Day 30: Swapping Self-consciousness for Self-confidence

Twenty months ago I stepped into my first yoga class and I was awkwardly self-aware of my every movement.  At one point, I laughed- not because something was funny, but because I was so uncomfortable with my own self.  On my 30th day of working out and probably my 150th yoga class, I noticed how completely un-self-conscious I am in my practice.

Today’s 2.5 level class at Core Power Yoga proved to be one of the most fun classes I have ever taken.  The instructor started out with a drawing on the mirror about adjusting to the ups and downs in life and said we would feel those same waves on our mats today.  At one point, she had us all dancing while in Utkatasana (chair pose) and five minutes later she asked, “anyone who is shy to close their eyes” while the rest of us danced in a pose I have never done before.  I was smiling from the inside out, shining, sweating, breathing and laughing…all while doing a type of dancing I have never done before in front of some of the best yogi’s I have ever seen.   It was not until I was in Savasana that I started thinking (yep, still have not been able to master the art of quieting my mind) about how I did not think about what others were thinking about me.  This practice was just my own- my movement, my body, my practice.

Losing your ego and embracing the moment is a beautiful state of being.  Can you remember a time when you were first able to do that?