Something happened in yoga class. I was at my favorite studio, in a particularly challenging class, when our teacher invited us into crow pose.
Crow pose looks unnatural. Hands placed beneath a body that lifts hopefully but tenuously into the air. However, having routinely practiced crow at home, I assumed the posture. On this day though, my wrists were tired and gave way. I fell and my face literally hit the mat.
There was a time when this would have made me want to roll up my mat and leave, never to return. I would have told myself a story about how everyone saw and everyone judged me, maybe even telling other people about what a mess of a person they saw in their yoga class. I might have spent the rest of the day in my head, telling myself how foolish I looked. How I shouldn’t have tried in the first place.
But this time was different. I picked myself up from the ground and laughed to myself. I shook it off, and I got back into position.
There is always a chance you’ll fall on your face. Especially when you’re doing something that requires risk. Something that requires a bit of boldness. But what is worse: falling on your face, or forever being afraid to try?
There is a change I’ve undergone as a person, and truth be told, I’m still choosing to make the change. I’m becoming a person who takes the risk, who willingly assumes positions where I can fall on my face. And not just on the yoga mat.
Doing things that are worthwhile, that call out the depth in us, require risk. So what is it for you? What opportunities do you face where you might find yourself humbled? Might I suggest, that it is better to fall on your face and laugh at yourself, than to never try and never feel what it is like to be up in the air.
To have fun in your Yoga practice try our “Yoga for Play” flow class by clicking here!