be the change.

i totally freaking love this ad and not just because it's obama. i actually used it as a theme in my yoga classes this week. what i love is that it's a pic of him at the most awkward age, yet it's steeped with optimism.

i believe the be the change mantra comes from gandhi's famous line, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” -- pretty profound, if you ask me.

you may ask, how does something like this apply to yoga philosophy?? well, it's not that you have to change and become something totally different. change can come in the form of totally being you no matter how awkward you think you are. i mean, think about what you were like as a seven year old. probably missing front teeth, sort of annoying, ansty, goofy, nerdy -- but you were still you. there were mannerisms and nuances that carried through to your adult life, they are the things that are so endearing and specific to you.

at my dad's house we have this wall of pics that chronicle years of our lives. you can see this arc of awkwardness that makes way for beauty (i was a pretty nerdy kid/ adolescent). the physical appearance definitely changed, but it was also a change in the way i viewed myself and got more comfortable being me. that's where the yoga comes in. nothing is going to come and wipe out your identity to make you something/someone new. the change comes as you get better at being who you already are. that is change i can believe in.