The Power of Grace and Humility
The most powerless I have ever felt in my life was the moment I was staring at my sister in the ICU praying for her life. That moment would later prove to have changed me in the biggest way possible. I emerged stronger than I had ever been.
Reflecting back on this, it seems to be the perfect metaphor for our current reality.
While I was trying to process her experience in ICU and my new sense of “life is short”, I found myself spending more and more time in the yoga studio. It was a place where I could land in stillness and express my emotion through movement. I felt valued and supported, not judged.
At that time, I was living in Vancouver and working for a real estate company. I was living a good life – I had a great group of friends, a nice apartment overlooking the neighbourhood of Yaletown, and a relationship with the dreamiest man. Even still, I was feeling unfulfilled and sort of without purpose. I decided that I needed to make some life changes, so I took the terrifying first step of leaving my cushy day job and I enrolled in yoga teacher training the day after. I fell madly in love with fitness and have never looked back.
My learning? When you embrace discomfort, magic happens, change happens and growth happens. It is often our weakest, most desperate and uncomfortable moments that shape us most as people.
Our lives are in an unfamiliar and challenging place right now. Everything we know has been flipped upside down, and we are left in this uncomfortable fog called “the unknown”. While this is a terrible situation, we will get through this pandemic together and will emerge stronger than ever before.
So here we are, week 4 of the #strongerasapack challenge, and week 4 of physical distancing. How are you? It’s time to check in on yourself, both mentally and physically.
Are you grieving your old life - the daily routine that included your scheduled classes and sweaty high-fives, an out of the house job and the ability to mingle with others? Or are you taking advantage of this stay at home lifestyle to deep clean your entire house, catch up on your reading list and finally learning to become an outdoor runner? Or maybe, you volley between these two emotions – by the week, by the day, or by the hour.
In times like this, it’s okay to feel defeated, vulnerable and stuck. It doesn’t make you a failure and it doesn’t make you weak. However you’re feeling, remember that this is all new territory. We have all been thrown a curveball, – which can easily become a roadblock to success - a sticking point where crushing your goals suddenly seems out of reach. Challenge yourself to find the grace and humility to realize that maybe there’s a better way to navigate all of this.
With all of that in mind, here are my top five recommendations for navigating these uncertain times:
Embrace your community - connection hasn’t gone anywhere, actually we are the most connected we have ever been – through Facetime, Zoom, Skype, and social media, and communities like the Wolf Pack Facebook group. Use this to your advantage to reach out, share your struggles, and connect. I promise you aren’t the only one struggling, no judgment, only encouragement.
Adjust your schedule – It may not look the same as it did before, so create a new schedule to help you settle into your new routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Eat your meals around the same time every day and book your workout classes for the week to give you a sense of normalcy.
Journal - If you aren’t a fan of writing, or have the impression that a journal is for your poems, think again! Journaling can be so powerful to write down your achievements, struggles and goals, and look back on your growth monthly, or annually. Start with dedicating 5 minutes to yourself every day or every week and write down 3-6 bullet points with how you are feeling, what you are working towards and what you did that day or week to get there.
Try meditation – Whether you’re stressed, fearful, angry or anxious – which are all feelings that often accompany an event that has a big impact on your life – meditation slows down your brain and calms your nervous system. It invites a sense of steadiness into your life which allows you to sit with the uncomfortable, to see opportunity and come up with creative solutions. So put on something comfortable, light your candle and join me every evening at 8:30 pm on our IGTV channel, or click here to watch some of my pre-recorded meditations on YouTube.
Practice humility – humility is a powerful asset for self-improvement; by living a humble life you recognize the areas that need work. Start with fully accepting yourself as you are, which means forgive yourself if you get off track. Accept setbacks, and let yourself be humbled by new experiences if you don’t get your butt handed to every now and then you probably aren’t digging deep enough to make a positive change. Lastly, humility allows you to accept challenges without the fear of failure.
“You must become comfortable with being uncomfortable, as that is when you become unstoppable.”