Showing Up.

Hillary Clinton recently made a comment that I loved. "Showing up isn't all of life, but it counts for a lot." So smart, so true, from a woman I really admire.

I think about it in relation to yoga practice. Just to get yourself off the couch, and into the studio, on the mat...it's that initial effort that matters so much.

I remember quite well my first trip to a yoga class in Manhattan.

I definitely didn't want to go. I was in a routine of doing my yoga practice at home, with my Bryan Kest Power Yoga video (this was 2000, so VHS was still in wide use.) I loved the independence of being on my mat, stopping when I got tired, skipping out on a savasana here and there if I had other stuff to do, and working out hard when I wanted to. But my hand was forced, and because I was physically dragged into Sal Anthony's Movement Salon, I met a woman who would literally change my life--or at least inspire me to change my life!

Thank God that when I walked into the studio, the teacher looked cool-not hippie-ish, which would have turned me right off...and she wasn't speaking in overly reverent, hushed tones, either. She was wearing black tights, a black tank, and a really pretty, long black cardigan. Her red hair was short, spiky, and sexy, and she wore lots of black eyeliner as well as a cool pair of black glasses. She smiled in a way that lit up the room, walked right over to me, stuck out her hand, and said, "Hi, I'm Sadie," in a way that made me immediately want to listen to her. I trusted her handshake, and knew that I would be coming back to her class. She made me feel that my effort to show up would be rewarded.

The effort was rewarded, to say the least. I immediately learned that I had been doing downward dog completely wrong, and that I was also not as strong in my core as I should have been, I was letting my arms and legs do all the work in the poses. I began transforming my yoga practice in the first 5 seconds of that class, and under Sadie's patient guidance, over the course over the better part of a decade, I have developed physical strength and flexibility, as well as the ability to look within, rely on myself, and make decisions that serve me well.

I stopped working so hard to please everyone, and I learned how to say no to things that weren't helping me shine....I also learned about giving from the heart. I learned that a true gift to others involves working on the self...when you're happy, and feeling energized, strong, and calm, you can give so much more to others. I learned how to draw inside, and mean it when I offer out.

I became a yoga teacher with the goal of helping other people find their brightest light, and shine it out. I became a Reiki practitioner, again because Sadie introduced me to someone who would be another major teacher in my life.

None of this would have happened if I had stayed at home and practiced with my excellent Bryan Kest tape. Now Bryan Kest is a hero of mine. He has a yoga studio in Santa Monica that is run entirely on a donation basis. It's the most incredibly sharing thing I can think of. I think he's an amazing teacher, and an incredible man.

But practicing at home with the tv on doesn't allow for the kind of interaction you get in a classroom setting. Using a dvd is fine in a pinch, and I think a lot can be gained from yoga dvds, and youtube. But that life-changing, earth-shattering connection I made with someone who has become a guru for me, that came because someone shook me out of my comfort zone, challenged me to go to a class, and because I made the decision to show up.

When it came out as a dvd, I bought Bryan's Power Yoga video again. I still use it a lot. But when I start to feel lazy, and think it might be fun to take some time off, and skip class, I remember Derek Milman taking me to Sadie Nardini's class at The Movement Salon.

I think about how I probably would never have been inspired to teach yoga, or learn Reiki, or change my life. I think about how much self-confidence I gained through my yoga practice with Sadie. I think about how much stronger I am now, both physically and emotionally, and I think about how, because I got up, got off the couch, and went to class one hot summer afternoon, I found a new calling, new confidence, and a new career that truly allows me to share my love for yoga, and hopefully help people. Not to mention a great teacher and a wonderful friend in Sadie Nardini.

Showing up. It's not everything. But it sure can take you a long way.

Get on the mat. Come to the Fierce Club. Go for a walk. Say yes to something you truly want to do. Do something a little scary. Take a chance. Live a little! Hell, why not live a lot?