May You Be Fearless

What would you do if you had nothing to fear?

One of my biggest, most ground-breaking moments of my life was when I was 35, in a job I hated, having ‘stuck it out’ on the basis that I’d put in 12 years of hard training and goddamit, aren’t we told in life to stick with things through no matter what?

And then it dawned on me – my past working life of 12 years was nothing compared to the 35 or so years ahead of me, all being well.

It was that thought that precipitated events which would cause me to resign and in just a week’s time. There was no plan, cushion, safety net. Frankly, I’d been terrified to make a play in life. It was simple fear that held me back. Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of failure. And safety seems so cozy.

That first conscious decision to be fearless was, without a doubt, the best of my life. I have since learnt fearlessness as a practice. I run a small business, a risky enterprise in and of itself and in every business and personal decision I make, I ‘check in’ to see if fear is holding me back.

For example,  I used to keep quiet when I saw and heard things I disagreed with, thinking it best to keep everyone as a friend. My fearlessness practice has caused me to speak out about cruelty and things which I regard as immoral.

I’ve found that, like a muscle, the more I practice fearlessness, the stronger, more resilient and happier I become. Yes, I have lost friends, but I know that my friends are those who like the authentic version of me.

It’s a conscious decision. Like your decision to get on your mat. You just do it because it’s a discipline, a practice, and this life is a one time chance and we want to make every moment matter.

That fearlessness practice could be translated into learning inversions (try our Handstand Challenge), or it could be a fearlessness to embrace yourself (try our Embrace Your Essence Challenge). Yoga teaches a loving, but stronger relationship with self and others and teaches a compassionate fearlessness to take off the mat and into life.

May you be fearless this May!

Kat Farrants by Karen Yeomans

This post was written by Movement For Modern Life’s fabulous founder, Kat Farrants