How To Love Hot Yoga Haters
People love to get hot about hot yoga.
There is little middle ground in hot yoga; love it or hate it. And dealing with haters can be tough...at first.
But in order to be a light for others, you have to be willing to endure the burning....or can you learn to love taking the heat?
Paraphrasing Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, here are six reasons to appreciate yourself for sharing hot yoga especially with those who think you're crazy for doing it.
1. It doesn't matter how many people don't get it. What matters is how many do.
Not everyone will share your thrill of hot yoga, but there's no need; there will always be those who resonate with you, and those who don't. Those who don't love hot yoga will find their own practice, and that's appropriate. Trying to get everyone to hum along to your tune just gets you out of harmony with yourself. Those who get hot yoga, will get it. Those who don't, won't - so send them off, with love.
2. 10% of people will find a way to take anything personally.
Don't waste time responding to negativity; know which things do or don't warrant a response. People have their own personal struggles; don't take it personally. Don't respond to dirty looks or more overt forms of blame. Do be firm about staying true to what feels good for you. Smile a lot.
3. "Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity." (Colin Powell)
If you react by apologizing for everything, you're denying people the gift of your authenticity. When you do make a gaffe, it's ok to apologize; but not for being yourself.
4. "If you are really effective, 95% of what's said about you will be negative." (Scott Boras)
Wow. This is a wake-up call: the bigger your impact, the larger your scale, the more negativity you'll encounter. Hot yoga haters abound in over 35 countries. Ain't that grand.
5. "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."(Epictetus)
Want to avoid criticism? Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. To do anything even remotely interesting you need to be effective at dealing with, even enjoying, criticism. Ferris encourages people to actively pursue it. My own Dad said it this way: "Don't just fail; fail BIG."
6. Keep calm and carry on.
This slogan was originated by the British government to comfort people in the face of the Nazi invasion. If you believe that being unafraid to be yourself can change the world, which I hope you do, continue on with 100% passion, whether in your hot yoga practice or anywhere else in your life, and don't be derailed by detractors. In other words, keep calm and carry on.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Reader Comments (8)
You always find the right words to say Thank you
I feel like I should come back to this post over and over and over again! So many of these quotes strike a chord--at one point in my life I literally vowed to remain anonymous because every time I put myself in a position to be noticed, ugly and painful rumors or accusations or comments would begin circulating, and it was so hurtful that I decided it would be better to fly perpetually under the radar.
But the spirit rebels when it's put in shackles!
So thanks SO MUCH for the constant encouragement to embrace ourselves as we are and manifest our full potential.
So true, Mary-Rush. Seeing your detractors in a positive light applies to more than just hot yoga. Wouldn't it be cool if we were schooled in the value of "failure" and taught to go for the Gusto of playing BIG instead crouching small enough to hide. Maybe we'd see criticism as positive feedback: the more people have to say about you, the closer you are to expressing your truth. Kids do this - they are themselves no matter what - until they get schooled in the lie that it's better to just fit in. Thats when we become square pegs trying to fit into a round hole.
You are so rightMary-Rush
The free spirit always rebels I feel it now stronger than ever and it feels right
So true, everyone. And Rhonda, I agree with the emphasis of that word "failure"--it's so harsh and degrading. It's hard to not treat anything that doesn't go in our favor as a failure per society's standards. Especially for folks like myself who will work at nothing but to try and fix a situation and "get it right". I am still blue-in-the-face even as I type this post from a few of my own issues. A change in perspective is so necessary as this blog post speaks to.
Laura, someone once told me. "You can be right or you can be happy." Right isn't all its cracked up to be; at the core of it is validating yourself to those who don't believe in you - waste of time! Talk about a change of perspective, how many times have you looked back at what you thought was a failure, and said to yourself, "Wow, that was really the best thing that could have happened to me." I do it all the time. I'm really ready to live this perspective: I ask for what I want, and then relax and do what feels good - thanks to the universe, I can know that things are always working out for me, as long as I follow my heart (shut up, mind).
I love that the universe pats my back as it so often does. I used to think it's hard for things to work out accordingly and "Life is Suffering". F*ck that. Life is exactly what you want it be and I want to be the girl who catches fireflies outside the movie theater no matter how old I am. I think our brains are weird creatures but any thought that has really made me uncomfortable has been me not listening to myself.
Life is supposed to be fun...I agree, Alex, it makes me squirm to go against my gut feelings, and try to explain myself to people. Everyone else's opinion is fine but its just a lot of talk. The rule of thumb is, if you're explaining yourself, you're in the wrong crowd. Those who get you need no explanation; those who don't should just move on. Either way, what anyone else wants to hate about you is none of your business,