Survive Obstacles And Rise

The New Year started on a strange note. It was as if the Universe was letting me know that FLOW (my 2018 word) was over and it was time to put SOAR (Strength Over All Resistance) directly into practice as literally when the clock strike midnight I was in a head butt conversation. The morning progressed with more of the same and it felt like all that I knew the last year… ease, space, calmness and peace was coming to a screeching halt and I had to do everything in my power (resist) not getting angry, defensive and agitated. Scrolling through Facebook that day (I am noticing a pattern of me scrolling through Facebook here so we will address that in a post one day, however Facebook is where I find really cool information, especially on events) I noticed that Francesca Simonelli of Divine Freedom was offering a New Year Yoga session on the water in Jaycee Park Cape Coral. In my head I went through all the reasons why this was inconvenient (obstacles). It’s too far. It’s a holiday and the hubby is off so I should spend time with him. It’s too early. It was about an hour and a half before start time but I decided to join them. I called up my sister and sister in law (in November we had started a work out session at The Sunshine House with Alphonso Hopson of Empowering Love Fitness and today I wanted them to join me and count it as a train day) and persuaded them to get out of their beds with their husbands and families and we drove to the cape and joined the yoga class.

Oftentimes, we let our negative self-talk be our biggest obstacle. Our fear of trying new things, not being good enough, wondering what other people would think and say, our fear of lack – not enough money, not enough time etc. keeps us stuck in the same rut doing the same things over and over. I am determined to do everything in my power to break this cycle this year and… I am powerful! 
The scene was perfect. It was a beautiful morning with a light breeze and the sun shining brightly overhead. The spot that Francesca picked out was a few feet from the water and we can hear the ebb and flow of the water as we meditated then went into yoga.
First let me say this… yoga is hard! It looks so beautiful and easy but it’s HARD WORK! Francesca of course does it with such poise and grace that if I was still feeding myself the negative talks I would have surely rolled up my mat, get back in my car, never to return again. She led us through a beautiful meditation of releasing the old negatives from the past year, giving thanks for the positives and realigning ourselves with our source. I reflected on the last two years, so many obstacles that kept me from rising to my full potential. A business venture that didn’t fully get off the ground, hurricane Irma and its damages and costs, a 30 pound weight gain because I simply did not want to get off my couch and getting on a medication to help with other issues. Even the uneasy and unnatural way (to me) of going from beast mode to deliberate flow was a challenge for me. Making a deliberate effort to slow down and do less was so very hard, I oftentimes felt like I was crawling out of my skin.
Obstacles are everywhere. It seems the closer you get to realize your dreams the bigger the obstacles that gets placed in the way. Life is full of ups and downs and even though I realized that everything has a season and relinquishing control is sometimes the very best thing you can do, it was challenging. A friend told me recently I stay too much in my head trying to control outcomes than leading with my heart… that in itself is an obstacle that’s preventing me from rising. My heart for sure makes wise decisions.
As I lay on the yoga mat, flat on my back, eyes up to the beautiful clear skies… a single bird was soaring high above the clouds, I wondered what it must have felt like for the bird fresh out the nest trying to get its wings up for the first time. Scary? But yet here it was soaring high in the sky on this beautiful morning. I’m sure there was obstacles. I’m sure there was unease. I’m sure there was fear. Yet still, here is was Soaring! As I move into the yoga pose cobra (an animal that never gets off the ground) I made a decision… I am determined to Survive Obstacles And Rise. SOAR