Breaking Beliefs: My Path from Corporate Crisis to Yoga, Stability and Self-Discovery
What’s it going to take? That’s the question that came up this week. What’s it going to take, to do what needs to be done?
The Power of Beliefs: How Our Beliefs Shape Our Lives
Our beliefs are often so twisted, that we can often be afraid of the very thing we need. For example:
We’re afraid to slow down, because we believe we’ll look lazy.
We’re afraid to say no because we’re afraid we won’t be liked.
We’re afraid to share our skills because we don’t believe we’re good enough and we’ll get caught out ‘living a lie’.
It still throws me just how much we can be missing out on opportunities for health, wealth, relationships, careers, life because our minds are saying no!
What’s it going to take to change our minds and live in freedom to do what needs to be done and lean into the full potential of what life has to offer?
Keep reading or watch/listen to the podcast below…
Unlocking Inner Stability: The First Step Towards Change
Yoga teaches that to change our mind we need to change our energy. When we master our energy, we can master our state. The first step on that path is finding stability.
Why stability? Because we need a stable foundation in which we can work to shift our energy into a more aligned state. A state where our blind spots, our conditioned behaviours and beliefs can be witnessed for what they are – obstacles. And more specifically bring them to the surface without triggering the automatic responses that arise from an agitated nervous system, the stress response.
This week I got an opportunity to revisit this inner Yogic work real time.
Breaking Beliefs: My Path from Corporate Crisis to Yoga Stability and Self-Discovery
What you might not know about me is ‘in a former life’ I was a journalist that crossed the dark side into corporate communications where I ‘believe’ souls go to die – because mine almost did.
When I quit that life 10 years ago, I was a mess. Burned out, stressed, depressed with a degree of anxiety that put the emergency brakes on my entire life as I knew it.
Unfortunately, that’s ‘what it took’ back then to make some very necessary shifts and as a result my life could not be more different today.
Until, two days ago, when it wasn’t!
Embracing Change: My Encounter with the NatWest Accelerator Programme
Here’s the story. I’ve been lucky enough to be in the company of a handpicked selection of entrepreneurs accepted onto this year’s NatWest Accelerator Programme. A national scheme that supports and empowers UK entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to the next level.
It’s an amazing programme with wrap around support that includes one-to-one coaching, thought leadership and events, access to a network of like-minded peers, focused support and access to an amazing panel of mentors and experts.
Some part of me knows this is ‘what it’s going to take’. This is what my business needs to grow. I have done so much already to move it forward on limited resources. So, it’s time to go after some next level support.
The last two days I’ve been immersed at what’s called Ignition – meeting all the amazing entrepreneurs, the mentors, the coaches and teams who I’ll be sharing this six-month experience with.
There was me, in my floaty yoga pants, back in the corporate world.
There was me introducing myself in a carpet tiled, air con building.
There was me well and truly outside of my comfort zone!
Oh – and did I mention, I’m just a stone’s throw away from the workplace that 10 years ago took my soul down!
Inner Battles: When Stability Checks Out
Oh boy! It wasn’t long until I literally witnessed my inner stability checking out.
My jacked up nervous system reached for that outdated programme to put the brakes on. I felt myself defaulting to a familiar coping strategy. Diminishing myself.
I made it through day one, but my nervous system had been thrown into a tailspin.
Finding Strength in Practices: Breathwork and Restorative Yoga
Unlike 10 years ago, I have my practice. Which meant I got home and self-soothed all my archetypal friends – the inner critic, inner imposter and diminisher with a combination of breath work and restorative postures.
From a more grounded state I was able to better reflect on the experience and find some hard but valuable truths and even lessons.
One, interestingly, was that I was thankful. Yes, I have this in-built human technology to recognise imminent threat and I can reassuringly report it is still very much in working order. #grateful
Recognising Belief Patterns: Unravelling Twisted Beliefs for Growth
However, the obvious problem was, there was no real crisis. I was just caught up in old fears and beliefs. Beliefs that have become so deeply twisted, I will clearly need to give them some loving, healing space to unravel and discharge.
This is what it’s going to take.
If I truly want to grow and be all that I can be, If I truly want this business to become all it can be and serve in ways I can’t even imagine just now – this is what needs to be done.
So it’s Day 2 Ignition – and big girl yoga pants were back on! I got myself back in that corporate arena.
Was I at my best? No. But at least I didn’t leg it. And honestly, I’m going to need to pull out all my yogi tools for this one.
For sure it is going to be a journey. (Yes…another.) Deep breath. Let the adventure unfold and let the outdated beliefs be broken!
#BreakingBeliefs
