Yoga Girl

I have had to overcome many, many fears along the way; for every big
new thing there has been this little voice in my head saying, is is scary.
We all have this inner cautionary voice, and succeeding and evolving is all
about how well we manage it. I started teaching at big events involving
more than five hundred people at a time—that was scary. I started sharing
my classes online—that was scary. I taught at the biggest yoga festival in
the world—that was scary. I shot a DVD—that was scary. Reporters for
big magazines interviewed me—that was scary. I flew across the world for
meetings with powerful executives about my brand—that was scary. I was
interviewed on TV—that was scary. I demonstrated yoga on stage with
the king and queen of Holland on live TV in front of ten thousand people.
That was scary! I moved to a tiny island just to be with a man I’d known
for only five days. I said yes when that same man, who turned out to be
the love of my life, asked me to marry him. I signed the contract for our
very first house. I started a business. I wrote a book. All of these things
have been the scariest and most wonderful moments of my entire life. I
said good-bye to people in my life that I never in a million years thought
I’d have to say good-bye to. I found myself faced with a thousand scary
moments that in the big scheme of things make up our lives, and I chose
love. I chose love. That is all.
And here is one of the scariest things of all: welcoming all of the
beautiful souls who have made a decision to come take my classes
throughout the years. Beautiful, beautiful souls, all showing up with open
hearts, just to listen to what I have to say. Just to connect. To practice. To
move. To hug. Brave, strong souls who have allowed themselves to be
vulnerable, who have written me, called me, or visited from afar just to say
hello. Intimacy and vulnerability are both scary things to show to the
world. Here’s the thing, though; if doing something new doesn’t scare you
at least a little, it’s not worth doing. e marvelous moments, the
situations we find ourselves in that make us grow and evolve and expand
our hearts—all are going to be covered with a thin veil of fear. We are
stepping into the unknown, and this means different things to all of us.