So, here I am writing this in my garden, hair freshly washed, just had breakfast, a few butterflies in my belly. I'm listening to the birds and I feel kind of fired up.
If you have ever run your own business you will know that as soon as you do, everyone wants to give you advice. "Do this, don't do that, make sure you do this...."
Everyone is (supposedly) an expert and most of that advice is very conflicting.
Its exasperating and difficult in the beginning to know what action to take and how to move forward. Who do i listen to? What is best for me?
This was me about two months ago.
Even though I have been teaching for two years now and running my business as a yoga teacher properly for over a year, I got so completely stuck that I wasn't sure how I wanted to share my message with the world, how to share my passion for yoga and its life-changing practices, its stunning philosophy.
I have been told: Don't write a blog unless it has this, this and this.
Very specific criteria and totally uninspiring to me.
If you know me at all you know that I am all about authenticity, keeping it 100% real and I do not like doing things just for the sake of it. There has to be good reason, there has to be feeling, it has to come from a genuine place. I am a Leo after all, and everything for me is about the heart.
I also love writing. I have written poetry since I was 10 and one day there will be a book of some kind. I find it so beautifully and powerfully expressive and it seems to come naturally to me. So when I first had my website done, I was excited to write a blog and share my thoughts and experiences of yoga with you all.
When I was told that it wasn't worth doing, unless I followed this boring little formula, I felt completely flat, and worst of all I went against my gut feeling of ignoring that advice for about 6 months. Which is weird for me as I have never really followed the rules. I have gone my own way in each and every one of the (almost) 40 years on this planet. I don't follow. I do my own thing.
Well, dear reader, now I'm here to tell you that I'm breaking the rules. I am going to write this blog how ever the hell I want to, and if it helps just one person, or inspires you or provides insight and strength, then that is 100% worth it.
I don't show up as a yoga teacher to make money. In fact as most people know it is a difficult industry to make money in. I do it because I love it. Right down into the very core of my being.
I do it because it has positively changed my life in so many ways and on so many levels and I can see that change happening in others too. I want to nurture, facilitate and inspire this positive change in others. I want to be authentically me in every possible way.
So, here I am showing up authentically in my blog. Knowing that it feels right not to be doing this for any other purpose than to express myself and inspire and encourage others.
It feels a little scary, but in a good way.
If you read this and it inspires you to break the rules, tell me! When we share our experiences, it only serves to make us grow stronger together.
Be bold, be brave, and be authentically you.
Until next week:
With so much love,
Helen xxx