People can sometimes get nervous about falling in yoga. Of course people usually don’t want to fall, but there comes a certain point in practice where you have to learn to let this happen so you can move forward. Otherwise, you develop your practice from fear. Perhaps you are not there yet, or uncertain that this is a way you want to move forward, but the benefits can be so rich. If you want to know what you can do, and to learn more about yourself in this way, then opening up to the possibility of falling may be in your future.

So a quick look at one of my favorite yoga blog posts ever should be interesting here: Kino Macgregor was one of the youngest students ever to be granted permission to teach the Astanga Yoga of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.  In this post, Kino shares her thoughts on falling and there is a video of her performing the pose that caused her to apply such longterm effort.

http://www.kinoyoga.com/let-her-fall-pinchamayurasana-the-road-through-suffering-pain-into-balance/

 

“You have to let yourself fall. If you do you practice from the perspective of avoiding the uncomfortable feeling of falling then you deprive yourself of full scope of learning possible through yoga. If you can learn how to face pain and suffering without avoiding it then you have understood what the practice is all about. Learning how to fall is about understanding what suffering is, how to face it, accept it and ultimately make it your friend.” – Kino Macgregor

Continuing with the inspirational theme, here is a video of Kino’s lovely practice:

 

 

I assure you that in class, falling is entirely optional. However, if you want to be the hero in your own journey, be sure to challenge yourself enough so that falling is always an option.

 

Yoga Pose of the Day: Your greatest challenge right now.

Yogic Concept of the Day: I accept that I must work with my body the way that it is, and if I fall sometimes, I will be okay.