[Also published here: http://bit.ly/HCP97m]

“We all struggle with limitations. Some we’re willing to accept..and some we’re not….its never too late to grow in life…” Unknown

If there is anything that has resonated internally in the past couple of months, it’s been that limitations or barriers are only as powerful as we believe them to be.  They can be physical: requiring more muscle strength, loss of limbs or functioning, proper alignment in an asana and a plethora of other elements.  They can be internal: mind-body connection, confidence, will power, heartbreak etc.

 The power given to a barrier has an enormous effect on whether we can cross them or not. Moving with yourself in whichever way you can, gets you incrementally closer to the ‘end result’ (whose definition is completely subjective). Every time you attempt the task, the asana or dilemma, you move more and more closer to your full capacity to override it and move beyond; sometimes, the notion of  passing the limitation, is mental/emotional instead of (or inspite of) physical.  A crucial element in this process is overcoming the emotional quotient that these limitations have over us; the feelings that are attached to them such as despair, negative self criticism or abandonment. The results of moving beyond them can be more mobility, flexibliity, peace of mind, a sense of accomplishment, better health, confidence, ease, etc.

 With experience, growth and perseverance, a path toward eliminating (or illuminating) these limitations is etched; the struggles we face that are sometimes everyday. With physical practice, strength is built, enabling you to do that Bakasana (crane pose). With mental discipline, in whichever form is healthy for you (meditation, affirmations etc), mindsets entrenched from long ago can be softly bent out. Understanding a limitation and removing the powerful hold it can have over you through time, is always worth the effort.