Certainty is a myth.
Certainty is the unicorn of life..
Something so many of us long for, we crave, and even when we catch a glimpse of it, it’s so fleeting we hardly believe it’s real.
With an OCD brain, this is amplified. My lust for certainty has been all encompassing at times.
At best, I’ve been frozen in the grocery story unable to decide which apple to buy.
At worst, I’ve been stuck in bed, terrified of what getting out of it might mean.
When I discovered yoga, it wasn’t just a fun way to exercise, it was my gateway to a courageous life. After years of feeling disconnected to my inner wisdom, yoga brought me home.
7 years into my yoga practice and here are 7 lessons about certainty and courage that I learned on the mat..
Lessons that took me from an anxiety ball that couldn’t get through a trip to the grocery store without crying to leading a thriving business.
Certainty is a myth.
It’s actually a unicorn. It doesn’t exist. Those who seem to have it are confident in themselves, not their circumstances. The only certainty any of us can truly access is certainty in ourselves. If we want certainty, we have to invest in self trust, we have to grow that muscle. It’s our lifeline to feeling safe (which is what we are seeking when we seek certainty).
Courage comes in all shapes and sizes.
We never know what someone else is facing. Just making it through a grocery store trip might be the most courageous thing someone has done in a long time. Offering kindness to the world around ourselves is a small token of appreciation we can give back that has a massive ripple effect.
Inner trust is our greatest gift.
I think we take it for granted because it’s always there. We hear its buzzing underneath the noise but stopping to listen to its wisdom seems like too much work in the moment. When we do stop, when we do listen, it cuts through all the bullsh*t and lights a path so clear we wish we’d just paused sooner.
Confidence comes easily when we aren’t comparing ourselves.
Our biggest comparison is often to our younger self, our more productive self, our thinner self, our more adventurous self… the most difficult comparison to overcome is the one we have in our memory of ourself. But what if this version, today, is brilliant, and need not be compared to our other versions.
Courage comes with taking risks and finding out what we are made of, finding out that we can, in fact trust ourselves.
In the words of Forrest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that'“
We can create certainty (safety) in our lives by creating trust (safety) with ourselves.
Keeping promises to ourselves is the fastest way to repair inner trust. Following through on our word to ourselves first will create more safety that any amount of money, relationship, or notoriety. Lasting safety is an inside job.
Confidence comes after taking brave action.
Of course you believe it after you see it happen. Bravery, faith, belief… the magical stuff, the stuff that grows our inner trust muscles, that stuff we typically have to do scared or anxious or with some doubt. We show up anyways and we keep showing up, betting on ourselves over everything else. That’s where confidence is built.
This month, I’m releasing a series of meditations to The Membership (on demand portal + live classes) to accompany you in creating confidence, certainty in you, and connection to your inner wisdom, your courage.
Join the live complimentary class & Q+A call here on 9/25 (replay available) - https://www.marinabayyoga.com/virtual-yoga-studio
When you sign up for The Membership before the launch date, you’ll receive a week of free yoga.
See you on the mat!
Kas