Kathryn Budig is an internationally known yoga teacher, the author of Women’s Health Big Book of Yoga and the founder of Aim True Yoga. She will lead a workshop on her signature style of yoga from July 5 to 7 at Ruby and Pearl’s Yoga Studio, in Fort Myers.

The details and nuances of Budig’s Aim True lecture began to clearly form in her mind’s eye nearly two years ago after a difficult period in her life. “My lecture covers my personal story about how I learned to aim true for my own success. In reflection, I see that challenging time as a catalyst that recharged my thinking and allowed me to become more of my own person rather than being ruled by the opinions of others, which was always a tricky issue for me,” she says.

A synchronistic moment brought Budig face-to-face with the iconic images that now hang around her neck and are a part of nearly every Aim True Yoga workshop. “I was shopping for a necklace when I saw two charms—a golden arrow and crescent moon. These are symbols of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt and the protectress of women and animals. In that moment, memories of my childhood days, when Artemis was my favorite goddess, flooded my mind and reminded me that it was her strength that I needed to emulate,” recalls Budig. She found the words of her Aim True prayer on a website: “Artemis, make my aim true. Give me goals to seek and the means and constant determination to achieve them.”

Although Budig consciously recognized feeling motivated and inspired, she sensed that she was missing something that could help her hit the mark of true success. “In moments of contemplation and meditation, it came to me that I needed to dissect the goals that I was following and determine if they were really what ignited my passion and made my heart beat fast,” explains Budig. “The time I spent exploring what was true for me and learning about the power of intention made a huge difference on and off my yoga mat.”

In daily yoga practice, yogis begin at the front of their mat, hands in front of the heart and set an intention. According to Budig, anyone that has read The Secret or that understands the concept of intention and manifestation knows the importance of setting an intention in the morning that has the power to affect an entire day. “At the core of all my intentions is how I want to feel or behave, regardless of whether or not I attain all my poses and regardless of what circumstances come my way throughout the day. I can only control two things—my reaction and the story I tell myself,” she enthuses.

The stories, or negative self-talk, that individuals tell themselves are integral to Budig’s workshop. “When we tackle the things we dread, as well as our bigger fears or the more challenging yoga poses, we tell ourselves a lot of self-limiting stories, such as, ‘I can’t do this because I’ll fall on my face,’ ‘I’m not flexible or strong enough,’ and ‘I’m too old.’ These stories also limit us off the mat and become roadblocks to living a full life,” explains Budig.

Adept at integrating challenging poses into posture sequences, Budig enjoys leading her students up to a surprise revelation. “Rarely do they see the challenging pose coming, because they are so involved in the posture they are already in. The next thing they know, they are doing something they feared was impossible and their story disintegrates,” she quips.

In Budig’s workshops, the Friday night session sets the tone for entire weekend. “I like to ask them in the first session what aiming true means to them. It took me a long time to find mine, so I don’t expect everyone to have answers. I simply want them to set an intention for the weekend and observe how it affects the outcome. Most importantly, I want everyone to do it with a playful attitude and the idea of trying new things and having fun,” she remarks.

Aim True Yoga is a good experience for individuals that seek an extra kick to get back on track or to move past a fearful place. “It’s a powerful thing to remember at any time and place what you love, because it trumps everything else,” notes Budig.

Ruby and Pearl’s is located at 6420 Plantation Park Ct., Ste. 104, in Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-763-1021 or visit RubyAndPearls.com.