🕉️ Behind Fear Lies Freedom: A Yogic Lesson From a Trust Exercise With My Mentor

Today offered me one of the most profound teachings I’ve experienced — not in a yoga studio, not on my mat, but in a moment that asked me to meet fear with breath, awareness, and courage.

It came from my mentor, Jim Francis, whose work in personal development spans decades and includes collaborating with leaders like Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy. Despite his accomplishments, he teaches with a humility and presence that makes every insight feel personal, grounded, and deeply human.

His sankalpa — Kala, meaning “anything and everything is possible for me” — is not something he says lightly. He lives it. And today, he invited me to live it too.

The Trust Exercise

At one point, Jim held an arrow gently against the soft space at my throat.

It wasn’t about danger.

It wasn’t about pushing limits recklessly.

It was about meeting the mind’s reaction to fear — the tightening, the resistance, the stories.

He looked at me and said:

“Behind your fear you’ll find your hopes and dreams.”

In yoga, this is the very heart of practice: learning to breathe into the space where fear lives.

He asked me to take a step forward.

My body hesitated.

My mind prepared for the worst.

My breath waited to lead.

And then — I stepped.

As I moved forward, the arrow bowed, then snapped in two.

In that moment, the fear dissolved, the resistance melted.

And I realised: the barrier was never the arrow — it was my mind.

Yoga Teaches the Same Lesson Every Day

That moment was yoga in its purest form.

Fear is the same force we meet when:

• balancing on one leg

• dropping into a deeper backbend

• attempting a headstand or crow

• Staying another few moments in pigeon

• facing the postures we convince ourselves we’re “not ready for”

The body rarely holds the limitation.

The mind does.

The arrow showed me what yoga reveals on the mat:

Fear is a threshold, not a wall.

And when we breathe through it, it bows — and eventually, it breaks.

Jim’s Lineage Meets Yogic Wisdom

What makes Jim’s teaching so impactful is the lineage he carries.

His early work with Tony Robbins taught him the psychology of courage and state.

His experience working with Brian Tracy deepened his mastery of belief, discipline, and action.

And yet, he weaves all of this into something incredibly aligned with yoga:

presence, sankalpa, expansion, and the inner journey from fear to possibility.

Sankalpa: Kala — Anything and Everything Is Possible for Me

This sankalpa doesn’t ask you to force anything.

It invites you to remember what is already true:

You are more capable than your fear suggests.

You are wider than your doubt.

You are stronger than the stories your mind creates.

Kala is the same truth yoga whispers as we grow and evolve:

Your possibilities expand to the size of your courage.

The Arrow, the Mat, and the Mind

When the arrow snapped, I understood something I’ve felt on the mat but never seen so clearly in life:

Fear bends.

Fear breaks.

Fear moves out of the way when we move through it with awareness.

That moment was not about proving strength.

It was about remembering:

Courage is not the absence of fear — it is the willingness to step forward anyway.

What I Take Back to My Practice

Every posture now feels different.

Each edge holds new meaning.

Each hesitation feels like an invitation.

Each breath feels like a key.

Because now I know:

Behind fear is freedom.

Behind resistance is growth.

Behind trembling is transformation.

And with breath, intention, and Kala —

anything and everything truly becomes possible.

🌿

If You’re Ready to Face Your Own Fears…

If you’re holding onto fears, limiting beliefs, old patterns, or inner barriers that keep you from moving forward — you don’t have to face them alone.

Whether it’s through NLP, yoga, meditation, breathwork, there are tools that can help you break free.

👉 If you feel called to release something, explore something, or step into a more empowered version of yourself, contact me.

Together, we can face the fear, find the lesson behind it, and help you move toward your the hopes and dreams waiting on the other side of the mat.