YOU’RE ALREADY READY. Stop Doubting Yourself & Begin.
My life has been full of ups and downs.
I’ve witnessed divorce as both a young child and an adult. I’ve struggled with debilitating depression and PMDD. I’ve experienced profound loss. I’ve seen cancer take a close friend, and I’ve seen it transform another into one of the strongest women I know. I’ve seen death. I’ve seen addiction. I’ve held a four-hour-old newborn in my arms. I’ve known the deepest love in my marriage, and I’ve brought three breathtakingly beautiful humans into this world.
Really, truly—I have lived.
There was a time when I carried so many questions about whether I was “doing it right.” Was I making the right choices in how I was living? At one point, I found myself moments away from completing a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification, and I raised my hand to ask about additional trainings I could take to expand my expertise. I’ll never forget the instructor’s response: “No, Brittni. You don’t need any more trainings to teach prenatal yoga.”
I left that day feeling deflated and unheard. She cut my question off so quickly and didn’t seem to want to hear anything I had to ask. But why? I was full of doubt.
As I reflected on it, a light bulb went off. Because she was right, I didn’t need any additional trainings to teach prenatal yoga or any other type of yoga. The training I was finishing was enough.
Think about when we’re born. We already know, without being taught, how to breathe air and suckle. A friend once told me a story about her 10-month-old during bath time. The baby unplugged the drain and watched the water disappear. My friend handed her the plug and turned the faucet back on, and the baby tried to re-plug the drain so the water would collect again. A 10-month-old figured that out without anyone explaining cause and effect. She simply watched and learned.
Fast forward to now. Since beginning my yoga journey in 2013, I’ve completed two trainings, a 200-hour and a 300-hour. And instead of constantly seeking others to teach me, I’ve learned to teach myself. The internet is a wealth of knowledge. Books have become powerful tools for deepening my practice off the mat.
Today, my work has evolved, but the heart of it remains the same. I’ve guided hundreds of students through fear, grief, and self-doubt in a workshop I built from the ground up, blending movement, writing, and meditation. I once taught aspiring yoga teachers how to become confident, effective instructors while navigating the business of yoga, and that experience continues to shape how I show up today. I even gave a TEDx talk, and led a Beyoncé-themed yoga class that sold out—actually oversold—so much that people were practicing in the hallway.
The possibilities are endless when you stop holding yourself back and just go for it.
My teacher’s words still echo in my ears. I already have everything I need inside me. I just have to tap into it and, most importantly, believe that I’m ready in this moment, exactly as I am. I do the best I can with each experience, and I trust that I am living exactly as I should.
So I’ll leave you with this: trust yourself. Follow your intuition. You may never feel as ready as you think you need to be, and that’s okay. Just keep showing up.
You already have everything you need within you to move through whatever life places in your path. Stop doubting yourself. Begin.
As motivational speaker and meditation teacher Gabby Bernstein writes, “Your story is your greatest credential.”
Everything you’ve experienced, the pain and the beauty, has been preparing you for this very moment.
You’re ready now. Go get ’em.