Growth, Expansion, and Changing Your Life

Today in one of my classes, I spoke about the ways pranayama is meant to allow expansion. How we often think of it as control only, but that if we can practice it in a certain way, we can allow growth.

When I reflect back on that teaching, it got me thinking about my own expansion and growth over the last while.

So, I took a trip down memory lane in my photos to see where I was this time last year. Turns out, I was at the 'peak' of my old corporate life.

I was executing a large meeting between Government and Nations in Vancouver. I was away from my home, friends, and feelings of comfort. I was also in the middle of what would prove to be my biggest health challenge I've ever faced.

Yet societal norms would tell me that I was doing SO WELL. I'd hit all the classic markers of 'success':

Get married ✅

Good job ✅

Buy a house ✅

Have a child ✅

But I wasn't fully happy. I was, however, in a space of constant strain. The 'ease' that I was supposed to be feeling just wasn't there.

"I've hit all the marks! Why am I not happy? I have a great life; I should be happier about all of this."

Spoiler: It wasn't the job!! It was ME.

My ability to show up in spaces for other people was SO GOOD. (There's a reason I was able to execute that multi-day meeting!)

But my ability to show up authentically for me (and by extension, my family) was at almost zero.

I had been conditioned through many situations in my life to look at myself as a tool to serve others.

"Make sure everyone else has what they need, and then someone will surely put ME first."

All I ever got was resentment. Towards people and places that were operating the best way they knew how with the knowledge they had at the time. And I was the only one suffering.

For years I held this mentality that I was secondary instead of a person who also deserved to be taken care of.

And to be clear, I'm not saying there weren't times that I was put first, because there were many (my husband is one hell of a man even if sometimes, we drive each other nuts). And the people I worked for (not the system) were amazing human beings who did SO MUCH for me.

I just hadn't grown enough to see it or appreciate it. I didn't have the space in me to accept the love and let it take root. To let it bloom.

I have spent the last year diving deep into these belief systems. Challenging the way I used to walk through the world and ultimately creating space and expanding for my family, my friends, and ME. Because I deserve to feel the love and care that I so freely give to those around me.

All of this to say, growth comes in many forms.

I am forever grateful for the position I held in the corporate world. It taught me so many things about myself, about having patience, about flexibility, and about MS Teams (IYKYK).

And I am so grateful I left. I am so grateful I allowed myself to grow, expand, and evolve. I am so grateful that I found a path that feels aligned.

I hope that you are able to find areas of expansion. To find the space in yourself to grow into the person you want to be.

With love and gratitude,

Britt