This year on my birthday I decided to do an experiment - I committed to doing 108 bows every day for a year.
I am not religious and I haven't suddenly become religious. I believe in a lot of things but I don't believe in religion. Anyways, why the heck then I made such a commitment?
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It was inspired by Billy from July Life Coach. He's been talking about it for a while and, more importantly, he's been practicing it for a while too. He is committed to Buddhist teachings and he's set to help people be free of suffering. Awesome goal.
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While I am not religious, if I HAD TO pick one, I would pick Buddhism. I like that it is logical and very pragmatic, it doesn't require blind following and Buddha himself told his followers not to believe him, but to try the practices and see for themselves. That kind of teaching is totally up my alley.
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Today marks 2 month and 18 days of me doing my bows every day. I am proud to say that I managed not to skip a day. Last night I was close, when I went to bed I couldn't remember whether I did them or not that morning so I crawled out of bed and did them (possibly for the second time that day). So, a solid streak.
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I crawled out of bed last night because I wanted to keep that as a solid streak. I know myself, once I skip one day it is much easier to skip another day. I also know that even though it was a full day and I was tired, there was no reason to skip my practice, it was simply a choice - to do or not to do. And with these kinds of choices I can show myself that I can trust myself - I can keep my own promises to myself.
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So, while the activity of doing 108 bows is kind of pointless, there's a point in it's pointlessness. LOL
Apart from building trust with myself, it turns out that it's helpful for my digestion system. Who knew? Now I can't think of bowing being completely pointless.
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But the most important thing that I am learning again and again is that this self-trust is the most magical thing. Self-trust allows you to do things with your whole being partticipating vs fighting some parts of you that don't want to do the thing. It's like sailing with wind in your sails vs trying to climb up a waterfall.
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I don't have to argue with myself every morning. I don't have to convince myself. I just do it. It is not always ideal. I might not be approved by the monks. Sometimes my daughter comes and talks to me while I bow. But I keep bowing. Sometimes my dog brings her ball to me to play, but I keep bowing. In the beginning I had to explain to my family that I needed time and space to do this practice. They are not used to me taking time and space for myself, so they are adapting. There is so much power in this. To be honest, I didn't know what would happen, I just wanted to try and see. So far it's been interesting and I can't wait to see what happens next.
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There are many ways to build trust with yourself and I have been experimenting with myself and my clients for years. This is the core of my work - helping people restore trust in themselves, rebuild self-confidence, stand in their own Authentic Selves. With that life becomes different, it has a sweeter taste, more ease and adventure woven into it, more play and less struggle and suffering. And isn't it what we all want - to be happy?
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Here's my invitation to you - commit to your own happiness. You can do it yourself or you can save years of searching, trial and error and work with me 1:1. The choice is always yours. I am now accepting new clients. Claim your spot by simply replying to this message.
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Oh, and I promise not to make you bow 108 times :)

With love and gratitude,

Nataliya