What a difference a day (or 40) can make

One of the requirements for Kundalini yoga teacher training is to complete a 40-day practice of a meditation or yoga set. The idea behind this is to break any patterns that no longer serve you and replace them with new and empowering ones.

Although I completed that requirement for my course some time ago, when the idea came up for me to apply this concept to making video posts, I knew I had to take on the challenge. It felt scary and exciting, like a huge opportunity for growth. Here’s what I discovered:

  • You can do things that seem impossible. When I started, I honestly had no idea how I’d get through this… but I did. Woo hoo!
  • Self-doubt isn’t necessarily a reason to stop. It might even be a sign that you’re onto something. The days that made me wonder, Is this useful? Will people get this, or will they think I’m crazy? were also the days that I got the most positive feedback, which is a very interesting thing to notice. (I’ll have to remember this for future reference.)
  • Dreams come true (like, real ones!). As a result of all of this, I managed to connect with someone who helped me get tickets to the Wild premiere at TIFF, which would’ve never happened otherwise. I’m taking it as a sign from the universe that I’m on the right path.
  • Some days are gonna be better than others. Sometimes, I struggled to figure out what I was going to talk about. Other days, it was like something was dying to come out of me. Either way, I was able to create something. It’s all part of the process. The key thing is to just show up.
  • You can learn quickly. When I started, I knew some stuff about making videos, but not a lot. After just a couple of days, I found my flow and figured out how to do more than I thought I would. Google is a dear friend.
  • Perfectionism is optional. The first few days were the hardest, as I was particularly aware of things that could’ve been better, but I chose to value getting things done over obsessing about every little thing. There’s no other way I could’ve gotten through this. I have no regrets.
  • I had fears that I was unaware of, with the fear of being misunderstood being the big one. (Think it’s from trying to cover only one aspect of each topic in order to keep everything short ‘n sweet, when there are so many dimensions to content of this nature.)
  • My greatest fear was totally unfounded. My fear of not having enough energy to get through this? There was no need for that. In fact, I’d say the opposite was true — that I actually gained energy from doing this.
  • A lot can happen in 40 days. When I first met someone who posted videos regularly online, my automatic reaction was Omg, I could never do that!… But now, strangely enough, it feels normal for me too. In a relatively short amount of time, you can change your habits, your beliefs, your life.

To give you an idea of what you can expect next: A couple of posts per week/month. A mix of content types — pure writing, more videos, possibly some other stuff — all with the intention of being useful.

Although I’m not exactly sure where I’m going, I know that I’m headed in the right direction. This feels like it’s only the beginning!

And in case you missed any of these or want to see them again, here’s a re-cap of the 40 days:

  1. Are you living in fear… without even knowing it?
  2. How to turn your body into a source of confidence
  3. 3 reasons to never diet again
  4. How to cultivate positivity
  5. The easiest way to get out of your head
  6. Why we should all stop trying to be happy
  7. What to do when the advice ‘follow your passion’ stresses you out
  8. Are you flushing valuable info down the toilet?
  9. The truth about your perfection
  10. Is trying to look skinny making you fat?
  11. 3 great reasons to let go of your expectations
  12. Thoughts on chocolate and inner peace
  13. Think you know what’ll make you happy?
  14. The critical nature of creativity
  15. Are you expecting the worst?
  16. Feel like you have no choice?
  17. What really happens when you have an a-ha moment
  18. Where true change begins
  19. Change your mind, change your life
  20. How anything becomes possible
  21. Why it’s important to believe anything’s possible
  22. How to expand your world
  23. The difference between information & awareness
  24. 7 ways to cultivate awareness
  25. What happens when you start to meditate
  26. The spiral of negative thinking
  27. The potential of positive thinking
  28. An unexpected benefit of meditation
  29. 3 simple meditation techniques
  30. Mind too busy to meditate?
  31. How to cultivate greater self-love… in your closet
  32. The difference between diets & detoxes
  33. How to see beyond your excuses
  34. Are you blocking your intuition?
  35. Are you confusing fear with intuition?
  36. How to tell if it’s fear or intuition
  37. One more piece to the happiness puzzle
  38. What is present moment awareness?
  39. A simple way to be more present
  40. The perfect place to start
Love this? Help other people find it: