Be happy, be you… the real you!

With only 4 days left until I start a one-month intensive yoga course I am starting to get that nervous excited feeling. You know the one where you have been thinking about something for a while and talked a lot about it and then the reality sets in and you get that sudden ‘OMG moment’! Yeah I’m there…. But honestly it is more excitement than nerves. My productive Monday seemed to set the tone for the week and I have been really busy- teaching, writing and of course lots of yoga but rather than get caught up in constantly thinking about what was next on the to do list or planning every day so it was jam packed. I took a step back and enjoyed it, my little dream is starting to become more and more like a reality and I am absolutely going to live this dream rather than loose focus and let it pass me by.

I have been surprised and really touched by some of the lovely messages I have received from people this week, some friends, family and others total strangers reading my blog or following my updates on facebook and twitter. So a huge thank you to everyone for your support. I have gotten some really heartfelt messages from people who have in one way or another connected with what I am doing and they wanted to thank me.

At first I found this strange, don’t get me wrong it is so lovely to get the support but when I say I was surprised, I really was- for a few reasons. Firstly, I am just expressing my thoughts, my feelings and my experiences and being totally honest with myself. So as I sat back and smiled at some of the messages it struck me, I am being me, I am being honest with me and I think that is the part a lot of people are connecting with. Secondly, so many people have told me how they admire me for being so brave and doing what I want to do, for following my dream etc. and how they wish they could do it too. This was the real shocker for me. I haven’t done anything extraordinary I decided I wanted to change my life balance and refocus. I wasn’t happy and I don’t mean not happy in my job because let’s face it most people don’t jump out of bed every morning and punch the air and shout ‘Yes I’m going to work today” and I wasn’t depressed or down I just felt something was missing. There was this niggling thing in me that has been there for years and I finally let it out. For me it wasn’t about being brave or having courage it was about being honest.

So who is the one person in the world you can’t lie to?..... No not your mum. Let’s face it most of us spent half of our teenage years lying to our mums! Just little white lies of course J but seriously think about it. Yourself. Before you dismiss this just take a few moments to think about it. Because I know I certainly used to dismiss it, someone said this to me a few months ago and at the time I half nodded in agreement and thought to myself well that’s obvious. Of course I am honest with myself, I think my thoughts.  But in the few days following this conversation I started to really think about those words and what they meant.

‘The one person you can’t lie to is yourself’

It wasn’t a light bulb moment but it was the start of a learning curve. In fact it was a big kick-start onto that learning curve.

Anyone who knows me will know I am an inquisitive person, I ask a lot of questions, I can feel some of you smiling at this part. I just have this inner curiosity and need to know what is going on. Now you may laugh but honestly it is not in a nosey way but it is just a part of who I am.  It is not a need to know about other people or their lives but more my need to know what I am doing, what I want to get done in any given day or week.  Another side to it is understanding anything that has an impact on what I am doing. So for example if I was working on a marketing campaign I need to know the different customer segments it affects and I mean really know them, I need to understand them. I need to know the industry, the product in detail and then how it will be followed up so how it moves from marketing to sales etc. I don’t think I need to go on- you know what I mean. I have always been like this and I hope I always am, it keeps my mind active and keeps my inner curiosity happy. So I started to ask myself questions, to try to learn more about me.

Now back to this learning curve, it was a challenge. Learning a new skill, a new language or working on a big project is easy for me because I am always challenging myself with something new, I work out what I need to know, what I need to do to get better at it and just do it. But stopping and looking at me, learning about me, listening to me and being totally honest with me- that was a something new for me. If you are one of those people who know that you live your life as you, you aren’t afraid to feel your emotions, express your feelings and know who you really are…. I commend you. I am only new to this circle and wow I’m loving it. But from the start of this curve to where I am now has been a massive journey and the more I learn the more I am starting to realize that there is no end to this path and I have a lot more to learn about me.

It seems so simple, to listen to yourself. But in reality it is far from simple.  So many of us hide our true feelings, suppress our real emotions and are afraid to express how we really feel. Why? To fit in, to avoid confrontation, because we are afraid of letting our guard down. I know I fell into all three categories and then uncovered some more personal reasons I had been igmoring. Once you start to really focus on you and get to know you, you will find your own reasons, your own comfort blankets.

Everyone is different, the true you is unique, whether you choose to discover and learn about you is a personal choice. All I will say is I have uncovered a whole new sense of ease, happiness and a balance in my life. I am content with who I am. I accept me. This might sound a bit too spiritual for some of you but maybe just try it, give it a go- what have you got to loose! I challenge you to get to know you and above all be honest with yourself because the one person you can’t lie to is yourself. You can try to bury things and walk away from things but as I have really discovered true happiness comes from within, I know people say it all the time but when you feel it, you know. As things change in my life I will grow, I will learn, I will be older and hopefully wiser… who knows what the future holds or where life will take me but one thing is for certain…. I will always have me.

Maybe even take this into your yoga practice this week…. Listen to your body, acknowledge how it feels and work to your own limits. Ignore what other people in the class are doing, don’t be afraid to take a break or to not go as deep into a posture as the person beside you. It is your body and only you knows how you truly feel. Use your yoga practice as your time to get to know your body- find your limits and when you feel stronger push them.

Be happy, be you… the real you!  

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