Well THAT was humbling...

As a yoga practitioner and teacher, sometimes there is this external expectation or belief that you can do any yoga pose. Occasionally that thought process becomes internalized.

This morning as I cued up my home practice, I was fully ready to tackle this exercise. About 20 minutes into the class, my hips ached, my hamstrings screamed, and my form began to suffer. Rather than soften my practice I began to power through, until my discomfort turned into pain and I needed to stop.

I realized that my ego had taken root.

We need moments like this in life to be reminded of our humanness; of the reality of who we are. When one moves from confidence to cocky, is when they enter into egoism. Sometimes our ego needs to be knocked down off of its perch. And that's not such a bad thing.

Whether it's in your life or in your practice, take a moment to reflect on when you have seen the good things go awry. It is in this reflection that you begin to find your shadow self. Rather than fighting against these moments allow yourself to be humbled. Acknowledge this space that you have entered into with grace and gratitude for the lesson. Being humbled does not mean that we are necessarily knocked to the ground. Just knocked off our high horse.

Once you can acknowledge these moments, the goal is to catch yourself in then before or as they happen. That may help you prevent missteps and injury- both on and off your mat.

Photo credit: Jilbert Ebrahim