My Transformative Weekend With Yol

The last few months have been difficult. You know the type. When everything suddenly falls apart and you’re like, “Ugh, how did I get here?” Here?!” That’s the question you’re asking yourself, even if you secretly know you’ve been on the wrong track for some time.

But I’m a straw person. I will work harder to make things work, even if things don’t work for a reason. At some point I realize that everything is broken and falling apart because everything needs to be replaced. The time has come AgainGo back to the drawing board, see what still works, and throw out the rest.

Life is always funny. When you think life is about to break you, the right thing often comes along to help you get through it. He. This thing, whatever it is, changes your perspective just enough to make you realize that there is a better future, even if you don’t yet know how to get there. For me, this breakthrough was my weekend with YOL.

I met David Cherner, the founder of YOL, almost a year ago. That’s when I learned that YOL is an experiential wellness company that combines yoga, leadership training, and community service. It’s a wonderful blend of research-backed approaches designed to nourish and delight people.

As some of you know, I currently spend most of my time consulting with healthcare companies to help them develop effective products and services. Sometimes I have a lot of work and sometimes I have little. Sometimes projects are exciting and sometimes boring. Sometimes things just flow, and sometimes… I wonder why I do this job.

Lately, I’ve been on the not-so-pleasant side of these fluctuations. But it was last week, when I was completely out of control, David contacted me asking for help testing the effects of YOL. I was really excited. A YOL retreat was exactly what I needed.

When I arrived at YOL, I realized very quickly that I was way out of my comfort zone.

We started with light yoga. It was probably the best yoga class I’ve ever taken. It was easy to follow and all positions were comfortable, but I’m definitely not a yoga person. I immediately started wondering if this was right for me…and that was only the first 15 minutes.

After yoga, we started leadership training. To get to know each other, we did an exercise where we threw balls at each other and said each other’s names. At this point I started to feel really uncomfortable. The two things I’m probably worst at are memory and athletics. I dropped the ball a lot. I kept getting people’s names wrong. I felt stressed. “Hey,” I said to myself, “that’s not what I signed up for!”

But I was never afraid of unpleasant things or challenges. So I continued to participate even when my mind tried to resist.

The next morning, in preparation for our community service, we discussed the downsides of service. I ended up telling a story to a woman – a story I’ve probably only told one other person in my entire life. It was incredibly uncomfortable to be so vulnerable with an almost complete stranger. I began to ask myself, “Why do these activities make me uncomfortable?” » “Maybe we could do something with it…”

In the afternoon, we did an activity where we had to embody the fears of another woman. Some women were crying. Other women cried with compassion. We all felt it. The discomfort. We all felt uncomfortable, even though we knew it was that way all Get out of our comfort zone…together. Something extraordinary happened here.

I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s gotten easier. It felt really strange to be so intimate and authentic. But I did it. And I’m so glad I did.

By the end of the weekend, my body was literally tingling and my mind was buzzing. What had I just experienced?

On the long drive back through beautiful, green California, I sat with myself. I don’t know what was different. All I know is it’s something Was different.

A few days later, after reflecting on this experience, I was able to better understand some of the changes that had occurred within me. I had pushed myself beyond pleasurable and it opened up a new part of me. It makes me feel empowered and inspired to take charge of my life, because I now know that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable.

YOL showed me that I had everything I needed within me.

My YOL experience this weekend reminded me of this real Change is not easy. But real change is possible and the effort is worth it.

Where am I now? I am Here, Currently. I’m finally excited about the future, even if I don’t know yet where it will take me. I am no longer afraid of leaving my comfort zone, quite the contrary: dare! I’m ready for whatever comes next. THANK YOU YOL 🙂 🙂 🙂