During yoga class I say sometimes, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Usually this is said during one of my hot classes while students are holding a challenging pose like warrior and usually I get twisted faces I translate to mean, “I love you Erin, but don’t push it.” I like to push though and see what my students can do while still staying in the realm of kindness. I think it’s important to remind ourselves what we’re capable of, and to do that, getting out of our comfort zones is key. Why do we resist it so much though?
If we look at our bodies and minds like primal, innocent devices, we can understand that comfort=safe and safe=survival. I like to look at myself that way. But do we really just want to be safe in life? I think most people can agree that profound growth comes from taking some personal risks here and there. I’m not saying to just swing ourselves around all willy-nilly, rather to be onto ourselves and notice when we do have resistance to an activity, thought, or even a person. Why? We might answer ourselves with, “Because it’s hard,” “I’m not good at it,” or “I don’t know how it will turn out.” Now if we like those answers, sure, we don’t have to enter into that uncomfortable experience, but if we can look at it like, “Well, it’s true I’m not sure how it’ll turn out, but I’ll never know if I don’t try, “ or “If I practice, I can be good at this,” or my favorite, “I can do hard things.”
The pay off for getting uncomfortable? You’ll have less aversion to things that will make you grow, that will help you reach your goals, and you won’t be dictated by fear, rather you’ll learn to get comfortable with it. If the worst thing in life is a feeling, and we aren’t afraid to feel any emotion….that’s badass right there. So go be a badass and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Your future self will thank you.
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Yoga Teacher Training at Thrive will teach you to break past barriers and create an amazing life, on and off the mat.
