I’m about to get real with you despite the fear and anxiety this truth brings.

It happened during a women’s retreat where I was one of the guides, and let me tell you, it was a humbling experience.

Picture this: early February, a women’s retreat, me, a guide and leader (I was there to be the Human Design Guide), failing miserably in a yoga class. Yep, you heard it right. I hit rock bottom in downward dog.

Midway through the class, I found myself struggling to keep up. Despite the instructors’ encouraging words to go at my own pace, trust my body, and rest if needed, I just couldn’t keep up. (Kristen from Feral Fire Wave is a wonderful instructor. This was all about me!) While everyone else seemed to effortlessly defy gravity with their poses, I found myself in child’s pose, face flushed with embarrassment, feeling judged and completely humiliated.

With 30 minutes left in the session, I knew I wouldn’t catch up (honestly, I didn’t want to). As a guide and leader, I felt I had failed unequivocally. Tears welled up, embarrassment burning hot, but then I shifted. I moved into a self-compassion practice, speaking kindly to myself, holding my face, and running my hands over my arms. It became clear that my reaction to “failing” at this Yoga class was all about my ego. The overwhelming concern of “what would people think” was the only reason I was upset.

I hadn’t practiced Yoga in over three years, and due to health concerns, I knew pushing myself could be dangerous. And then I was reminded of my NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) training: There is no failure, only feedback. Hard truth: We can only discover feedback when we step out of the ego and get really fucking honest with ourselves.

So instead of beating myself up, I started doing self-guided EFT Tapping and reminding myself that the only person I need to impress is me. I focused on the feedback and lessons I was in the process of learning from this experience and took myself through a guided visualization exercise.

And as truth began to show up one thing was abundantly clear: I can’t be worthy of guiding and leading others if I dishonor my own body and inner knowing. Being true to myself is a key way I support others in learning to do the same for themselves.

It’s okay to be different. It’s okay for your needs and behaviors not to match the group’s. Society might label you as broken when you deviate from the norm, but what’s really happening is healing. You’re creating wholeness that can change not only your life but the entire world.

Stepping out of the ego and trusting yourself creates wholeness.

Dive into my weekly live show episode below where I talk about all the ways you can honor and heal yourself when you step out of the ego and people-pleasing loops and start to master the Trifecta of Self: deeply and truly knowing, liking and trusting yourself.