What I learned from my yoga teacher

I was at yoga the other day and my very wise teacher said, “if something doesn’t feel right for your body, back out of it… back out of the pose.” She encouraged us to listen to our bodies, not worry about what other people were doing, and to make good choices for ourselves.

Such powerful words – not just for yoga, but for life and business.

Years ago, when I was a health coach, I had a very hard time “backing out” when it came to my business.

At the time I thought this was good thing. I thought it meant that I was “willing to do what it takes” to have a successful business.

The truth is that my business (and I) suffered because I was doing things that didn’t feel right.

Can you relate? Are there things in your business that you keep doing, even though they don’t feel right?

Are you offering programs that don’t feel right?
Maybe you’re forcing yourself to do 1:1 coaching even though you dislike it. Or, maybe you just like the structure of your 1:1 coaching program, but you haven’t made a decision to adjust it.

Are there networking groups you don’t connect with?
When I was a health coach I spent a lot of time going to various networking groups – many of which weren’t a good fit for me. Not only did I dread going to some of the groups, but they didn’t have the right audience for me and weren’t helping me grow my business.

Are you working with a partner who isn’t the right fit?
Have you ever partnered with someone on a project (or even your whole business), only to find it wasn’t the right working relationship for you? I’ve been there, and it’s not fun.

Is your current “niche” one that no longer resonates for you?
Sometimes you don’t know if you’ve chosen the “right” niche until you try it on for size. And other times, we simple realize that we’ve changed and evolved and our niche needs to catch up with us :).

Do your speaking engagements leave you feeling depleted?
It could be that you’re speaking at venues (or to audiences) that aren’t a good fit. Or it might be that you’ve been giving the same talk for a while and it no longer excites you. I can definitely relate.

If you can relate to any of the examples above, can you give yourself permission to “back out”?

It can be scary to back out of something you’ve been doing, because it may leave you wondering what you’ll do instead…

“If I stop offering program X, what will I offer?”

“If I stop going to this networking group, how will I make connections and grow my business?”

“If I stop giving talks at X venue, where will I speak?”

Here’s the lesson I wish I had learned years ago…

By “backing out” of what doesn’t feel right, you’ll find that new, creative ideas and exciting opportunities will appear. You see… your energy, passion, and creativity are blocked when you’re occupied with projects and people that drain you.

Before you decide what you’re “backing out of,” keep in mind that here’s a difference between something that doesn’t feel right, and something that’s scary.

In business, there are loads of scary moments.

It can feel scary when you try something new and don’t know how it will turn out. (By-the-way, fear and excitement feel very similar in your body. So while you may think you’re scared, the emotion you’re experiencing may actually be excitement.)

My wise yoga teacher encourages us to try things we haven’t tried before, and I want to do the same. This is where yoga, life and business get really fun.

Now I’d love to hear from you.
What is something you’ve “backed out of” in the past because it didn’t feel right? What was that experience like? Or what is something you’d like to “back out of”?