It’s been 11 days since Hillary Rodham Clinton gave her address to the Women in Public Serve Project Institute. After waiting in the stand-by line for two hours I was able to snag a seat and listen to her speech about women empowerment. It has been 10 days since I’ve started practicing Bikram Yoga. After today’s class I have realized what these two have in common.

For the past 10 days I wake up at 6:30am to drive to my 7am yoga class. I sign in, drop my bag off at the locker room, and brace myself for the hot and humid studio. Every day I sit in the back corner of the class and try not to embarrass or injure myself with any of the poses. Mid-class I stared at the clock during each pose trying to grip my slipping hands together. Practicing alongside calm and collected yogi pros while you flail around is enough to make you feel inadequate. Falling out of half the poses I began to think about things outside of class, basically a giant anti-meditation session, triggering a quarter-life crisis.

During the savasana pose, lying flat on your back facing the back wall, I saw for the first time that there were 6 words painted on the back wall. Looking up at the wall, the words Faith and Determination we staring back at me. In the midst of my quarter life crisis I cracked a smile. Faith and Determination. Two of the most cliché words for a person to hear, but at a moment like this one two very necessary ones.

They reminded me of Hillary Clinton’s Address in Thomas Great Hall. She said two things that really resonated with me. By participating in the institute she stated that ,”we lay down a marker that in a world of injustice we can do better.” Throughout her talk she discussed the ideas of passion and perseverance in becoming a true leader and what the word actually means. In order to obtain these goals that she has envisioned for the various women in leaders in the room that day it is necessary to keep faith  and determination in these projects despite the endless stream of uphill battles.”We need leaders who say no to business as usual.”

After thinking about her inspiring words and the words that kept giving me the eye on the back wall, I realized that 1. There are way bigger problems in the world than a bad 90 minute yoga session, and 2. If I just keep a lot of faith and determination I can do anything, including finish this session on a good note.

Bikram Yoga and Hillary Clinton gave me a great lesson that I just now have come to understand. In order to obtain goals, however small or large, you need to focus on becoming a better you rather than the experience or tradition of others. Once you have achieved that, the world is yours.

To be continued…

TL;DR: Faith and Determination are two things that Hillary Clinton and Bikram Yoga have in common. They can help you get through a yoga session or achieve World Domination!