Perspective

I wasn’t the only one having a rough morning yesterday.

Sullie seemed to be in quite a funk too. I came home at lunch and gave her lots of love. We cheered each other up. Puppy cuddles (especially of the golden retriever variety) are the best.

I was craving eggs so I made a scramble for lunch. Sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, red pepper and spinach with leftover roasted potatoes, avocado, goat cheese and salsa. I really liked the addition of the potato to the scramble. Apple slices on the side.

I want to share with you how the rest of my day unfolded because I think it’s a pretty powerful example of what happens when you get out of your own head and allow yourself to engage with others and open yourself to experiences. I came back to they gym after lunch, shut my office door, turned on Pandora and focused on work for the rest of the afternoon. It was a welcome distraction. 5:30 rolled around before I knew it. I had planned to take the CrossFit class but the last thing I wanted to do was get up and do it. I was really dreading the workout for some reason (to be honest it was because it included jumping rope and I hate it!). I finally decided that a workout might help me feel better so I joined the class. I ended up feeling great and crushing the jump rope. In the first round I did 150 singles unbroken…a record for me! It was great to be a part of the group and feed off of the energy of the class.

But making it through CrossFit isn’t the story here. It’s what happened after.

I started teaching yoga classes at Metro when I came on board as general manager. It’s been a slow start but class numbers have been growing. Last night I had seven people waiting to take yoga when I finished CrossFit – a record! I scrambled to find mats and blocks for everyone and eagerly got class started. It ended up being one of the most inspirational classes that I have ever taught. Teaching yoga at the gym is a much different experience than teaching at the studio. Our yoga space is relatively small, it’s not hot and I always have a diverse range of skill level…from first class ever to some yoga experience to regular practitioner. It creates a challenge for me but I love having to creatively sequence for all levels. I think it really helps me grow as a teacher.

I had two amazing young women in my class last night who have overcome physical obstacles with inspirational strength (they are both okay with me mentioning them on the blog). The first had brain surgery in January to remove a cyst. She was recently cleared for exercise and is working so hard to get back to her normal physical activity. She’s starting to do some CrossFit workouts and this was her first yoga class post-surgery. She emailed me after class to tell me that she enjoyed class. It made my evening.

The second is an above the knee amputee, Cadie Jessup, who came to Metro right around when I started in February and wanted to try CrossFit. She lost her leg several years ago due to a complication with a blood clot and instead of letting it limit her, has gone on to compete in triathlons, climbed a 14,000 ft mountain to raise funds for breast cancer and is now active in CrossFit. Cadie’s adheres to the mindset that, “limb loss does not equal life loss” and now acts as a life coach and does speaking engagements. Check out her website.

Cadie and I did the CrossFit class together and then she told me she was going to stay for yoga. She warned me that she pretty much hated yoga and not to be offended if she left early. Imagine my surprise when she not only didn’t leave early but approached me after class and told me that she loved it and will be back.

I left work in a completely different mindset than the one I arrived in. Everyone has bad days. We are all going through our own personal struggles but in the end it’s all about perspective. About making choices. About taking control. How do you view the circumstances that you’re in? Are they just happening to you or are you doing something about it to shift your life in the direction you want it to go?

I’ll leave you with this video that’s been circulating around the yoga community and several readers have emailed me the link as well.

Case in point.