the mind...

I did Bikram Yoga today. For the second time. The first time I got ridiculously sick and ended up in bed for 5 days. It was awful. If you don't know, Bikram Yoga is Yoga practised in a room that is heated to approx. 42 degrees for 90mins. It's hard work.

That first time I did Bikram and then got sick, I realised just how much crap we put into our bodies. The heat releases all the toxins. The benefits of Bikram Yoga are immense - if you can only get through the 90mins, and tonight, I got thinking....

It's just 90mins. 90mins can't be that hard. But it is. And your mind starts to tell you that you can't do it, and it's time to get out. For me, not being a lover of exercise or pain in any form putting myself through 90mins of hell is hard work. But, I am determined to do it again. Tomorrow even.

Our bodies can do so much. You can see that when you watch a dancer dance. What they can achieve with their body is amazing. We could achieve that if we put our MINDS to it. We could all do the splits in the air. It's not our bodies holding us back but our mind.

                                                       Photo by Iris Anam Cara

So many times in life it is our mind that holds us back. That voice in our heads that says "you can't do that" or "that's too hard" or "who are you kidding?".  But when we fight that voice. When we push through the physical pain and do what we set out to do without trepidation, that voice gets quieter. And eventually it will be replaced with a voice that says "go on, you can do that" or "wow, that felt good" and then you will be unstoppable.

The voice in my head was so loud during Yoga today. It was saying things like "this place is way too hot" and "just lay down" and "you can't do that" but I pushed through and each time I did push through I felt better for it. Tomorrow I will push through and go to Yoga, even though that voice will be telling me not to.