Dear Homegrown Yogis,
Freida noticed her first “wiggle tooth” last Sunday morning. She’s the only kid in Kindergarten who hasn’t yet lost a tooth, so I cannot emphasize enough what a major deal this was for her. At least 5 times a day every day last week, she would tell me “it’s definitely ready to come out now.” Yet each time we would try to wiggle it out and at times even pull it out, it would keep hanging on. Until Friday November 29th at 8:35am when Freida bent over to pick up her Barbie and that tooth simply fell out of her mouth and onto the floor. No wiggling or pulling needed – it was just ready to come out.
All last week I kept telling Freida that she needed to be patient. To me it was clear that there was no way that tooth was ready to come out, and all the wiggling and pulling wasn’t just not loosening the tooth, but it was also making Freida so incredibly frustrated. As easy as it was for me to see this with Freida and her tooth, it has not been so easy for me to see my own impatience.
Whether it’s in my business, my teaching, my yoga practice or my relationships, I want things the way I want them and I want them that way now. I want to be able to do that yoga pose I saw on Instagram, and I want the Perry studio to have all the retail and programming that we have in Warner Robins. Plus, I want all that to happen by… today =) I joke, but I don’t think I’m particularly unique in this way. I notice it in our teacher trainees – they want to be able to teach confidently during the very first weekend of teacher training. I notice it in new yoga students – they feel frustrated when they can’t do crow after practicing it for a few months.
I think it’s a part of our human nature that is easily recognizable in others but oftentimes not recognized in ourselves. Instead, I say I’m frustrated and feeling stuck. In reality, I’m trying to force something that takes time. And just like there was a ton of growth happening unseen in Freida’s little mouth, there is a ton of growth happening unseen in my own business, teaching, practice and relationships that when acknowledged and appreciated is what life really consists of. This month when it feels like there is so much to be done and completed, I encourage you to take a step back, to immerse yourself in things exactly as they are, and to trust that with equal parts effort and patience things will happen at the exact time they are meant to happen.
With love,
Rachel