Growth Mindset Tip #22: Lessons From My Last Bad Day on Mindfulness and Resilience (Yoga Blocks)
The Whole Again Podcast: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kinstugi Wisdom airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Pause Breathe Reflect Microdose Meditations, Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Tips, to help us transform our scars into healing and resilience.
And between May and October, I'm sharing a new series I'm calling: A Perfectly Imperfect Union. It's about connecting with every day folks as they reflect on America at 250. Conversations will air every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
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You walked into yoga class thinking it was just stretching.
Then you were oozing sweat, struggling to hold a pose, and staring at a stack of blocks you were too proud to touch.
In this episode of Whole Again, Michael O'Brien shares Growth Mindset Tip #22 -- and it comes wrapped in spandex. Before his accident, yoga was not on his radar. It was not serious enough, not hard enough, not for him. A decade after his recovery, tight scar tissue and a total knee replacement changed his mind in a hurry.
But the real lesson was not flexibility. It was the blocks.
His Peloton instructor Kirra Michel kept saying the same thing: the blocks are there to help you. Use them. And Michael heard something deeper in that -- a question most of us quietly wrestle with. Why is it so hard to ask for support when it is sitting right there in front of us?
Listen to my conversation with Kirra on Whole Again here.
Whether it is yoga props, a coach, a friend, or a moment to pause and breathe, reaching for help is not a sign that you are falling behind. It is a sign that you are still in the practice.
This is a short one, but it lands.
Before you go, here is something worth sitting with:
Where in your life right now are you refusing "the blocks?"
Share this episode with someone who needs permission to ask for help.
They may not know they are waiting for it.
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<p> Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Whole Again, the show here to support the person you're becoming and your desire to live a meaningful life. And since it's Friday, I have another tip to share with you. All this year, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of my last bad day that sparked all of this, I'm sharing something I learned along the way.</p>
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<p>Now, with all these tips, some are gonna be spot on, and they'll work for you. Others, even though they work for me, may not work for you, and that's totally cool. I believe we all have our own Toll House cookie recipe to create a meaningful life, so take what works for you, maybe experiment with some of the tips.</p>
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<p>And the ingredients or the tips that don't work for you, just leave them behind. No worries, we're all good. And this week, we're up to number 22. And I know the last few weeks I've gotten the numbering wrong because I have been preoccupied. If you heard Wednesday's episode, you know why. But right now we're up to number 22, and we're gonna do the yoga.</p>
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<p>Yep, that's right. We're gonna do some yoga. And you might be thinking, "What the heck is this tip?" Stay with me, I'll explain. Now, prior to my accident, I was a dude. I didn't do yoga. I thought it was something that chicks did, along with Pilates. It's good for them, but I'm doing serious stuff over here, people.</p>
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<p>I don't have time for yoga. I'm doing serious workouts here, people. Yoga didn't seem like much of a workout. Right? They're only stretching. How hard is that? Well, that was my attitude prior to my accident and a good decade after it. But I came into the power of yoga because, well, let's face it, I needed to limber up.</p>
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<p>My flexibility was horrible. I talk about my external scars as I talk about Kintsugi, which is the metaphor for this podcast, but all that scarring was deep within me. I couldn't move like I wanted to, and as I got older, it got even worse. So I started doing some yoga, and I really doubled down on the practice while I did prehab for my total knee replacement.</p>
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<p>And my first class, well, it was like that song by the C+C Music Factory, "I'm Gonna Make You Sweat." I was oozing sweat. It was pretty gross. It was hard. And what I noticed, and I've come to see this really clearly as my practice has evolved, is that instructors will talk about, "Hey, grab a few yoga blocks, grab a mat, grab a towel, grab some props," but rarely did they use any of the props, nor did really anyone in class.</p>
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<p>But I have my limitations, so yoga was tough for me. It's still pretty tough. I cannot get into some of the positions that those yogis get into. And one of my favorite teachers from One Peloton, Kirra Michel, I had her on the podcast when it was known as the Kintsugi Podcast. She's big on stressing, "Hey, the blocks are there to help you.</p>
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<p>Use them if you need to use them. It's not a sign of weakness. It's not a sign that you don't know how to do yoga. Yoga is different for everyone because we all have different bodies. We're all going through something, so use the blocks." And that got me comfortable with using the blocks. And then I thought, the blocks are there to help you.</p>
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<p>They're there to support you, and how often do we struggle with asking for help and support? One of the lessons I learned through my recovery is that asking for help doesn't mean you're weak. It doesn't mean you're a loser. It's not an invitation to beat yourself up with shame and guilt with a whole bunch of negative self-talk.</p>
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<p>When you ask for help, it's telling the world that, "Hey, I'm not quitting." For me and my language, it's one way to demonstrate that I'm going to keep pedaling. It's wisdom to ask for help. As the old adage goes, together we go far. We can't do really anything by ourselves. We need each other, especially in this age of AI.</p>
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<p>We all need help and support every now and again. It's what I tell the leaders I coach. Getting a coach doesn't mean you're out the door eventually. It means that your company's investing in you. You're the smartest one. All your other colleagues that think they can do it all by themselves, they're the foolish ones.</p>
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<p>By leaning into coaching, you're the smartest one. You have wisdom. You know, having a resource to tap into is smart. So is using yoga blocks. It's not a sign of weakness. It's not a sign that you don't know what to do. It's a sign that you're sticking with your practice. You just need a little help right now, and that's perfectly okay.</p>
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<p>Because after all, we're all perfectly imperfect. So if you've never taken a yoga class because you think it's not much of a workout, let me tell you, it's a workout. It combines balance and strength and your breath. That triad can help you get to know yourself. It's all part of moving mindfully, so it's a great practice as it relates to our method of pausing, breathing, and reflecting, but it can be great conditioning.</p>
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<p>So my encouragement to you is take a yoga class, and if you need to use the blocks, use the blocks. Ain't no shame in the game. You'll have a better practice that way, and you'll get more out of it.</p>
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<p>As always, thanks for listening and being part of our Peloton here at Whole Again. Another thing I'm doing to help celebrate 25 years is I'm giving away copies of my best-selling book, My Last Bad Day Shift. You'll find the link in the show notes. And I hope you also check out the new series I'm doing this summer called A Perfectly Imperfect Union.</p>
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<p>I'm speaking with everyday Americans like you who are putting a beautiful ripple into the world and asking them about their reflections as America turns 250. Those conversations are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, so there'll be a new one tomorrow, and I hope you'll check it out. And until then, let's remember to celebrate our scars as golden symbols of our strength and resilience, and don't forget to have fun storming the castle.</p>
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<p>And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, michaelobrienshift.com, and sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect. And join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at Whole Again, and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient, and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.</p>
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<p>Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this, and we've got you</p>
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