I recently attended a yoga class where the teacher began the session with a discussion on the consideration of possibilities. He asked us to keep this word in our minds throughout the class.  As we began our poses, he pushed us to hold the positions for a long period and continue to improve them.  While doing so, he kept encouraging us by saying “possibilities.”  At first I was really annoyed.  I simply wanted to focus on the positions and get on with the class.  Then, I had difficulty with my right leg due to an old injury.  Every time I lunged, I could feel the pain in the thigh and up through the back of the leg.  My tendency in the past was to back off and not do the pose on the right side. I tentatively moved the leg in the position and it felt very uncomfortable.  But the teacher kept saying the word possibilities.  My annoyance gave way to his mantra and I pushed myself further in each pose.  I’m not saying it was great but, by the end of class, I had gone much further and worked through my pain to a stronger place.  I was actually feeling more flexible and less stiff.  At the end of class, he asked us to see how long we could hold the promise of possibilities in our daily lives.  Throughout the day, as issues came up, I stopped to think about the possibilities instead of the problems.

It is easy to get discouraged in our daily lives with the ongoing recession and pessimism in our country.  Yet, if we can refocus the negative energy into possibilities, we might push through the difficulties to another place where there is more light and hope.  Think possibilities!