The founder of Verge Yoga and Verge Athlete (Wayne, PA) talks about harnessing her—and your—potential, and her forthcoming book, SoulForce.

1. “may the force be with you”
It’s
hard
to
unleash
your
potential
when
you
don’t
know
how
to
find
it—a
pretty
big
hurdle
for
anyone
trying
to
actually
reach,
rather
than
perpetually
chase,
his/her
life
goals.
Finding
your
potential
is
not
about
discovering
what
you
can
“handle”;
rather
it’s
learning
about
your
capabilities—in
many
cases,
buried
underneath
the
day
to
day
obligations
of
work,
family,
school,
sports
and
other
distractions
that
come
with
having
a
full
life.
Sure
there’s
a
lot
of
potential
lying
under
the
surface
in
our
daily
routine,
and
ideally,
much
of
what
we
do—at
home,
at
work
and
at
play—fits
our
interests
and
skill
sets.
But,
have
you
ever
thought
about
how
to
draw
upon
those
collective
attributes
and
go
after
that
one
thing
you
have
always
aspired
to
achieve?
Or
taken
note
of
the
physical
and
mental
state
you’ve
been
in
when
you
have
exceeded
your
(and
others’)
expectations?
Pinpointing
your
personal
champion
state
of
being
is
one
of
the
first
keys
to
unlocking
that
potential—a
state
of
being
Cara
Bradley,
founder
of
Verge
Yoga
and
Verge
Athlete
refers
to
as
SoulForce.
And,
tapping
into
it
is
easier
than
you
think.
—
dawn
elyse
warden-­‐reeder
Q&A
with
Cara
Bradley,
Founder
of
Verge
Yoga
and
Verge
Athlete
TWE:
You
have
this
quote
on
your
blogsite,
"I
show
up
everyday
and
dare
to
be
100%
me”
—
what
does
this
mean
in
your
life
and
how
can
exploring
this
benefit
others
in
theirs?
CB:
In
a
nutshell,
I
don’t
want
to
waste
a
minute
of
my
life
pretending
to
be
something
that
I
am
not.
With
that
in
mind
I
have
learned
to
fully
embrace
exactly
what
I’ve
got
today.
That
is
a
Brooklyn
born
Italian
chick
that
grew
up
hanging
out
on
stoops
playing
with
a
pink
bouncy
ball.
I
believe
that
if
I
bring
that
into
my
life
and
not
try
to
hide
it
I
will
access
a
power
that
goes
beyond
authenticity.
ê

2. TWE:
Your
name
is
deeply
intertwined
with
Verge
Yoga,
both
as
the
brand
and
as
a
familiar
face
in
the
studio…
How
does
that
impact
you
when
pursuing
other
endeavors,
such
as
blogging,
working
with
athletic
teams,
and
regarding
your
current
project
of
writing
a
book?
How
much
of
you
has
to
be
Cara
from
Verge,
and
how
much
of
you
can
be
who
you
are
outside
of
yogini?
Or,
is
it
truly
who
you
are?
CB:
This
is
a
great
question.
For
the
first
eight
years
of
Verge
Yoga,
Cara
was
Verge
and
Verge
was
Cara.
Every
blog
post
or
social
media
post
was
thought
out
in
terms
of
how
it
would
represent
my
brand.
My
mental
training
with
athletes
was
also
considered
a
satellite
program
of
Verge
Yoga.
In
the
past
couple
of
years
I
have
recognized
that
my
passion
to
teach
goes
beyond
yoga
poses.
I
am
relentlessly
enthusiastic
to
talk
about,
write
about
and
teach
others
about
their
incredible
human
potential.
Many
people
associate
me
with
just
being
a
yoga
teacher.
Nothing
could
be
further
from
the
truth.
I
use
the
practice
of
yoga
as
a
platform
to
teach
people
to
grab
hold
of
their
talents
and
passions
and
take
on
their
lives
with
gusto
and
courage.
TWE:
The
title
of
your
book
is
SoulForce,
which
you’ve
described
as
providing
readers
with
"hands-­‐on
tools
to
unleash
a
powerful
state
of
focus
and
fearlessness,
and
to
live
in
The
Power
of
Now.”
Can
you
elaborate
on
this
and
also
share
your
characterization
of
being
in
a
state
of
focus
and
fearlessness?
CB:
We
all
know
what
it
feels
like
to
be
fully
engaged
in
an
activity.
It
happens
when
you
climb
mountains
or
sit
by
the
ocean.
It
can
happen
when
you
are
involved
in
a
complex
work
project
or
when
playing
an
instrument.
Many
years
ago
I
read
the
book
Flow
by
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
He
explained
to
millions
of
readers
the
make-up
of
the
intense
state
of
focus
that
competitive
athletes
dream
of
harnessing.
What
I
have
experienced
is
that
focus
is
found
just
beyond
the
busy
mind.
It
is
beyond
doubt
and
judgment.
What
happens
when
I
am
able
to
slip
into
this
intense
focus
is
that
I
also
find
my
courage.
I
feel
ready
to
try
anything
and
am
not
afraid
of
failing.
In
finding
my
focus,
I
find
my
fearlessness.
That
is
what
I
call
SoulForce.
TWE:
How
has
your
experience
being
a
lifelong
athlete
conditioned
you
for
the
ups
and
downs
of
life,
and
to
reach
for
goals
confidently?
CB:
Being
a
competitive
athlete
for
most
of
my
life
has
taught
me
that
there
are
no
shortcuts
to
success.
I
believe
that
hard
work,
repetition
and
practice,
and
resilience
to
feedback
are
some
of
the
hallmarks
of
champions.
The
problem
for
most
is
that
they
are
unwilling
and
sometimes
even
afraid
of
working
hard
and
of
failing
often.
One
of
the
mottos
that
I
have
carried
with
me
most
of
my
life
is
“What
is
the
worst
that
could
happen?”
TWE:
There
have
been
many
books
written
about
ways
to
become
empowered
and
create
positive
change;
how
is
SoulForce
different?
CB:
While
there
have
been
many
books
written
about
transformation
and
achieving
optimal
states,
SoulForce
differs
in
that
it
emphasizes
directly
experiencing
power
time
and
again
thus
opening
the
gateway
to
permanent
transformation
and
long-­‐term
life
mastery.
Many
bestsellers
are
heavy
on
the
what,
the
why,
and
the
research,
yet
are
ê

3. light
on
how
to
actually
implement
change
and
stay
consistent
every
day.
SoulForce
stresses
how
to
stay
committed
to
bite-sized
daily
practices
and
how
to
create
the
necessary
physical
and
mental
stability
and
stillness
that
invokes
transformation.
I
point
out
that
reading
about
human
potential
in
a
book
will
not
help
ultimately
unleash
it. And, I challenge readers to sit in the driver's seat of their life
by
becoming
fluent
in
experiencing
their
SoulForce.
TWE:
What
are
some
of
the
ways
that
you
are
bringing
this
mindset
into
the
yoga
studio,
and
into
your
athlete
training
work?
CB:
I
consider
myself
a
Mental
Strength
Coach
both
at
Verge
Yoga
and
with
my
teams.
In
many
ways,
I
have
more
confidence
in
my
students
that
they
probably
have
in
themselves.
I
know
deep
down
in
my
bones
that
if
each
of
them
could
glimpse
themselves
beyond
their
busy
mind
(which
is
filled
with
doubt,
judgment,
fear
and
comparison),
they
would
like
who
they
are
and
would
believe
that
they
could
accomplish
just
about
anything.
My
work
is
to
help
them
create
the
mental
space
for
them
to
have
that
glimpse
or
what
I
call
direct
experience
of
their
true
nature.
TWE:
Can
you
share
a
few
of
the
book’s
key
messages
and
5
daily
practices?
CB:
SoulForce
is
an
evolutionary
way
to
cultivate
focus
and
fearlessness.
It
inspires
readers
to
trust
that
beyond
their
busy
mind
sits
an
innate
strength
and
intelligence,
and
explores
how
to
unleash
this
human
potential
through
bite-­‐sized
daily
practices.
…My
book
about
personal
development
and
peak
performance
is
written
for
seekers
of
life
mastery,
the
curious
millions
searching
for
how
to
harness
power
and
apply
it
personally
and
professionally.
SoulForce
dives
into
how
to
unleash
potential
by
becoming
stable
and
still
every
day.
It
demonstrates
how
to
cultivate
stability
and
stillness
with
the
SoulForce
Daily
Practices
of
mindfulness,
intention,
movement,
meditation,
and
acceptance.
SoulForce
describes
the
daily
practices,
how
to
stick
with
them,
the
roadblocks,
and
their
benefits.
Readers
will
have
access
to
on-­‐line
daily
practice
podcasts
and
videos
for
further
support.
SoulForce
evolved
from
my
thirty
years
as
a
yoga
teacher,
mental
strength
coach,
and
entrepreneur.
I
train
over
50,000
athletes
and
yoga
students
per
year
to
commit
to
my
evolutionary
daily
practices
and
have
developed
a
keen
understanding
of
why
some
fail
and
how
others
discover
how
to
harness
focus
and
fearlessness.
My
teaching
and
writing
comes
from
a
deep
trust
that
our
human
potential
is
just
moments
away
from
awakening,
and
can
be
directly
experienced
–
not
by
chance
–
but
on
purpose
every
day.
•
•
•
•
•
•
SoulForce
Daily
Practices
Mindfulness
Practice
-­‐
Pay
Attention
Intention
Practice
-­‐
Get
Clear
Physical
Practice
-­‐
Move
your
Body
Meditation
Practice
-­‐
Find
Stillness
Acceptance
Practice
-­‐
Let
it
Flow

4. TWE:
You’ve
talked
about
doing
more
speaking
engagements…
is
there
a
specific
audience
that
you’d
like
to
get
in
front
of?
CB:
I
love
talking
to
anyone
who
has
felt
a
stirring
inside
that
they
are
more
than
they
are
currently
demonstrating
in
their
life.
Elite
athletes
get
my
message
right
away
as
they
are
used
to
driving
themselves
past
what
they
“think”
they
are
capable
of.
My
message
also
resonates
in
the
corporate
world
to
mid
and
upper
level
management.
Executives
know
that
they
have
to
continue
to
push
their
boundaries
in
order
to
continue
on
their
path
of
success.
TWE:
Can
you
give
an
example
of
how
the
principles
in
your
book,
and
those
you
dispel
through
yoga
instruction
and
during
retreats
(we
want
to
hear
about
those
too!)
can
be
applied
to
building
that
crucial
foundation
to
which
you
refer?
CB:
SoulForce
is
a
felt
sense
of
being
alert
and
alive,
and
of
intense
passion
and
alertness
that
arises
from
stillness.
It
is
a
presence
that
every
one
has
and
can
access.
SoulForce
must
be
directly
experienced
and
my
students
are
encouraged
to
become
curious
about
getting
to
know
this
powerful
state
for
themselves.
My
teachings
revolve
around
directly
experiencing
one’s
power
or
potential.
My
intention
is
to
help
others
experience
their
SoulForce
on
purpose,
and
how
the
intentional
direct
experience
of
potential
can
open
the
gateway
to
permanent
transformation
and
long-­‐term
life
mastery.
TWE:
When
you
interact
with
people,
are
you
able
to
sense
feelings
of
unresolved,
unmet,
and
unfocused?
What
does
that
look
like,
and
how
can
we
readjust
to
impart
a
genuine,
if
imperfect,
focused
and
fearless
persona?
Thinking,
fake
it
till
you
make
it,
but
that
might
be
the
very
thing
you’re
working
against.
We’d
love
to
hear
your
thoughts...
CB:
There
is
no
doubt
that
we
are
a
distracted
society.
Our
distraction
is
literally
blocking
us
from
accessing
the
wisdom,
peace,
direction
and
clarity
that
we
are
all
searching
for.
We
are
so
incredibly
close
to
being
happy
and
calm.
That
relaxed
and
confident
state
of
being
is
waiting
just
beyond
the
busyness
of
life.
We
are
on
the
verge
of
being
powerful
but
are
too
busy
to
recognize
it.
When
I
meet
people,
I
meet
their
minds.
I
can
sense
someone’s
distraction.
I
can
feel
their
fear
and
doubt.
The
beauty
of
teaching
yoga
is
that
I
can
feel
a
room
of
students
collectively
relax
their
grip
on
their
lives.
You
can
feel
it
in
their
bodies
and
in
their
breath.
Our
power
lies
between
our
thoughts,
between
our
judgments
and
plans
and
to-­‐do
lists.
Everything
that
we
seek
is
in
the
pauses
of
life
not
in
the
actions
or
words.
One
of
my
all
time,
favorite
quotes
is
from
Buddhist
Teacher
Pema
Chodron.
She
says,
“We
are
a
blink
of
an
eye
away
from
being
awake.”
And
we
are.
—
cara
bradley