Live your Life in Yoga

Sometimes doors don’t just close, they slam in your face…

It’s ok though. If you take the time to stop staring at that recently closed door, you’ll notice an open door you haven’t been through before.

I am, of course, talking about the old doors = opportunities thing. Sure, one might be closed off. Or in my case, slammed in my face not allowing me to teach for two weeks. BUT (and this is a big, important lesson), this isn’t the be all and end all. I looked a little closer and discovered not just one door, but a whole series of doors leading to a better and much more exciting place.

Two weeks ago, I enlisted the help of some family members to check out a beam in my yoga studio, hoping to put some aerial slings up. We never even made it to the beam (long story), and I had to close the studio and stop teaching until we got some test results back. This took nearly two weeks thanks to the bank holiday. Two weeks of uncertainty about the future of my business. However, instead of standing looking at the closed door of my studio, I went on a search for a new place. I’d been thinking about moving for a while, so why not see this as an oppurtunity to look into it? 

Turns out that if there is a higher being up there, they were sending out some great big signs. I went to the estate agent and they told me about a property I wanted to use when I first set up business but couldn’t afford. It has just become available again. I went to see it, and guess what? It has the most amazing exposed wooden beams that I can loop aerial equipment around. It’s in a nice area, will look stunning with a little bit of work, and is the perfect place to expand my business. 

Sometimes, things might seem bad. And they will probably stay that way if you don’t work to turn them into something good. A lot of this, I have learned, is not about the thing you’re facing. It’s about how you choose to deal with it. Nothing is a problem unless you make it one.

Now, I have my test results back - I can safely return to my current studio and teach again. But I have also made an offer on the new place and hope to be moving in there soon, which I am ridiculously happy about. Yes, it will cost more. Yes, I’ll have to work hard to grow my business. Yes, I had a pretty stressful two weeks hoping against hope that things work out. No, I wouldn’t change anything to take that stress away. If I hadn’t had to shut up shop and decided to look for a new space, I may never have found my little hidden gem.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is have a little faith. Doors close all the time. Don’t stare at them wishing you could find the key and get back in there. See if you can find the door that opened up, waiting for you to walk through to new and better things.

"Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want."

- Anna Lappe