Trust - the Mat

I left the yoga studio today without paying for my new mat. (Can you belive it?!) As I pushed through the glass doors out to the parking lot my insides tangled like a yoga pose gone bad. How could I do such a thing? Easy. The owner knows and trusts me. I am honored by that. (I have since paid for the mat, so you don't need to call the police.)

I trust myself when I get on my yoga mat that I will know what my body needs, how to bend into the poses, and I will grow spiritually in some way as I practice. I trust my favorite teacher - Allison, with her great big, beautiful smile - to be my guide. Why does trust come easily when I'm doing yoga? The practice of yoga is like a long time friend bringing you a treasured gift everytime she sees you. How hard is it to trust that?

Trusting what happens on the mat can also be my lesson in trusting my writing. And it can be your lesson in any area where trust feels thin and weak to you. I need to trust that I have learned my craft. (There is always more to learn, but I am not the novice I once was.) I have to trust my writer's voice is clear and strong on the page. And I must trust I have a story to tell and others will read it.

The act of knowing what is right for you builds self-esteem. But what if you aren't sure when something is right? Have you heard the phrase, "trust your gut?" Our instincts tell us when something is right or wrong. We know, we just have to trust ourselves.

How well do you trust? Yourself? Others? What are some of the thing you do to build trust?