Dare to be….

Darlings,

On July 5th, 1946, the world's first bikini made its debut at a poolside fashion show in Paris. Can you imagine back then 'twas quite a risque thing? It took a while for the states to catch on to the trend. In fact, it was around the early 60's when the US, liberated by youth and rebellion tuned in to the daring behaviors across the sea. Nowadays they are a staple on the beach.

It made me start to think of those things we find out of our comfort zone. How scary is it to try something new? But how important!!

Ten years ago I couldn't imagine teaching. It wasn't on my consciousness. Then my teacher/role model for fitness and yoga told me that my practice and personality would be great addition to the yoga teaching world.

I remember it like yesterday, feeling the rush of blood come to my face. It was fear. With that scary feeling, I told her I would do it. I love doing things that freak me out because it gives me a new perspective on life and myself. When I actually started teaching, I was consistently nervous to get in front of a group of people and tell them what to do. Questions and doubt was replaced with confidence and experience. Now, teaching is like water, sleep and laughter. I can't imagine my life without it.

If I never tried something that scared me, I would have never found my truth and the love of my life.
I also jumped out of an airplane and lived over seas in a foreign land.
Although I got a great rush out of jumping out of the plane, I probably would never do it again.
The thrill of submerging myself in a new culture again, yea I'm up for another challenge.
And there is a bucket list of things I have yet to do...or wear! It keeps you young!

Living in Santa Monica for four years, I haven't been in the ocean once. When I was little, you couldn't drag me out of the sea.
Last weekend I stood where the sea met the sand and I shook like a leaf. Mostly becaues it was freekin' cold, but also, because I hadn't been in the ebb and flow of the water in so long.
Following a friend who had bigger balls than I, I breathed in deeply and dove.
I got beat to a pulp but laughed and swam and...had enough.

There is an exhilerating feeling of accomplishment and rush of joy that one feels when you accomplishing or trying something new. It feels like love. And sometimes, that thing becomes your new comfort zone. A staple in your life.

This weeks intention is to explore while you practice, the idea of trying something new. It could simply mean extending your body past what your mind thinks it can do, trusting yourself and reaching way back in your back bend. Do something that scares you. Take a risk. Dare to reach outside of your comfort zone. Try. Maybe just once. Maybe you will find you new favorite hobby or career. Maybe you'll meet your best friend or love of your life. You never know if you don't try.


“Devote today to something so daring even you can’t believe you’re doing it.” Oprah Winfrey

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” Cecil Beaton

“Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.” William Arthur Ward

“Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see” William Newton Clarke

“It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” Seneca

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. ~Soren Kierkegaard

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ~Pablo Picasso

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap. ~Cynthia Heimel, "Lower Manhattan Survival Tactics"

I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first. ~Frederick B. Wilcox

Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is? ~Frank Scully

Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking. ~Tim McMahon

The fear of being laughed at makes cowards of us all. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. ~Wayne Gretzky

A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for. ~John A. Shedd

To eat an egg, you must break the shell. ~Jamaican Proverb

To win you have to risk loss. ~Jean-Claude Killy

The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided. It is sometimes better to abandon one's self to destiny. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances. ~Julia Sorel (Rosalyn Drexler), See How She Runs, 1978

Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. ~Author Unknown

Prudence keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy. ~Samuel Johnson

The more chance there is of stubbing your toe, the more chance you have of stepping into success. ~Author Unknown

The healthy being craves an occasional wildness, a jolt from normality, a sharpening of the edge of appetite, his own little festival of the Saturnalia, a brief excursion from his way of life. ~Robert MacIver







Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. ~Robert F. Kennedy




Adventure is what happens when you just did something stupid. ~Professor Bernie




It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. ~Seneca




What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? ~Robert H. Schuller




Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. Unknown




If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being? ~Aleksander Solzhenitsyn




Dare to be naive. ~Buckminster Fuller




One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. ~André Gide




Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. ~James Bryant Conant




Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down. ~Ray Bradbury

He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin. Horace

You never know what you can do until you have to do it. -Betty Ford

La vie itsy bitsy teeny weeny,

Lady