How much enthusiasm can you allow yourself?

New projects are the order of the day for me, and I never shy away from packing my bags and setting off!

It sounds like a metaphor, but it isn't: last fall, I was invited overseas to give individual sessions and intensive courses in New York and Massachusetts.

And now I'm in the Netherlands teaching the first year of the Grinberg Method course for the Amsterdam Academy of Body Learning and the Body Learning School.

I've been teaching the Metodo Grinberg for several years now, and it's not uncommon for me to be called upon to lead first-year classes as an Senior Teacher.

The last time this happened was about a year ago when I taught the same course for the Body Learning School. 
Under my guidance, students have the opportunity to learn everything they need to know from scratch in order to approach and then deepen their understanding of Metodo Grinberg. 

During the teaching sessions, I am usually assisted by an assistant.
Each time I am assisted by different people, and last year Leandaer Ruivenkamp assisted me.

You can find a short excerpt below, but what happened that was so significant?

During the demonstration, we addressed some issues that were important to him at the time, particularly a new project in which he was investing a lot of energy.
However, alongside the enthusiasm and excitement of wanting to develop a new project and the positive energy of seeing it come to fruition, fear was creating blocks that prevented him from fully enjoying this intense creative phase and, more importantly, prevented him from moving forward. 

I helped him to focus more and better on the sensations that emerged in his body, on the symptoms he actually felt while telling me about his project, which was still in its infancy.
I taught him to use the energy of fear and enthusiasm so as not to stop himself from fulfilling his desire.

The result is that less than a year after that session, Leandaer succeeded in his goal of opening the Amsterdam Academy of Body Learning and wanted me to teach the first year of the Grinberg Method.

I am sharing his story below because I hope you can relate to his words, his fears, and his doubts. And I hope you can understand that I can teach him, as I can teach you, not to give up on your desires out of fear, but to use the energy that fear releases to achieve them. 

About eight months ago, during a session I received, I discovered the delicate but powerful balance between allowing myself to feel enthusiasm and unconsciously repressing it because of perceived obstacles.

It was during a week of training where I was assisting Paola Dalmasso (our teacher for the upcoming first year) who was doing a demonstration on me, starting with my feet.

“What do you do when you feel a strong emotion?” Paola asked me.

“Do you allow yourself to be excited about your new school project?” (they were referring to the Amsterdam Academy for Body Learning).

“I try,” I said, “but it's hard to stay open because I see so many obstacles and problems along the way” (i.e., the road to frustration).

That was the block.

Instead of allowing myself to feel enthusiasm, I was holding myself back because the obstacles seemed too big to overcome, and so I couldn't access the full power of my enthusiasm.

“The moment my mind sees the problems, the enthusiasm dies, leaving me stuck with unexpressed energy, frustration, and the belief that the plan is impossible.”

Paola insisted. She asked me to bring my attention back to the project of opening the school and to my chest. To feel the enthusiasm. And also to accept how much it scared me.
Again and again, she invited me not to give voice to thoughts like “it's not possible, because...” and to open myself up to enthusiasm.

With many deep breaths, a few touches on my chest to bring awareness to the area where I felt fear and excitement, and a deep relaxation into the idea of really trying—allowing fear and excitement to coexist—something shifted.

It was magnificent.

Am I still afraid? Of course I am. Are the students afraid to venture into this new and uncharted territory? I'm sure they are...

Can we transform that fear into excitement and use it as fuel for new and wonderful possibilities in our lives?

Of course we can.