Meet @gregpember founder of @modakayoga retreats sharing #yogasavedmylife story with us 💚
. "Since the age of nine I have been a performer: singing, dancing & acting on stage. Gifted in these areas & fortunate to find a passion at a young age. I developed an intense obsession with creating a persona that would win others’ approval
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In a fiercely competitive field of work I became a perfection addict. Perfectionism is not the same as wanting to continually improve oneself in a healthy way. My perfectionism was a fear driven behavioral pattern that projected the “Greg” that I thought people wanted to see, because if they saw who I really was - the real, messy & imperfect Greg - they would not love & accept me or cast me in their show, or work with me
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I was addicted to the pursuit of others liking me & validating my talents: so much so that it shaped every decision I made & I found myself in a downward vortex of fear & doubt
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It was exhausting
Yoga shifted everything
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We study in yogic philosophy that we already are the gift that this Universe needs, with all of our scars, imperfections & wounds of the past. Yoga offered me the framework & a space to do the work I needed to dig up the wounds of my old perfectionist self & use those scars to empower myself right now
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I now practice letting myself be VULNERABLE & SEEN & asking for what I need without my protective fear telling me that this will make me unlovable
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I can feel the love of the Universe & the Universal Life Force Energy flow through me when I’m on my mat, connecting me to a deep well of inner stillness and peace and acceptance
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Every time I practice I am called to not shy away from my powerful self, but rather to shed the various layers of armor that I have carried for so long in order to expose the real & imperfect Greg: the imperfect performer, teacher, lover, son, brother & yogi. Through being intimate with my breath & the simplicity of the present moment I can hear the call to see myself as the Universe already sees me: perfect, whole & complete. This is the invitation of yoga 🙏
