Embrace Your Destiny: Little Bit by Little Bit

Change happens little bit by little bit. It's easy to get discouraged with what seems to be lack of progress, with anything we do. Spasticity slows me down doing anything. For example, I have noticed very slow improvement in my piano playing. I've been taking lessons and practicing everyday for three and a half years. Practice is the key for me.  Everyday and over a L...O...N.NNNNNG period of time, I can finally see some small, but significant changes. I see the same thing in hot yoga practice, speaking at Toastmasters, walking, and building strength.



My yoga friend, Janeen, found the first competitive speech I did for Toastmasters. My speech was about Bikram hot yoga. I did this speech  early in my yoga journey, and early in my Toastmasters journey at Four Seasons Toastmasters in Hendersonville, NC.  I found it very interesting to watch it again after a good two years of practice in both yoga and Toastmasters. I immediately noticed that I do not do very much walking or moving in the video after I get up and start the speech. When I do move I am stiff. Now, I move around the stage with more fluidity. When I first started Toastmasters, I really never thought I would move away from the lectern.

My advice for anyone trying to make changes in something hard is to practice the hardest part of the activity everyday. I also learned from my piano teacher to practice the hard things first. I am much fresher the first half of the day, so I try to get in all my "work" before lunch. I go to Hot 26 at Hot Yoga Asheville for the 7:30 am class almost everyday. Slowly but surely, balance, flexibility, and strength are improving. I also believe that everything works together to bring about the changes I've seen. There are many other interventions to share!