Be Willing to Fall

I learn only from mistakes.

"You have to be willing to fall," I often say this when I teach yoga. To find balance in a posture you have to fall. You have to fall a lot, especially when you're going upside down. This teaches you which muscles to engage to stay lifted. That moment of lift is pure bliss, pure magic. It's worth the fall in the middle of a crowded room. It's worth the bruise to your ego.

Being willing to fall is a big task to ask of yourself, for me to ask of others, to fall is scary. You have to be brave. Falling is the unknown. Falling means you've lost control. There's risk involved. Do you grow the most when you play it safe or when you take a risk? Think about it. Be honest with yourself.


You have to surrender some control to try something new, to do something you have never done. The worst thing that could happen is you fail. What if you do fail?

What if you fall? Do you leave the yoga class? Or do you try again? If you don't get that dream job, do you settle? Or do you do the work? I think a peace and acceptance can be drawn forth even in the midst of frustration and disappointment. You have to choose to think of the positive in those moments. Your reality is whatever you choose to let your mind settle on. Settle on the positive, settle on the fact that you can get up and try again every single day, every moment.

Just notice what you do when things get hard.  Realize you have control over your mind. You have the choice to not give up, to try again. Magic might occur when you do.

Photography by Eric R. Ward
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Slackro

Yesterday I attended a workshop taught by Sam and Raquel of YogaSlackers. They are amazing teachers and I always learn so much from them. This workshop was different because the poses we learned were slackline-inspired acro poses. This adds a whole new level of difficulty, because for a flyer it means your base is not steady so you can't be super tight like you normally would or you will fall. As a base or a flyer you have to ebb and flow with the pose in Slackro.

Photography by Eric R. Ward

Another reason I love AcroYoga and Slackline Yoga is that I am a newbie to both and still have so much to learn about each. It allows me to work on my body awareness as well as body awareness with another person. Which leads to even bigger skills that are at the heart of this practice: COMMUNICATION and TRUST.

To be able to do anything in AcroYoga you have to communicate. This is good and difficult. Things get hard and you might be falling out of a pose over and over again. This is frustrating to everyone involved. When this happens in AcroYoga I need to apply what I do to my regular yoga practice BREATHE and NONATTACHMENT. Maybe let go of that particular pose or transition for a while, practice something I know to regain my confidence and then try again.

In AcroYoga, you have to trust in yourself and the person you are working with or you won't try anything new, because fear will take over.  Trust cannot happen without communication.

Overall, I am happy to be learning and trying new things. I am grateful for the lessons I'm learning about the practice and myself. I am overwhelmed by the kindness and support of the community.

Final Thought: I CANNOT WAIT TO GET ON MY SLACKLINE AGAIN!

A Yoga Thanksgiving [a Recap on Happiness]

Happiness is...

...warm sun kissing my skin as I lay beneath the Arizona sky
...meeting new people and hearing new stories
...being inspired continually by the pure strength and joy of those around me

...being in my own filth and not really caring because no one else around me has showered for days either
...slacklining outside again

...Spitz peppered sunflower seeds
...being thrown around like an acro rag doll with super talented yogi friends

...talking things out
...pure love and joy
...not counting calories for a week
...being silly and playful
...doubling the amount of National Parks I have visited in 48 hours

...breathing into it
...handstand canes (need I say more?)

...honesty
...driving home safely on a donut
...cacti
...healing my leg through yoga

...breakfast by Lake Mead
...going to bed early and sleeping in (what every mom rarely gets)
...yoga in the dirt
...rock climbing outside for the first time ever

...a playful Bikram class where handstands were encouraged! What the?!
...my introduction to Forrest Yoga
...creating yoga art with my dear friend, Eric

Photography by Eric R. Ward

...peppermint mochas and lemonade Rockstars
...coming home to this face

Photography by Eric R. Ward

Community

“Every human activity can be put at the service of the divine and of love. We should all exercise our gift to build community.”  -Jean Vanier

One thing I have noticed and appreciated more in this last year is the strength of the yoga communities I am a part of. For a longtime I stuck to the studios and classes that were familiar and close--the ones where I knew what to expect. Within the last year or so I started expanding on that base, and I was able to build on it by trying new yoga styles, attending new workshops, trying out new studios, and taking classes from new teachers. I have also taken risks and put myself out there to try out new opprotunities. In expanding my yoga universe I have found a lot more strength, love, and met many new geniune people that I am happy to have in my life. By geniune people let me illustrate, these people ask questions like, "How are you doing?" and after they receive a nice, polished answer follow-up with, "No, really, how are things going for you?" These are people who speak to my soul directly from theirs, and I can't get enough of them. I am at a point in my life where a put-together-refined-plastic-life no longer serves me. Give me raw. Give me the real you. I see beauty in the cracks. 

The thing I adore about communities (any kind for that matter) is how one person's enthusiasm can start this wildfire that just keeps spreading.  

How can you break out of your routine and experience the love of community? Be open to new ideas. 
Share your ideas. 
Get out of your comfort zone. 
Smile. 
Spread love and you will get love right back. 

Yogaslacker Friends

SLC Yoga Insta Friends

 Acro Friends

All photos by Eric R. Ward