Three months ago I returned to one of my passions, Bikrum Yoga after a 4 year hiatus. The journey back to my mat has been humbling and inspiring at the same time. Humbling to realise new levels of growth I needed and inspiring to know that I can still grow when I open myself up to my growth.

And one of the greatest lessons I have learned over the last three months is how our subtle thoughts, that happen in between the thoughts, the ones we hardly ever notice, are programming our actions in every moment. I always knew this, and I know many of my clients are probably saying, Yes… You always tell us this. Yet I got this concept on a much deeper level.

Even with so much awareness and even with years of self development, I was still unaware of certain thoughts that would creep their way into certain areas where I was holding myself back. I didn’t even realise I was even still holding myself back.

What I love most about Bikrum yoga is the total silence in the class (I never knew I could stay quiet for so long). The magical part of having a space of silence is having the opportunity to tune into your inner world and your thoughts. As I began to tune back into my inner world and listen to the voice in my head, I began to gain insight into what thoughts were holding me back and what thoughts were building me.

I began to hear my inner critic, with all her judgments and expectations. And I began to hear the voice of my fear and self doubt creep into these small gaps of space. As I began to notice these thoughts I also began to notice that those times when my inner voice was negative and doubtful were the times I fell out of postures, the times my body began to feel weak and the moments when my muscles would shake.

I began to realise that I was talking myself out of succeeding in my postures and what I realised most was how those inner negative thoughts were becoming my excuse for not succeeding. They were part of a very sneaky avoidance strategy that would stop me from putting in my best effort and stopping me from taking full responsibility for my success.

I started noticing thoughts that were looking for short cuts into the postures, ways to do them easier. I started to notice at times I got lazy and sloppy and I started to hear my inner voice say OMG, my body will never be able to do that.

The moment I was able to catch these thoughts and notice this pattern was the moment I could bring it all to a STOP. I began to see how those very subtle thoughts were ruling certain aspects of my life and I began to see patterns where I was not fully growing; moments where I was keeping myself small and stuck. I began to notice those thoughts through my day and found myself looking for short cuts or the easy way out of things. I found myself being sloppy or lazy and hearing the voice say, I do not think you can do that.

And this awareness was like a cold fish slap across my face from the universe. One of those cosmic slaps that is so obvious but you were still unaware of. It was such a great Aha moment for me!

And as I caught myself, out of a state of Mindfulness and in a mindset of negativity, I stopped my thoughts and turned my focus back to the voice of my yoga instructor and I heard her say…Trust your body, you can do this. I had one of those AHA moments of clarity, as I realised the elements of fear present in my thinking and how powerful it is when I trust myself fully.

I began to focus on trusting my body and trusting myself and I instantly felt an inner strength return and as I did, I found I went deeper into my postures with more control and more balance.

I began to look at areas of my life where I was not trusting myself and realised that those subtle thoughts were happening in other areas, without me noticing, even after all the work I have done on purifying my thoughts and thinking positively. By catching these very sneaky thoughts I was able to find the areas of my inner self that were ready for the next level of growth.

I was able to look at those areas of my life where I was not trusting myself, and when I redirected my focus back towards trust, I felt a new level of self empowerment sore through me. And this led me to begin to heal (transform) those parts of my life which were blocking me. This helped me to take even more personal responsibility for my life and break any fears which were still functioning way below the surface.

This is the power of Mindfulness and tuning into your inner world to see how your thoughts are programming your reality.

Find a space where you can get quiet and go within, especially in moments where you are still being challenged, and listen to your inner thoughts.

What are your thoughts saying? Where is your focus? Are your thoughts building you up or wearing you down? And how are those thoughts playing out in other areas of your life?
Notice how, by shifting those thoughts, you allow yourself to break those negative self limiting patterns and by shifting your focus to a stronger voice of trust and belief, you instantly empower yourself and grow.

The more clear and pure we are in our thinking the more powerful we become in our lives. So stop and notice what your thoughts are saying about you?

Whoo hoo, have fun xxx