The Unfamiliar

I went to yoga class on Friday at a different studio than usual because the time worked with my schedule.

I went prepared to do routine flows and chaturangas but I quickly realized this teacher was different. In the first ten minutes I already did two new postures - which is out of the norm since I've been doing yoga for almost 15 years!

My mind started throwing a fit. "What is this pose?" "I've never even heard of this!" "Ugh this posture is terrible - am I even doing this right?!" "I do NOT like this teacher!" And on and on it went.

Until I caught it. Our minds love the familiar and resist the unfamiliar. That's why change is so difficult - because it literally doesn't feel good.

As soon as I caught myself I had to laugh. Then I just noticed the thoughts instead of letting myself get emotionally involved with them, and grounded back into the present moment by focusing on my breath and how my body was feeling.

If my mind chirped up again, I brought it right back. It reminded me how much we fight the unfamiliar in life. When things start to change, we throw little tantrums.

But the unfamiliar is where the magic happens in life! It wakes us up from sleep walking and opens our eyes to life. It gets us out of our comfortzones and into the present moment - which is the only time we ever have.

Welcome the unfamiliar. And soon the mind will be so used to the unfamiliar, the comments will quiet down.

XO

Adrienne