Commitment is as simple as showing up

I recently joined the online 21-day workout challenge by Jordan Yeoh, a YouTube fitness coach. Yoga can be a great workout but lately I have been looking for something more intense. Jordan Yeoh’s workouts consist of high intensity interval training (HIIT) using your own body weight. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of HIIT, which is exactly why I’m in yoga training. But I know that this is the challenge that my body needs at my age.

Jordan has an introductory video which he wants us to watch before we start the challenge. In the video, he said that he had misgivings about doing daily challenges before. He thinks that people are often more focused on performing and getting immediate results and end up being frustrated or disappointed if they feel they did not meet their expectations. So he has set the expectation for this challenge, which is commitment and consistency. He said that if we want to succeed, we should commit to carve out time to workout  everyday for the next 21 days. What we are aiming for is commitment and consistency.

This really resonated well with me.Sometimes, we are so distracted by the end goal and our own expectations that we often forget about the process. Not being at par with our expectations frustrates us to the point that we lose motivation and forget about our commitment. It helps to think that commitment is as simple as showing up. Regardless of how you feel about the process, regardless of how near or far you are from your targets, you just show up, trust the process, and learn from the experience of those who have done it before. Based on my own experience, I have so far not regretted showing up, even if the workout is physically demanding.

The same attitude can be applied to our yoga practice. It may be challenging. It may be tough both physically and mentally. But it is worth it. Just keep working on your practice, enjoy the process, and its fruits will manifest in their own time. 

-Teacher Ben
​