As part of the LifePower Yoga Mount Laurel challenge, I’m exploring one of the seven axioms of yoga each day and sharing what it means to me. If you’re interested in joining the challenge (and winning some Lululemon swag), you can find all the dets here.

#1 You are exactly where you are meant to be

This axiom of yoga is not a foreign concept to me – in fact, it’s a principle I frequently talk about and one I’ve been saying long before I did YTT. For the last almost 5 years, at the end of every intenSati class, collectively as a community we affirm: Today I love and accept myself exactly as I am and where I am is exactly where I am meant to be.

It’s one thing to say this at the end of class and another to fully embody it, to really trust in where I am at that moment. It’s one thing to say, “I am exactly where I am meant to be” and another to fully let go of where I want to be.

Lately, I’ve been struggling with this axiom. I know I want to grow at LifeTime Fitness and I find myself with less classes than I’d like. I know I want my relationship to be drastically different than it is and still I find myself continually frustrated, stressed and let down. What I’m realizing is the more I resist my present moment reality, the further I get caught up in my story.

For most of us, it’s hard to let go of all the shoulds around our expectations and desires or to not struggle with our present moment reality when it’s not how we’d like it. In our minds, what we want is there and where we are is here and all we see is the gap between the two. From that gap, we create wild stories about what it all means and how we’ll never get what we want. What we forget, in looking at our gap, is that the gap IS the process and it’s the process that gets us to the goal, from point A to point B. It’s the process, that with our efforts, allows us to write the story we want. But the process won’t be easy or pretty. In fact, it will be downright hard and filled with obstacles, challenges and feats that require us to dig deep enough to uncover some greater level of truth or self-awareness. And while we’re quick to say YES to the dream, we’re not always so apt to say YES to the process or the challenges it entails.

In order for us to get from point A (where we are) to point B (where we want to be), we have to be a YES to both the dream and the process. That means saying YES in every moment to where we are. It’s saying YES to “where I am is exactly where I am meant to be,” especially in the challenging moments. It’s a hard truth to swallow when we feel tired, broken and hopeless – when we’re staring at a very uncertain future. The most important thing to remember in these moments is that the struggle is evidence – not that the dream isn’t for us, but that it is FOR us.

We think the struggle is a sign that the dream isn’t for us. Nothing could be further from the truth. The struggle is evidence we’re actually on our path to something great.

We’ll never be where we want to be as long as we’re caught up in the story of where we are. It’s the acceptance of where we are that allows us to move forward in the direction of our choosing. It’s fully embracing each step along the way that allows us to write the story we’re living.

So, today I’m taking a deep breath. I’m acknowledging this moment for what it is – just a moment. And, I’m throwing my hands up in a double YES-YES! One YES for the goal and one YES for each step along the way that’s going to get me there.

xo