Transforming Perfectionism: Coaching & Yoga Workshop

On the final Sunday of the month our #SundaySeries will explore a new topic around self care, self knowledge and growth. We're here to help you find your voice, be better to yourself, connect with remarkable people, and live more comfortably in your skin. Together we'll pose illuminating and challenging questions, share personal experiences, and guide you through practices to help you take better care of yourself, make balanced decisions, and soften your inner critics.

In April we’ll be delving into the pandemic of perfectionism.

Do you struggle with needing to do things perfectly or exactly “right”? Do you find yourself wishing you could do more of the things that are meaningful to you, but know that your exacting standards and critical self talk hold you back?

Many of us wrestle with the anxiety and control of our own unsustainable and punishing standards, and always end up feeling “less than”. Perfectionism is not about delivering faultless outcomes and doing everything right. Perfectionism is the overwhelming stress of battling to feel (and be seen as) flawless, and never feeling good enough.

Perfectionistic thinking can lead you to feel depressed, guilty, ashamed, anxious and angry, especially if you consistently criticise yourself for not doing well enough after spending considerable time and effort on a task. It's also a crucial blocker to progress and play.

How debilitating and exhausting the “cement boots” we create are when judging whether we’ll be able to do something “right” For a lot of us, if there’s any chance of getting it wrong, it’s a no go. Any real chance of negative feedback or even constructive criticism, we shrink into ourselves.

Almost every decision becomes excruciating. Deliberating over everything. Second guessing constantly.

Is this the right job for me?

Did I say the right thing?

Everything will be perfect when I buy that apartment / get that job.

I should have known she’d be upset.

It will offer concrete practices to let go self-doubt and perfectionism, while also establishing a way to approach life that allows you to increase your comfort with vulnerability, embrace your imperfections, and help create a strong sense of connection with your work and other people.

The afternoon will open with warm greetings and a couple of exercises, before moving through a carefully-sequenced yoga class led by Ellie, designed to still your mind and tune into your centre.

As a practice of self-enquiry, Yoga is a wonderful way to pay witness to - and reorient - the limiting beliefs and thought processes that stop us from living more freely. We'll work with the breath and simple postures to quiet your inner critic and help you find compassionate acceptance in wherever you are in your life right now. Mindful movement twinned with mindful breath work are all about finding stillness in the here and now - vital if we are to push past the endless striving that accompanies a perfectionistic mind!

From here we'll pour tea and ask questions to stimulate self-enquiry, teaching practices which will gently challenge and soothe perfectionistic modes of thinking and being. The workshop will close with a guided meditation to help ground your learning and nourish your mind and body.