You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -Wayne Gretzky
OR
You will never be able to do any of the poses you never try.-Shanna Small
Choosing to work on poses that scare the crap out of you is an exercise in overcoming fear and false limitations created by the mind. Most people make all their decisions in life based on fear. We stay in jobs we hate or treat our employees as less then human because we are afraid of not having money. We stay in relationships that make us unhappy because we are scared of starting a new life. We let our kids run our lives because we are scared to say no. As long as we make our decisions in life based on fear, we never realize our true potential. We sign our lives away to mediocrity. We die without ever living.
The result of a shot taken and missed is growth. We dust ourselves off, learn from it and evolve. Everyday moving closer to our highest potential. The repercussions of a shot never taken are inertia and stagnation. Without facing your fears, you decide that the cards you have been dealt are the ones that you will keep. That you or your life will never be any different then today.
I recently attended a yoga class where we spent the whole time preparing for Pincha Mayurasana(forearm balance) but we never actually did Pincha Mayurasnana. Fear also keeps you constantly preparing for things that never happen.
How many times have you went through a long conversation in your head in preparation for an upcoming confrontation, salary review or discussion to only have the conversation be something totally different? Did you calculate the time you wasted having this loony mental conversation? The insurance industry is totally based on fear. How often does the average person really go to the doctor compared to the money shelled out every month to pay for policies?
Because of fear, we save money to prepare for disasters that never happen. We spend hours preparing for opportunities we never take. We do hundreds of planks and chaturangas building strength for handstands we never try.
Using your yoga practice to overcome your fears, allows you to strengthen your mind for even bigger boogie men that are outside of the mat. It also allows your save your practice and life from boredom and stagnation. Do at least one pose that scares you every practice and watch your irrational fears start to dissipate.
Video of the Day: Pema Chodron on Troublemakers
