This beautiful naked tree was once this beautiful vibrant tree

There is often so much sexiness attached to being naked.  And yet being naked can bring up SO MUCH intense emotion that feels anything BUT sexy.  These days I have been vacillating between the two.  Feeling super sexy at times and extremely raw at others.  The excitement about what is happening has me feeling rock solid at times, standing straight like a good yogi.  Other times I feel like I want to crawl into a hole and hide for the winter.  The BS that has been occurring for me continues to loom in the dark shadows like a predator.  You know that they are just waiting for the appropriate time to pounce on their prey yet again.  At the same time there is a larger part of me that has been resigned to the fact that this will happen and SO WHAT?  Let them prey, let them pounce.  No one can knock me down at this point.  Right this very moment I have been struck by a childhood memory.  I am reminded of THE GREATEST…

He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

In my house growing up Ali was bigger than life.  I used to watch boxing matches with my Dad growing up and there were posters of Ali all over.  As I breathe in and out now and think back in time….he had something very special.  Aside from his violent career choice, he was a deeply spiritual man who stood in confidence and embodied self esteem.  So many famous Ali quotes but a couple I found that make me smile are

“A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he’ll never crow. I have seen the light and I’m crowing.”

and

“Superman don’t need no seat belt.”

Ah yes…Superman didn’t need a seatbelt.  Very wise my friend. In order to fly one must first ALLOW themselves to fly. Ali bared it all for everyone to see.  He didn’t care if others were upset by his political or spiritual views.  He was just who he was.  No apologies.  I believe this has been my biggest hurdle in building SOBA YOGA, my yoga project for recovery.   Acknowledging and embracing my greatness has been a huge shift.  It keeps coming up over and over again.  I am noticing that if I am to build SOBA YOGA to greatness then I first have to believe in my own.  Ali wasn’t the kind of fighter that was all wild and crazy.  No way.  He had a inner calm to him.  He didn’t allow himself to get rocked one way and then the other.  He stood his ground, baring it all,  both inside and outside of the ring.  He didn’t let anyone else’s BS take him off kilter.  Instead he staid the course.  This, this is my lesson. Building an inner sense of clam confidence is part of my life lesson I believe.

Being bare and naked means that you are willing to show the world who you really are.  That is not always easy and it doesn’t always feel nice.  But just like being without clothes, it feels freeing.  I know that when I can embrace who I am, showing it without apology, I feel amazing.  The stronger I get it seems the more people seem to want to criticize me and tell me how they think I should do things.  In the past I would get triggered by this but little by little I really don’t care much about it.  Their feedback is about themselves not me.  It has only been through this process of liberating myself from the “should” in life that I am capable of feeling more empowered.  And that my friend is VERY VERY sexy!  Confidence that comes from the core rather than a sense of false pride is unique and rare in this world.  We are bombarded with images on social media of people boasting about themselves to all who will listen but it is the quiet confidence that speaks the loudest.  It’s that inner knowing that NOTHING can tear you down. You are free to be like Superman because your seatbelt is off.

In continuing to move forward with SOBA YOGA’s mission and building my health coaching business I continue to cultivate that quiet inner knowing that I am the Greatest; that we ALL are the greatest.  We all have some seriously freaking amazing qualities about ourselves that are just dying to be revealed.  For today, acknowledge those parts of yourself that you have been hiding.  Why are you hiding out like that and playing small?  That serves no one.  The predators they will smell that shit like nobody’s business.  They will pounce on you whether you continue to play small or not.  They are like the cat with the mouse.  It’s just a game to them.  So you can play meek and quiet; it won’t really matter.  So instead, why not play the peacock and let your tail feathers shine?  Remember the words of The Greatness….

See the Light and Crow!

Bare it All and Embrace your Light!

Cheers!

Looking for some support along the way towards wellness?  Come meet with me in my office in Watertown, Ma for a consultation.  Contact me