post, as we work towards our desires or goals, often times, we are not noticing anything different. The key here is that we are not noticing anything. However, they are.

Take, for instance, the growth of a child. Day by day, you don’t notice very much of a change. Little by little, though, the child is growing. Certain days, the child will hit a mile-stone and you associate that milestone with “growth”. However, you still don’t see the child as too much different. It isn’t until you take a look at the baby pictures that you realize just how much they’ve changed.

Now, imagine a distant relative who saw the newborn, then headed back to parts unknown for a few years (somehow missing twenty million pictures on facebook). When they return, the child has drastically changed.

You’ve come a long way, baby.

The same thing happens when aspiring to goals. We perform our task or action little by little, slowly inching toward to the goal. We don’t feel like we are making any progress. One day, we’ll have a big epiphany, success, or leap forward. We think that’s amazing and we see this one step as our growth.

We then bump into a distant relative. They say “Wow! You’ve changed! I remember when you were x… and now you’re totally y! How’d you do it?” It’s only then, when presented with the past, that you realize how far you have come.

Build from the inside

In yoga, “you build yourself from the inside”. You practice. You get a little closer to some posture. You practice more. You achieve some particular posture. You practice more. You get a little closer to some posture…

All the while, you are growing inside. You are building focus. You are building determination. You are building calmness. You are building yourself from the inside.

At the end of my Yoga teacher training, I met with one of my instructors to go over the class. She gave me feedback. I gave her feedback. Afterwards, she said that quote at the top:
 
“This yoga thing looks good on you. You’re a completely different person than the guy that walked in here nine months ago.”
 
I responded “I don’t feel any different. This is the way I’ve always been. Maybe, I’m just closer on the outside to what I’ve been on the inside.” While that is certainly true, I can now say that’s only half the story. Little by little, I grew calmer and more assured of my decision to teach. That assurance changed my demeanor. I grew from the inside.

…and there you grow

Don’t let the idea that you’re not getting anywhere stop you from continuing. You’re getting there. Whatever goal it is, little by little, you’re making your way… and you are getting closer.

You’re also growing in so many other ways.

Grow on with your bad self!