For those of you who haven’t heard of Sanuk (Thai word meaning fun) you might not be familiar with their hashtag #neveruncomfortable. Fittingly, it’s had me thinking about my travels (past, present and future) and movements as well as the upcoming year of yoga commitments and retreats and workshops that I have. Never, ever, in my life so far have I felt so out of my comfort zone as I do right now.
One foot in front of the other... don't leap, keep moving forward.
The planning, being organised and making things happen comes naturally to me, it’s ingrained in the way that I am and I really struggle when I’m not sure where I’m heading next or with what purpose. So this year, booking and planning almost a full year of commitments, including moving between Europe and Australia (and hopefully a few places in between) is not uncomfortable in the sense that I know what I want to do and where exactly I want to be at different times of the year, however not knowing whether I’ll pull it off is another story.
I guess the biggest and scariest thing for me is also recognising that at some point I will have to let go of my security. The regular pay check, the place that I love to call home (Noosa) and move to a more nomadic lifestyle in order to share what I am passionate about with the world, even if it’s only for a short time. So this year more than ever, I am challenging myself to be ok with the ‘uncomfortable’ the ‘unknown’ and to use my strong organisational, planning and entrepreneurial spirit to counter balance my life, fingers crossed making me feel a little more ‘comfortable’ (whatever that is).
So where does Sanuk and their hashtag come into all of this? The simple gesture and reminder that life get’s uncomfortable sometimes, but no matter what you can always find some fun, some comfort in knowing that you are going where you need to and experiencing what you are meant to.
Learning about Sanuk, presenting at Wanderlust and sharing my retreats in Croatia, Greece as well as my home of Noosa has prompted me to think broader about how I can connect with my communities to help others find their calling, or even just something they’re passionate about and help them spend some time getting uncomfortable in order to find their way forward in their lives. Sometimes we truly don’t know what we’re missing until we are in a place we’ve never been, being asked to do something completely different and only then will we be able to understand what we are made of, what our capacity to learn, be present and to experience and live through it is. SUP Yoga is definitely a great way to help people get out of their comfort zone with and experience all of the different sensations and intricacies of their bodies.
I was speaking with someone I met at Wanderlust about ‘taking the leap’, he said to me “the phrase, take the leap and the net will catch you automatically assumes failure, but if you think of taking the leap and reaching out for your fellow trapeze artist, it’s not so much about falling but about connecting with the next steps that you are taking.”
So here I go, with my first step being Wanderlust Thredbo and next… well who knows!