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The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

12/10/2014

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PictureImage Credit: Molly Hanh - Buddha Doodles
I can't remember the first time I heard this quote...

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao Tzu


But it stuck with me then. And it still resonates for me today. 

I think it's because, all too often, we tell ourselves that we can't do something because that "something" seems so far off from what we feel we can do today. And yet, what we often fail to realize or remember is that everything we've ever undertaken, every new skill we've ever learned, every ability from crawling to walking to reading or writing or math has begun with the tiniest of baby steps.

Yet, somehow as adults, so many of us struggle with the concept that what we envision ourselves doing or wanting to do must be obtained instantly in order to be successful.

Let me give you an example that's personal to me. Yoga. ;) 

See, the thing is, that what I thought I needed to be in order to practice Yoga was - a Yogi. I looked at images of people in fancy yoga poses - all of them extremely thin and super flexible - and thought "I could never do that."

But I am reminded every time I teach that the "that" I thought I couldn't do, I do every day. 

I may not look like the people I saw in magazines and on TV back then. But I sure as heck do some fancy poses (for me). And I am pretty darn flexible and strong. I'm not afraid to try deep backbends, twists, or balances. I'm not afraid of poses like side plank where all of my body weight rests on one arm and the outside edge of one foot. I'm not afraid anymore because I began with a very small step.

For me, my small step was a video with a 15 minute simple and accessible practice on it that didn't ask me to do more than breathe, stand and move simply. 

Here's the cool part though. I built Body Positivity Yoga to give people a place to take those small steps. 

No matter what journey you're on, no matter what your goals are, we can support you in a space designed to make those first small steps less scary and more... exciting! and fun!

The reason I'm passionate about what we do, here, is because THIS is the place I wished existed when I was taking those first steps. A safe space, that would meet me where I was in my body and in my life. A place where I could meet other people who were also taking their first steps. And seeing many people take their second, third, twentieth and fiftieth steps too because this practice grows with you. 

It's powerful stuff, this Yoga, in the way that it can grow with you. 

So, I challenge you to challenge yourself - to make that first small single step. <3 You never know where you'll end up - but it's bound to be an awesome journey.

See you on the mat!

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    Image Credit: Michele Mateus Photography

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Images of Lisa Papez, The Fat Yogini provided by Michele Mateus Photography (from the Body Love Now photo project - 2016)
Body Positivity Yoga™ and The Fat Yogini™ were created in 2011 by Lisa Papez. 
Teaching Yoga for All Bodies™ was created in 2014 by Lisa Papez
Teaching Outside The Mat™ was created in 2016 by Lisa Papez
The Self-Worth Path
™ was created in 2016 by Lisa Papez
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