Don't Be Confined By How You're Defined

Hooray for another amazing weekend at yoga teacher training at Bhakti Barn! It was inversions and arm balances weekend at yoga school and there's nothing quite like a perspective shift. They're challenging, scary, and freeing all at once.

We were blessed and honored to have Dana Trixie Flynn from Laughing Lotus NYC as our fearless leader on Saturday. I can't even begin to convey all the knowledge and wisdom that she brought our way. Not only did she make us more conscious of what we are or are not doing, but she made us believe our bodies can fly. The energy that she brought into the room was flowing through everyone so much that I felt it surging through my body for the rest of the night. It was an absolutely incredible experience.

Shameless promotion=if you're into yoga and are in the NYC area, definitely hit up Laughing Lotus for a class with Dana. Let me know how it is if you go because I can almost guarantee you will feel such a shift.

I can think of about 10 things that Dana said that really stuck out to me but I'd have to write an insanely long post for all of that. One thing that made me laugh but also got me thinking was when she asked us how many of us are cooks. A few of us sheepishly raised a hand and then a voice came from inside the studio asking, "Professionally?" Dana replied, "If you cook you're a cook, right? People used to ask me if I was a dancer and I used to tell them no. But then I thought, I dance so yeah, I'm a dancer."

We're so quick to only define ourselves within the context of things we feel we're great at or things we do professionally or things we may be close to "perfecting". I love baking and yet when people call me a baker I generally deny that I am because I'm not a professional baker or I'm not good enough yet. Does my unemployment mean that I'm not a school psychologist right now? When I'm not in an actual school environment am I not still a student? It's so easy to get caught up in labels and defining ourselves based on what we think we're allowed to say that we are.

I've decided that I am a:

• school psychologist
•  yoga student
• student of the universe
• baker
• dancer
• poet
• writer
• foodie
• wine connoisseur
• gardener 

Hell, maybe I'm even a few more things that I haven't even thought of. Maybe my friends and family can see me as more things than I can see myself. I don't get paid to taste cuisine from around the world or have a book of published poems. But dammit, I like trying new foods and discussing restaurants and cuisine with fellow unpaid foodies. I've been writing poetry since I was in elementary school so really, I've been a poet longer than I've been a school psychologist.

I share all of this because I don't want you to be confined by how you're defined. I want you to be open to the idea that in addition to being a teacher, you're also a baseball player. Perhaps in addition to being a stay-at-home mom/dad you're also an artist or a chef. Just because something is a hobby or an occasional interest doesn't mean that it can't be part of who you are as a person. Embrace all of who you are!! You are unique and wonderful and always growing. 

Special thanks and shout out to Dana Flynn, Betsy Davis, and all of the beautiful goddesses I get to call my Bhakti Barn yoga family! Thank you for inspiring me.