also OK to laugh at a teacher dropping
a well-timed cuss word during yoga
practice).
SPEAK KINDLY TO
YOURSELF
I am the queen of smack-talking my-
self. The idea of being gentle in how
you speak to yourself is simple, but
sometimes I need a reminder. The
practice of catching myself being
unkind, and then changing that to
kindness, is incredibly redemptive.
“ONE OF THE BASIC RULES
OF THE UNIVERSE IS THAT
NOTHING IS PERFECT.
PERFECTION SIMPLY
DOESN’T EXIST. WITHOUT
IMPERFECTION, NEITHER
YOU NOR I WOULD EXIST.”
A teacher read this Stephen
Hawking quote to me at a time when
I was doubting career changes and
choices and feeling generally lost and
adrift. It struck a deep chord with
me. If nothing is perfect (and that’s
a scientific fact!), then it’s OK if my
path isn’t perfect, either. If nothing
is perfect, then I will probably never
know exactly what I’m doing. And if
nothing is perfect, then that’s exactly
the way the universe is supposed to be.SOMETIMES YOU JUST
NEED TO DO LEGS-UP-
THE-WALL POSE. WHY?
BECAUSE SOMETIMES
LESS IS MORE.I’m always pushing myself—in life, at
work, and yes, when I practice yoga—
so when a yoga teacher said the
above before instructing us to do the
restorative pose Viparita Karani
(Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose), instead of
our normal Salamba Sarvangasana
(Supported Shoulderstand) or Salamba
Sirsasana (Supported Headstand), it
felt huge to me. Being reminded that
choosing something more restorativecan actually help you feel more
powerful is a lesson that has stayed
with me every day since.BE LIKE A TREE. STAY
CONNECTED TO THE
EARTH. EVERYTHING
THAT SEPARATES US
FROM BEING PEACEFUL
WILL DISSOLVE WHEN
WE ARE ROOTED.When I feel my “roots”—my f
amily, my friends who have known
me for years, the things I love to do in
my heart and not just on paper—
I always come back to a feeling of
peace. In moments of doubt and
insecurity, I try to come back to being
connected to the earth, to my roots, to
who I am.GINA TOMAINE work can be seen in
Women’s Health, Runner’s World,
Prevention, and elsewhere. Learn more
at ginatomaine.com.