I let go, shifted my vision, dropped what I knew, and found myself again. My 40 Days To Personal Revolution – by Barbara Durand

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I let go, shifted my vision, dropped what I knew, and found myself again. My 40 Days To Personal Revolution – by Barbara Durand

40 Days to Personal Revolution. Hmmm. . . I was sceptical. I was sceptical because I wasn’t sure I could do anything for 40 days straight, most certainly not a yoga programme, and ‘personal revolution’ – what exactly did that mean and, what was I in for?

I can’t quite remember what inspired me to sign-up for the ’40 Days to Personal Revolution’ programme but I think it was mostly curiosity – I was curious to see if I could stick to something for 40 days. It was no more than that – could I commit to something for 40 days straight?

By the end of the programme, I learned that I could commit to something for 40 days and realised the importance of self-forgiveness and being willing to re-commit to something when things don’t always go to plan. But the one thing I gained from ’40 Days’ above anything else was an immense amount of clarity, at a time in my life when I didn’t realise just how much I needed that.

40 Days kicked off on a Saturday and there were 25 of us, all feeling a bit nervous but also excited to be starting this programme. We were broken into small groups and on that day, Lumi United, the group I was so fortunate to be part of, was formed. Yep. . .one of our first tasks was to come up with a name for our group! From there, we were given our workbooks and a copy of the book, ’40 Days to Personal Revolution,’ and we were on our way. lumi-power-yoga-1-of-1-42

There are four basic components to the programme: yoga practice, meditation, balanced diet and self-inquiry. As a new yogi, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure I could practice six times a week (you are given access to podcasts so they make it easy for you to practice at home or wherever you may be, if you can’t make it into the studio). I had never meditated before (and I mean NEVER!) so the idea of meditating twice a day was a little daunting. The balanced diet is more about being aware of what you eat so you’re not expected to follow a certain diet but there is a cleanse (don’t let the cleanse intimidate you – you’ll probably find it’s easier than you think!). I wasn’t too concerned about the self-inquiry – I was willing to answer a few questions each week and discuss them with the others in my group. Little did I know how much the self-inquiry and the opportunity to share with my small group was going to make such a difference.

Each week, there is a theme and two laws that are detailed in the book. It was week three where I noticed that my personal revolution was happening. The theme was equanimity, defined as ‘the art of meeting life as it meets you – calmly, without drama or fuss.’ I had shared quite a bit with my group in the previous weeks and realised that I struggled to live in the moment – I was spending too much time worrying about the life that I didn’t have and the fact that things didn’t quite go as I had planned, and was losing focus on those things that I do have. The two laws that accompanied equanimity were ‘shift your vision’ and ‘drop what you know.’ As I answered the questions that went with these chapters in the book, I just felt a release and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I just let go. . .I shifted my vision. . .I dropped what I knew. . .and I found myself again. There was something in me that I had lost – thinking too much about the past and worrying about the future – and I was able to get that back just by letting go. lumi-power-yoga-1-of-1-32

I would recommend the 40 Days programme to anyone. It had such a positive impact on me in a way that I was not at all expecting. It provided me clarity – it transformed me – it made me fall in love with yoga – and it’s what led me to become a yoga teacher. If you do the programme, know that it’s not always easy – and you might slip along the way and that’s okay. I didn’t meditate twice a day every day and that was okay. I was still able to commit to the programme and re-commit when I had to.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the weekly meetings. They are core to this programme and in a certain way, serve as a support group throughout the 40 days. Ari does an amazing job of creating a safe environment where you can share if you want and not share if you don’t. I will be forever grateful to the four other women who made up Lumi United – we listened to each other, we shared with each other, we provided shoulders to cry on and we laughed together too. It was a GREAT experience so to borrow from Nike, just do it! Do it now. . .sign up for 40 Days! You will not regret it.


 

The next 40 Days To Personal Revolution start on Saturday 28 January.  What are you waiting for? Sign up here. If not now, when?

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