Fear as Transformation

October is here, and you know what that means: cute little ghosts and goblins will be walking the streets of your neighborhood very soon! Although these little monsters are typically not too frightening, we figured this month would be an appropriate time to talk about a bigger monster who actually is pretty scary, FEAR. And just like our little neighborhood friends, fear takes the guise of many different masks, holding us back from our full potential.

Fear can come in the form of procrastination or social insecurity and lack of confidence (just to name a few!). For example, pubic speaking, starting something new or even going to a yoga class. The insecurity and procrastination, i.e. fear, can say, “I’ll ask Linda to give the presentation and I’ll do it next time.” Or, “I know yoga would be good for me but I’m not flexible and I might look silly.” Can you think of your own examples where fear is showing up in some sneaky way, saying it’s only trying to “protect” you? What mask is fear taking in your life, and how is it keeping you from living your life in a fulfilling way?

Not if, but when fear shows up under one of its many guises in your life, see if you can get quiet, sit with it, look at it, write about it, ask it what it needs in order to relax. Fear is often showing up when we are moving into our next stage of evolution and personal transformation. Most times, the fear is based on an incident or circumstance that occurred many, many years ago, and we never fully processed it. We avoided truly experiencing the emotion because the situation or circumstance didn’t allow us to, or the level of pain was simply too intense for us to handle it. In yoga, we call this a samskara, a mental impression being held in our mental body based on past experiences. When we recognize this fear resurfacing under present circumstances, this is our opportunity to work with it, and ourselves!

It is not easy, and this is why yoga is such a powerful and transformational practice. If you are still reading these words now, your invitation to your next level of personal growth has officially been sent!