Flying Free
As we close the year, it is important to complete our theme “Riding the Waves of Change.” For this, we land in Square Four of our change cycle. A group of us came together in October to honor this square which holds the mantra, “Change is always happening… And that’s okay.” Square Four emerges when you have launched the dream, shared the vision. You are living it! You have made your way to the promised land! You know there are tweaks that need to be made, but they are small and often external moves. Mostly you are flying free and enjoying the ride!
However, we know life still happens. When Martha Beck was teaching us about Square Four, she said to look at the change cycle like an infinity loop (not just a circle)—
rug pulled out (square one- time to rest and heal)
create a new dream (square two- who do you want to be)
launch the dream and fail (square three and after failure, back to square one)
quick revisit to your dreams (square 2)
relaunch your dream (ride square 3 to square 4)
loop around again and again
The reason this information is important is that we often believe life is supposed to be stagnant and never changing. This makes life really, really hard! If we understand life ebbs and flows and there are seasons of rest and growth, we can follow our inner knowing and fly free! It’s when we resist life that we get into trouble.
I’d say as a yoga studio, we were flying in Square Four in 2019. Oops, here comes a global pandemic! So we land in Square Two- let’s shut down and offer virtual classes to keep our community safe. We then launched into Square Three with our new dream and quickly flew into Square Four with our “new normal.” But alas, we purchased on old, run down gas station March 15, 2020 and it had a whole other set of growth in mind. When the building was ready in 2021, we reopened with very few students. Time for Square One. A little bit of grieving that we didn’t open to a full house. Former students didn’t return. So we had to go through the entire change cycle all over again! Here we are two years later and it feels very Square Four. We have a new set of “regulars”- in person and virtual. We have new teachers that feel like home and are sharing their bright lights with us each day. The schedule has a flow and a balance of ease and effort offered to our students. We are still here doing what we love! And what else is there to do in Square Four but enjoy the ride and remember change is always happening. Knowing how many small studios like our had to close their doors in the last three years, it is a great honor to still be here. I do not take it for granted that we rode the waves to this moment in time. It is truly each of you- your kind words, your sweet support - that has made the ride worth it. Please know each pass you purchase keeps your humble teachers and your sweet studio right here for you. We wouldn’t be here without each and every human who walk through these doors (virtually and in person). I am eternally grateful that I get to wake up each day and do what I love, surrounded by kind humans. For now, we fly free and enjoy the ride. All the while knowing, “change is always happening… and that’s okay.”
Thank you to all of you for playing along with our yearly intention of Riding the Waves of Change. It is always our intention to share ways big and small that allow us to live our lives with ease. Whatever you encounter to close this year, may you offer yourself whatever you need. “… And (remember) that’s okay!”
