Facing my yoga fears – how to master those scary poses

Originally Posted 30 October 2014
Everyone has got something that they find really scary – in life in general and in our yoga practice. I’m scared of the dark for example…I don’t really know why and I don’t think anything traumatic has ever happened to me, so I’m not sure where it comes from.
In my yoga practice there have always been three main poses that I have found really scary: Shoulder Stand, Crow Pose and Headstands! I have avoided these poses for years and years and did occasionally attempt them but not with much conviction (so basically I couldn’t do them). Avoiding them actually made it worse in the end as it took me a really long time to overcome my fears.
Picture

What are we so afraid of?

So what exactly is so scary about these poses? Being upside down in general can be scary I guess. For me that was never the issue, however, as I like doing Handstands (against the wall) and have found them always very energising and fun! (So much that I used to do them in the office when everybody else was out for lunch…) Headstands are a different story, however. I find them awkward to do against the wall and very scary to do in the middle of the room!

In Shoulderstand I was always scared about injuring my neck but to be fair it’s probably more likely that I will get an injury from tripping over some toys on the floor than Shoulderstand as I’m always really careful not to move my head! In Crow Pose like in Headstand it’s definitely the fear of falling and getting hurt which is of course a valid one!

I think sometimes our ego gets in our way and prevents us from trying something without fear. It is obviously there to protect us so that we don’t get hurt but it can also limit us. In yoga the aim is to ‘take control of the mind in such a way that we can quiet the ego and ultimately be free from the chains that we have put on ourselves’.

Fear is relative

This is still very abstract to me and I don’t know if I will ever be able to achieve this, but what I know is that since I’ve given birth to my first child, my fears have become a lot less. I’m still trying to understand why exactly, but in general I seem to be a lot less scared, or putting it differently: more confident! Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve experienced my body perform a miracle (I can’t put it any other way) or maybe it’s because as a mother the worst fear is that something bad happens to your children which makes everything else seem insignificant! Maybe it’s because I’m learning to be more playful again – afterall I do have to demonstrate forward rolls to my two-year-old on a daily basis… Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with having kids but I’m just getting older and braver!

Facing my fears

I have been practicing all those poses that used to scare me and am slowly getting over my fears. What I’ve also been doing to confront my fears is dealing with the scary bit – so in the case of Headstand and Crow it’s the falling! That’s difficult to practice in Crow Pose because you will land flat on your face but it works with lots of cushions. In Headstand I’m trying to learn how to roll out of it if I lose my balance (still working on it…). So until I learn how to control my mind I have to find other ways to deal with my fears. If anyone has the answer to this or is experiencing something similar then please let me know! (Just writing this down actually helped as I’m thinking there is actually nothing really to be scared of!)

As for my fear of the dark – that’s still there, however, and my husband, who likes to turn off all the lights and jump out from behind the door, is not helping!!

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

  1. So insiteful and passionate. I have woken up at 12.46 just to read this. I love the profile pic, did you make them? Look yummy!
    I like the title and totally get the last paragraph about Mr B. Jumping out! Warren does it all the time and I scream every time without fail!
    Can’t imagine you being scared of anything , you are one of the strongest determined wonderful mummy’s I know!
    I want to read more!

    Reply

    1. Aww thank you so much. It really means a lot to me that you’re enjoying what I write!
      Yes, made the cakes with Maya 🙂

      Reply
{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Get your Sample Yoga Sequence for Scoliosis!

Subscribe Now
__CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"30800":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1},"f2bba":{"name":"Main Light 10","parent":"30800"},"trewq":{"name":"Main Light 30","parent":"30800"},"frty6":{"name":"Main Light 45","parent":"30800"},"flktr":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"30800"}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"30800":{"val":"rgb(59, 136, 253)","hsl":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61}},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.1)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.1}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.3)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.3}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.45)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.45}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.8}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"30800":{"val":"rgb(59, 136, 253)","hsl":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61}},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.1)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.1}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.3)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.3}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.45)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.45}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(59, 136, 253, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":216,"s":0.98,"l":0.61,"a":0.8}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__