Finding your passion

People always ask what does 'Shakti' mean and I always answer: "Shakti is the creative life force in all of us that allows us to take an idea out of our heads and make it a reality." For example, an artist can have an idea for a painting but what is it that drives him or her to buy the canvas, choose the paints and actually sit in front of the easel day after day bringing the painting to life? This is Shakti.

Some of us have a lot of Shakti. We are able to manifest our dreams easily. Others have a hard time, never really finding that drive to become all that they want to be in their lives. Another group of others are working on it every day, overcoming fears and self-sabotaging beliefs to lead a life of fulfilment.

Last week, we graduated 14 new yoga teachers at Shakti. These men and women had a dream and despite all obstacles, financial, social, physical limitations, super busy lives and illness found a way to complete 200-plus hours of rigorous training to become certified yoga instructors, living their dreams.

A month ago, one of my spinning instructors, Jodi Mair, became a master spinning instructor, giving up the security of a steady career as a senior investment banker. Although Jodi loved her job, two years ago when she discovered spinning, she knew this was what she wanted to do. She spent many hours sitting at her desk dreaming about being not just an instructor, but a master instructor, a teacher of teachers.

"One of my big concerns in life used to be that I would pass on having lived a mediocre career life, doing my best at whatever I was involved in, but never finding that true passion. Gratefully, this is no longer so for me as I am confident that I have found my passion through spinning. My desire now is to inspire others to do the same," she said.

Jodi was able to find the staying power to make her dream come true even though she went through many periods of self-doubt and concerns of how she was going to support herself and her family.

How can we find our Shakti. My suggestion is to first find out what makes you come alive and then find ways to turn this into a career. You must be willing to take risks, to give up your comfort zone and to go through challenge after challenge before you get to a place where this passion translates into livelihood.

Sharon McConnell-Feanny is a certified yoga instructor and co-owner of Shakti Mind Body Fitness. She has more than 25 years' experience in health and fitness; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.