Yoga and Embracing Fear

1 Feb, 2011

You might have noticed it’s been a while since my previous posts here. I’ve been ‘meaning to’ for a while and have realised that one of the reasons I have not is that it is one of my fears. A fear of voicing my opinion, setting it in stone (or print). Along with that would be the usual excuses of not enough time blah blah blah. However I love writing, have had plenty of ideas and have done plenty of research which could be written up. I guess it’s about time I just got on with it then!

I decided a good way to start would be to think about embracing fears and what this means. We do this all the time in our Yoga practise. From something as simple as taking a deep breath (and releasing it), to turning ourselves upside down in a handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana), or opening our hearts and upper backs in a deep arch such as Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (two legged inverted staff pose).

When we understand our fear and how easily our emotions can distort the actuality of events, we realise many of the fears we have are not really current any more. They may have come from past situations where we did need the fear in order to respond appropriately. We are often left with a fear of moving away from our habitual (often protecting or comforting) patterns. This can feel threatening, but isn’t based on any solid or current threat. The habitual patterns are often restrictive, limiting us in our bodies and minds.

When we approach a pose that brings up our fears, I personally am not interested in remembering where they’ve come from, I don’t want to mentally analyse. The beauty of Yoga is that you can release without having to do any mental digging. When we are practising Yoga asana (poses) we aren’t thinking the pose, we aren’t even being the pose, we are the pose. Our body becomes the landscape and our breath, the river. A path is laid open.

Through our breath and our willingness to let go, fears can release like steam from a volcano. It’s not easy and it’s not instant (volcanoes lie dormant for years!), but it is very rewarding and you can’t help but feel it filtering down from your practise to other aspects of your life. I still use a wall for handstand and haven’t managed to bunny hop up, but I remember when I was first learning headstand (Sirsasana), how long it took me to trust myself. As I got closer and closer, then gradually got away from the wall, I really felt it helping me cross a milestone in building my general confidence.

If there are certain fears you are trying to overcome and you feel frustrated in your progress, please don’t be too hard on yourself. Life ebbs and flows with a wonderful rhythm. Some days I’ll use a wall for headstand, some days I won’t and that is fine with me. Be prepared to take two steps forward, one step back and look beyond the obvious to really see how well you’re doing.

Right, now I’ve just got to press the print button!…