A teacher once said to me, ‘do you have to see it to believe it, or do you have to believe it to see it?’ Great contemplation right. But then today, as I was reading about the importance of self efficacy, I couldn’t seem to get the tune, just that one line, out of my head. Love me a spontaneous mantra.

Yes, much research has been done to confirm that if you believe in your self you will function more optimally. That is your personality will be in line with your behavior and when your persona and behavior come together, in my opinion you begin to operate with greater integrity. In addition there is great research that supports that the belief has to come, ultimately from within. Yes people around you can influence you and motivate you, but the willingness to believe in yourself has to come from within, from the inside.

Here is the crossroads. When handling the challenges in adjustments in your life, you need to have cultivated the ability to believe in yourself. That ability to trust and remain grounded in your capabilities will get you through. I am only presently qualified to help you build this confidence on the yoga mat. But today, as I was teaching, and many times prior, yoga does give you confidence. Especially if you have a yoga teacher that is supportive and offers integrity. Another way of looking at integrity is when your behavior aligns with your beliefs. Interesting is in counseling the term is congruence, in yoga it is balance but both ask you to believe in yourself in order to be a well adjusted person, or just BE WELL.