Change Is Possible!

I really really believe in the capacity for change. It seems like there are a lot of cultural messages like "people don't change" or "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" and just a general malaise about the capacit for people to evolve and change.

But then again, I feel like I've changed so much (thank goodness!) - and I've also been given the beautiful opportunity of watching others change and evolve. This is a particularly inspiring and rewarding part of teaching yoga - observing the growth of people in my classes.

Last week I was at class with my teacher, and we were working on a pose that has always been very hard (read: impossible) and scary for me. I see other people do it, and I can't even imagine it in my body - it really seems unimaginable. But, of course, I try anyway. And then there it was - this week it was notably lighter, more comfortable, available. Still not quite there, but suddenly visible on the horizon.

I popped up and exclaimed "Wow! Change IS possible!"

I LOVE this about yoga. It is a practice that helps you observe the possibilty for change. It gives you the chance to see tangible results of change. And, of course, it literally helps you change. The poses are just an outward result of what's changing internally. And then, when I have an experience like this - it reminds me that all people in the world are capable of change. They won't necessarily change, but they certainly could. It's such a feeling of relief, possibility, humanity.

Incidentally, that's a picture of a shedded snake skin. In case you were wondering.