​Exercise Your Superpower by Michelle Chua

An amazing superpower we humans possess is free will.  It’s enabled us to transform the darkest challenges into inspiring miracles, like when poet friend and guest speaker at our retreat, Marshall Jones, chose at the last moment not to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and take his life but instead transformed his words into inspiration to uplift thousands of lives on TEDx and more.  When we train ourselves to utilize our free will, we can surpass others’ and our own limiting beliefs and create the so-called impossible.
 
What are the limiting beliefs that get in the way of using our free will to realize our potential? “I’m too old” influences our choice to not pursue something we love or take a risk that will empower us.  “I don’t have time” can lead us to choose to deprive ourselves of what we know inside is more important use of our energy. “They’ll think badly of me” directs our choices to muting our self-expression and undermine others’ capacity to be compassionate.  
 
What are we here for if not to use our free will to elicit our fullest expression of our uniquely talented and gifted selves to help raise the vibration of our planet so that we all thrive together?
 
So, how’s yoga related to free will?
The Yoga Sutras describe yoga as the calming of the fluctuations of the mind. It also delineates the obstacles to peace and self-realization that cause humans to suffer:

• Ignorance of self
• Egoism
• Attachment
• Hatred
• Clinging to bodily life

 
In our asana (physical posture) practice, we train in steadying the fluctuations of the mind by focusing on our breath and the present moment constantly.  We seek to study our self and limiting beliefs we all have that blind us of our superpower--free will.  We practice discernment from our ego mind in choosing when to modify a pose by honoring what’s honestly good for us.  We attempt challenging physical feats to let go of our attachment to fear, familiarity or comfort and practice endurance with our free will.  Lastly, we use our free will to view ourselves with loving kindness and compassion as we remember we’re on a journey of learning and not everything comes at once. Sometimes a lesson needs to repeat itself until we fully integrate it into our being.  By repeatedly awakening to our superpower, we can align our actions, thoughts, words and everyday being with our highest, and resiliently peaceful, Self.  

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