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The Expert Was Once The Beginner

I am currently attempting to play the drums, taught to me by my expert-of-a-drummer-father who makes playing seem effortless. He’s amazing to say the very least. He can play whatever you want, and if you close your eyes, it sounds like you’re at the concert. Yes, he is that good. I have a little rhythm and feel like I can pick things up fairly quickly, so naturally I thought I’d get the hang of it in a lesson or two. Wrong!! Learning to play the drums has tested my patience and humbled me back to that place where I had to decide if it’s truly worth it to be so bad at something.

 

It would be easy to quit. It would be easy to tell him I’m too busy for lessons and I’m too old to learn something new. But it would be a lie. It’s a common lie we tell ourselves – the “I’m too ____ to do ____ lie. It’s an excuse born out of fear. Fear of failure, fear of imperfection, fear of not being good enough. So I had a choice to make: Do I let a little fear and frustration stop me? Or do I accept the simple truth that We All Must Be Beginners First.

 

We don’t start out as experts. This is something that we, as adults, often forget as we get older and try new things much less often than we did as kids. My dad has been playing the drums since he was a kid. He practiced for literally, thousands of hours. Of course he’s good!! He put in the work, he pushed past the “I’m not good enough” stage, and now he finds some of his greatest joy in music.

 

So in yoga, or drums, is life. I know it’s hard to come into class as a newbie and have no clue what’s going on. I know it can be frustrating to have to look up at the teacher to see what the heck is going on when you’ve come to a practice that supposedly should de-stress you! I know the people around you look like experts and you feel like the only beginner. But you’re not. And those “experts” around you are here to tell you this: Push past this stage and you will reap more benefits from yoga than you can possibly imagine. Be a beginner. Be okay to fall a little bit. There is no expert in yoga, because it’s a path of learning that never ends. Be inspired by this beautiful practice, and let it lead you down paths that can positively change your life.

It is never too late to start something new, so start today.

Megan