whether you think you can or can't -

"whether you think you can or you can't, you're right."
"rest if you need to, but do not give up"
"repeat after me: I can try that"

Yesterday, about five minutes into my asana class with my favorite teacher, I began to immediately regret my decision to attend yoga. The humidity was hanging in the air and the steamer was turned on high. My blood pressure was LITERALLY rising. The girl in front of me was sticking her handstands (I wasn't) and the guy behind me was an incredibly strong athlete with biceps the circumference of my head. What was I doing there? I didn't belong there. It'd been weeks since I had practiced with dedication, the guilt creeping in owed to no one at all. 

Exhaling into forward fold, I noticed something - hey, that feels good. That stretch in my low back and left hip, in that dusty corner of a joint that I've been neglecting to love - it felt good. And then I noticed my breath, and all the spots of my lungs that hadn't received fresh oxygen yet. I took a deeper breath and started to notice how my skin was sweating to cool itself down. How my breathing had unconsciously but steadily slowed to maximize the gas exchange in my alveoli.  How my body was strong. It was folding and bending and stretching but more than that, it was running laps around the expectations and limitations my mind had set. I started to tune in, and to listen to my teacher. 

"whether you think you can or you can't, you're right."
"rest if you need to, but do not give up"
"repeat after me: I can try that"

The same drive that brought me to medicine is the same one that brings me to yoga - connection. connection to my community. to my body. to my soul. to YOUR SOUL. to the girl in front of me with incredible deltoids and the guy behind me with a CU water bottle. Our brains and our minds set limitations to how big or how great we can be, and they are often untrue and fueled with self doubt.  

The next time I find myself feeling overwhelmed, out of place or regretting my decision to choose medicine, I will remind myself of my teacher's words and the connection I feel every single time I return to my mat. I will invite gratitude and I will make space for the dusty corner of a joint that I've been neglecting to love and instead of running away from sensation, repeat to myself "I can try that."

After all, whether you think you can or you can't - you're right.