Myth #1.  As a yoga teacher, I never lose my s___.

Well, you can imagine why this is a falsehood.  For example, just this morning, I am sitting in the dining room, writing a blog post as The Lion Guard blasts from the next room, and my toddler sits too closely to the television while home “sick” (as per a low-grade fever following yesterday’s nap at daycare).  Like many of us working parents, this sick day costs a lot more than “breathing into the change” of my routine.  Due to my (blessed, deliberate even-when-I-don’t-think-they-are) life choices, I had to cancel a couple clients (for which I will not be paid), while still covering his daily tuition despite his absence, and sometimes (though thankfully not today, *phew) paying a co-pay or deductible if said child is brought to the doctor.  Yes, financially, this parenting-sick-kiddos thing is no joke, and it takes me a while to negotiate the importance of snuggles over logistics.  His adorableness is helping move this along for me.  Breathing …

Myth #2.  As a therapist, I am completely present in every session.

Hmm, this one takes a little self-nudging to admit.  I try my damnedest, and most of the time am successful.  I could relinquish all my guilt and tell myself that presence simply does not appear the same in all instances, but that would only be Myth #2a.  When I was pregnant and doing counseling, at least then I had the physiological excuse of feeling fatigued, nearly falling asleep on rare occasion.  This happened especially when instances of silence occurred during session.  That quietness can be pivotal; silence allows us to observe our clients in a space they may not be familiar to:  Do they appear uncomfortable?  Complacent?  Anxious?  Pissed off?  Verbal cues and body language speak volumes even when words specifically are not exchanged.  However, my own negligence in staying wide-eyed-and-bushy-tailed incurred personal remorse, like I might have missed something altogether.  (Imagine back to when you may have dozed off in class, then snapped back to reality and found you missed half of the lecture.)  In the end, I am human right alongside you, and I do make it my mission to focus wholeheartedly on the content and process at hand.  And, thankfully, I have never actually caught “Zzs” in the middle of a client hour – though have heard of such experiences from some of my clientele.

Myth #3.  Writing is as therapeutic as sitting for meditation.

Let’s simply take this metaphor to be true depending on your orientation to writing and/or therapeutics and/or meditation and/or metaphors.  Personally, I find writing to be very calming and productive, though my mind is completely swirling most of the time.  I hit the keys and feel the rhythm and pulse of them dancing, which brings about a sweet vibration to my fingertips, palms, ears.  Meditation?  Again my mind is often swirling, but now it’s not as calming.  I wonder if as a practice, meditation done too infrequently may not allow the abundance of its benefits.  I make reasons not to commit, like some avid junk-eaters that refuse to choose healthier foods or exercise.  But isn’t that what we are all faced with by our life choices?  Multiple decisions every day that either we placate to or kindle based on our emotions and intentions?

Combating the myths.  The ones I’ve listed above don’t involve a fire-breathing dragon per say, though perhaps I hold the sword.  Ultimately, what I’m trying to relay to you is that we all have identities and experiences that drive us.  We are not solely defined by these identities – if we can prevent that from happening – because in my opinion, humans as a species are much more multidimensional than that.  Honor your strengths, weaknesses, and the in-betweens.  You contain a bounty of gifts, and I encourage you to release them unto yourself and the world.  Whatever obstacles you face, or barriers you believe hold you back, perhaps those are exactly what make you a most authentic self.  And we could use more of that right now.