I had a session with my own yoga therapist the other night, and we did a practice exploring the line between facing my fears and staying in my comfort zone.
I opened up to Rachel (my yoga therapist) and shared how sometimes I feel that I push myself a little too hard and kick myself out of my areas of comfort/safety.
The first image that came to mind when I shared this was from this past Sunday (which are the photos below). To me this was a clear example of physically kicking myself out of my comfort zone.
As I dug deeper, smaller and more subtle examples started to come up. Memories of setting boundaries with loved ones, apologizing when I have hurt people, and even investing in my yoga therapy training began to bubble up too.
As someone who enjoys a defined line between right and wrong, do and don't do, this mix of memories and feelings associated began to confuse me. There were times I pushed myself too far, and times that I stayed a little too cozy in my comfort zone.
So how can I differentiate one from the other? The answer that I came up was to feel in to each moment and try to notice everything that is actually there.
Is there excitement? Is there resistance (and if so, to what)?
This is not meaning to second guess, but instead tune into every single feeling in order to get more clarity on the what and why.
I'll leave you with this practice: think of something that you do (or don't) want to do and feel a bit of a block with. When you visualize doing (or not doing) it what feelings come up? Try and name them all- and like a detective investigate without judgement.