Be afraid, be very afraid

This weekend I’m partaking in the Scare Your Soul Challenge. (Click here to sign up).  It’s the brainchild of my friend and fellow yogi Scott Simon.  The idea is to commit to doing something(s) that scare you.  Why? Growth doesn’t take place when we are stagnant.  Real happiness requires us to push ourselves and face our fears.  They say courage isn’t the absence of fear.  It’s being afraid and acting for a higher purpose anyway.

It’s easy to see how to apply this concept on our mats.  If we come to practice again and again and never try anything new or scary, our practice won’t evolve.  And “evolve” doesn’t have to mean some fancy-looking pose.  It might be taking child’s pose if you always float up into your inversion of choice.  For me and I suspect for some of you, stillness and quiet can be the scariest thing of all.

That’s why I picked these challenges for myself: Friday I will eat lunch out alone, sans phone, book or other distraction.  I will practice eating mindfully and just being quiet.  Saturday I plan on meditating for at least 30 minutes.  Ten minutes is kind of my sweet spot these days (when I even make it happen), so I’m going to push myself out of my comfort zone.  Sunday I will not engage in any multitasking.  If I’m chatting with my daughter, no folding laundry or doing dishes at the same time.  If I’m cooking, no tv on as background noise.  These seem pretty scary for me.  So we’ll see what comes out of this – I’ll let you know next week!

Will you join in?  What scares you?