Part 290 - Unique

I struggle with this concept. Yes, I am unique. Except - I'm unique just like everyone else. Am I really that different? Am I really special?

Yes.

You are too.

You are the only one like you on this earth.

You share traits with others. You have people who may look like you. You have people who believe the way you do.

You surround yourself with similar.

Stop.

One thing I've grown comfortable with over the past couple of years is the notion of uniqueness. My friend Pat once asked me, "You're a little different. Aren't you?" My friend Frank says, "Can you please find another you?" My pal Dan described me as, "... like a curious kid with no filter and no limit to the questions he'll ask."

When Pat asked me, actually told me, I was different, I took a little bit of offense. That was years ago. I now love the idea of not being the same as everyone else.

When Frank asked me to find another me, I told him, "I'll try." That was a few years back. I've given up.

When Dan described me to another lawyer as a curious kid with no filter, I was thrilled. That was a few months ago. I'm getting comfortable with different.

There's no way to excel when you're the same as everyone else. Be different.

If you fit in perfectly, you have no chance of standing out. It's simple really. Be you. Be you and be proud of you. Highlight your differences. Hide your sameness. Be the amazing, talented, strong person you are.

If you're in the yoga space, you're in luck. We yogis are, by definition, different from the rest of the world. We take time for movement. We take time for reflection. We meditate. We try to becalm our minds with practice and quiet. We're different.

We're also all pretty similar - to each other. Yoga, like any other granfalloon, has adopted a uniform, a language, and a way of being. How can you, as a yoga teacher, stand out from the crowd of other yoga teachers? Be you. Be different.

I see parades of instagram posts of women and men who all look the same - lithe, supple, beautiful, adorned in "yoga" pants and "yoga" tops. Here is an example of yogis who stand out without the uniform. Here is another. And one more.

You can still wear parts of the uniform, shit "yoga" clothing is comfortable. But you can still be different. Here's a great example of a yogi who wears the pants and the top, but is discernibly different. Here is another. And another.

Then there's this guy - and this girl - and this guy - and these people ...

Each of these stand-out yogis are unique. Yes - they're unique just like everyone else, but they stand out because they are themselves. They are different.

Be you. Be different.