Break free from the caged life
Image taken a few years back on a very inspiring trip to Bali…I hope to be back there soon!
When I was 29 I felt the pressure to ‘find a partner’ to ‘get settled’ to ‘be a successful person’ in some way. I was like shit, I better have kids! But do I even want kids?! Do I need to ‘get a good job’ even it feels soul destroying just to pay off a mortgage and get a house?
The more I forced this way of living, and the more I tried. The more I seemed to feel unfulfilled.
Then my aunty died, my mum died suddenly, and 3 grandparents in the space of 2 years. What I knew as ‘normal’ - became shaken up. I went through a period of deep emotional pain. A ‘breaking down’ period I guess you would call it.
The gift
What I know now is that this was all a gift. The breaking down - was the letting go of my old life. You see, my mum dying didn’t cause me to become depressed. What I now know is that I had never truly lived authentically in alignment to my gifts. So for a long time I was ‘fitting in as best I could’. I was suppressing who I was really was- and this made me sick.
Mum dying was her path, and...it forced to me to reconsider HOW I was living my own life.
I was living my life in alignment to what society says will bring success. Vishen Lakhiani CEO of Mindvalley calls these the BRULES of society - ‘the bullsh**t rules of society’.
I had never taken time to get to truly know myself.
The personal enquiry
It makes sense that most people don’t do this - start the personal enquiry.
Why is this?
The courageous path is not talked about in our society, because the culture wants you to stay trapped in the cycle of consumption
Social norms are defined by others and taken on by us (as found by Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics). They are not our own true core values. So we are all like sheep...copying each other, comparing, competing
Plus it’s scary - to truly ask these big questions, to live out our dreams
But not doing this, is making our society sick. It made me sick. People are not sleeping, people are unfulfilled, they’re overcommitted because we haven’t sat down and asked, what am I here for?
Break free from the caged life
I’ve now dedicated my life to helping others realise there is a different way of living and thinking. I am sharing everything I know based on the ancient wisdom of the yoga values, what the science says and what I’ve learnt from experimenting with my own life- about how to find true fulfilment in life.
I believe most of us are brainwashed by this social conditioning and are living what I call ‘The Caged Life’. We haven’t stopped and challenged our limiting beliefs that are holding us back from reaching our full potential in our life.
There are many ways of living. Here’s some clues to start the process of moving from the caged life to the courageous path.
Consider these questions:
Why not redefine success?
Can you turn your pain into purpose?
How can you prioritise your own health and vitality even if it means upsetting others?
Will you follow the crowd, or are you willing to start the personal enquiry?
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Are you willing to be brave?
There has never been and never will be another you. You have a purpose - a very special gift that only you can bring to the world
- Marie Forleo
*This blog was originally published in June 2021
Check out the uplifting offerings coming up at Jo’s studio Heart and Mind Yoga 13/21 Bealey Avenue (Click the image to learn more and to book)
Jo Jarden is a certified personal trainer and yoga teacher in Christchurch New Zealand and the founder of Heart and Mind Yoga studio. She has 10 years experience in health promotion in New Zealand and Australia including management and promotion of national chronic disease prevention programs. She now helps people one on one with their wellbeing through yoga teaching, personal training, workplace yoga and wellbeing workshops.
Qualifications include: Certified Yoga Teacher Santosha Yoga Institute, Registered Australian Yoga Alliance 2017
Certificate in Advanced Personal Training, Fit College New Zealand, 2016
Bachelor of Science with Honours Public Health. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2006
Bachelor of Arts Mass Communication and Psychology. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2005