This week, ghosts, skeletons, and spooky decorations are everywhere. But some of the things that frighten us most live quietly inside our own minds.

We say things to ourselves…

“I can’t.”
“I am not.”
“I never have.”
“It looks hard.”

Sometimes we repeat these thoughts so often that we stop questioning them. They become familiar voices, carrying an energy that influences how we move through life. These are limiting beliefs—the stories we accept about ourselves that can keep us from exploring what is possible.

They might come from an old experience, someone else’s opinion, or the simple discomfort of being a beginner. A past disappointment becomes a prediction. Something we haven’t done becomes something we believe we cannot do.

How do we begin to change “What if I fall?” into “What if I fly?”

We start by noticing the story. When “I can’t” shows up, pause before accepting it as the final answer. Is there something you need to learn? Support you could ask for? A smaller first step you could take?

“I can’t” might become “I can try.”
“I am not” might become “I am still becoming.”
“I never have” might become “I’m willing to begin.”
“It looks hard” might become “I can take it one step at a time.”

We don’t have to force ourselves into instant confidence. We can make room for curiosity alongside the fear.

This is something we practice through yoga. We move, breathe, notice, and adjust. We meet a challenging moment and explore our response. Sometimes we discover more strength than we expected. Sometimes we discover that we need rest. Both can teach us to trust ourselves.

And there is science behind making time for that practice. In a randomized study from Boston University, participants practiced yoga or walked for 60 minutes, three times a week, for 12 weeks. The yoga group experienced greater improvements in mood and greater decreases in anxiety.

Researchers also found a connection between those improvements and levels of GABA—a chemical messenger that helps quiet activity in the brain. Although the study was small, it offers encouraging evidence that yoga’s benefits can reach beyond flexibility and strength to support our emotional well-being.

That gives us another reason to keep showing up. Through movement, breath, and attention, we make time to notice what we’re carrying and practice responding with greater awareness.

And on the mat, we can explore a new response to those familiar limiting beliefs: “I can’t” can become “I’m willing to try.” “It looks hard” can become “I can begin where I am.”

A little less fright. A little more light. And room to ask, “What if I fly?”

Read the research: Effects of Yoga Versus Walking on Mood, Anxiety, and Brain GABA Levels