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| Image from iyogalife.com |
Confidence is on my mind a lot these days because I’m realizing that it makes all the difference in how people perceive you. A confident yoga teacher emits a completely different energy into a class of students than a teacher who isn’t sure of herself. Confidence in a job interview can sometimes make up for a lacking in your skill set. And confidence at a dinner party can be the difference between being the life of the party and making others feel uncomfortable and awkward.
One of my favorite yoga workshops I’ve ever taken was with Iyengar teacher Patricia Walden a few years ago. It was all about poses that help build self confidence — something I could certainly stand to have more of lately!
She explained that when she started practicing yoga she was shy and introverted, but practicing certain poses gave her the confidence she needed to come out of her shell. (You can see some of the poses here, but the story is so short, it doesn’t really do the workshop justice! Plus, I KNOW there was a Handstand and Crow in there somewhere.) Obviously, it worked for her because now she’s one of the most respected teachers in the United States, and she speaks in front of thousands (maybe even millions) of people a year. She doesn’t even seem nervous.
I can relate to her story because I’ve noticed that the more I practice, the more confident I feel in my abilities, too. I think this is why I’m such an arm balancing fool! I’m the girl who used to have such lacking upper body strength it was a struggle to overhand serve a volleyball in high school. But now I can balance all of my body weight. And I don’t even fall on my face… usually!
This practice is both uplifting and humbling at the same time. One minute you’re rocking a pose, feeling like you could fly. The next second your balance shifts, and you crash into the floor. In a split second you come back to earth–and back to reality. It’s like the practice was designed to show you your strengths, but remind you that you’re human and make mistakes, too. It’s a balance–a dance–that builds a cool confidence, but with humility and the understanding that we all make mistakes. Without the mistakes, there would be no success. It’s a valuable lesson I’ve taken with me off the mat and into my life.
Have you noticed your confidence increase since you began your yoga practice? Which poses make you feel like you can conquer the world?
What a fitting blog for me this morning. I'm not particularly great at arm balances but I love to work on them. Well in my practice today I was able to hold pincha mayurasana for 12 breaths without a waver or a bobble – just sweet flexible steadiness. And when I came out of it I felt immense contentment.
I remember the first time I was able to go into wheel, and it made all those moments of practice leading up to it so worthh it. And recently, I was able to go into crow for the first time. I felt like something clicked in my brain and I finally understood how to make it happen. It was a magical practice.
Poses that make me feel strong and awesome: crow, half moon, tree. Of course, these are also the poses that I find most challenging. (Well, except crescent lunge…I just really don't like that one — or twisting variations of it — at all.) 🙂
My confidence has skyrocketed since I started yoga. I used to be extremely introverted and quite literally never spoke to 90% of the people I was around. I had to gain enough confidence even to apply to yoga teacher training and then in training I came out of my shell a lot. Now if I just remember that I am a teacher (and a damn good one) I can talk to just about anyone.
My power poses – warrior 2, pincha mayurasana in the middle of the room, and eka pada galavasana ♥
I have always been very extroverted, but I feel like yoga creates a more cool, calm, vibrant confidence than it was previously. It makes me feel steady, and that is a good thing 🙂
i only discovered your blog this morning and i've been reading ever since 🙂 this article caught my eye because only the other day i was thinking about the same things – confidence and yoga. and just like you, i usede to be so weak in arm balances, and today i can do so much more (and i'm only at the beginning of my teacher training)!