For Day 3, we will be doing Goddess pose or Utkata Konasana.  I love this pose because it requires strength and a bit of surrender.  The two previous Warrior poses can be quite vigorous as well, but this pose relies heavily on the strength of the pelvis, core, and thighs…quite literally the center of creation in a woman’s body.

I read somewhere that your feet should be about four feet apart, but honestly, we all have different leg sizes so just start out in a wide stance.  Squat until your hips are even with your knees, and your knees are over your ankles.  Like Warrior II, you want your knees to track over the little toe side of the foot.  This is very important!  You will have to engage your inner thighs to push your legs wide.  Your tailbone should be pointed toward the floor, and your spine should be straight and not hunched over.  If you cannot squat this deeply, its okay to come up out of the squat as much as you need.  The arms in this pose can be varied.  I like cactus arms, as shown here.  Another variation is having prayer hands at your chest.  Try holding this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

For the next several days I’m encouraging everyone to do one thing everyday that they normally wouldn’t do and sharing my own experiences as well.  Today, I had planned to take a yoga class from a new teacher who teaches a different style as my “out of comfort zone” action.  After arriving, myself and some other students found out the studio had a change of schedule, and class was cancelled.   One of my classmates said that she was going to do some yoga on her own since she was already there.  I  mentioned that I was a yoga teacher (something I still have trouble admitting to others).  To my surprise, they asked me if I would teach them.  I taught an impromptu class right there.  It was fun, and a totally unplanned “out of my comfort zone” moment.

I’m finding throughout this “Fearless 14” Challenge that once I decide to be out of my comfort zone, life seems to give me many opportunities to do just that.  When I’m not stuck in fear and insecurity, I have the ability to try new things and to embrace opportunity.  I truly feel life is opening up to me.  I just had to open up to it first.

Be open to surprises.  Be open to the miraculous.  Be ready for it all to fall into place.