The Fall: The Importance of Falling Down and Getting Back Up

The day had come for me to demo an arm-balance pose, and it went south. Head smashing into the ground kinda south.

It was a Tuesday. The time was 20:45(ish). The location? My local yoga studio. I was feeling quietly confident about guiding my students into Flying Pigeon.

Flying Pigeon (or Eka Pada Galavasanahe) is a delicate perch which requires enough flexibility, skill, and both physical and mental strength to detach from the fear of teetering forward and falling on your face. Some anxiety is perfectly reasonable. After all, humans are wired to avoid circumstances where we might bruise our faces—or our egos.

I’d practiced at home and I knew I could do the pose. But as I prepared for take-off, it quickly went south as my forehead smashed into the ground in front of a room full of students.

If this had happened to me as a new yoga teacher, I would’ve struggled to collect myself and finish the class with any sort of style or grace. The shame and embarrassment would’ve been tattooed on my face. As a new yoga teacher, it can feel super vulnerable to stand at the front of the room and make mistakes. But, I am not a new teacher anymore. I also do not live in a flashy yogi town full of incredibly bendy people. Nope, just little ol’ me in my awesome local studio, full of real, down-to-earth, curious, and ready-to-learn students.

Embracing Imperfection in Yoga Teaching (and life)

I've noticed a shift in the last six months of my yoga teaching. I am not trying to prove anything anymore. I show up with what I’ve got that day. And I am happy that I have a body that still allows me to do yoga, and a mind that is still and focused enough to teach it (most of the time!).

The Bird Who Learns to Fall: A Metaphor for Growth

This is why landing on my head today whilst demonstrating flying pigeon was kinda funny. It also reminded me that it’s okay to make mistakes even when you’re the teacher. In fact, in many ways, it’s good to show our students that ‘hey, I mess up too. I am human!’ If there are a group of poses which do not bode well while harboring strong emotions in them, it is…yep…arm balances and inversions. When your mind is unbalanced with emotions, it’s really hard to balance on your hands, feet, or head. These are the poses you really want a clear head, or you might literally land on your head (like me).

It is a metaphor for life, I suppose. It teaches you to clear your head before something difficult. That’s also why I love arm balances and inversions because they help you to let go of what’s holding you back. And hopefully, by falling, I inspired my yoga students to try and be okay if they fall.

Lessons Beyond the Yoga Mat

It’s the same when you’re starting a new business. You’re doing a ton of stuff in a very visible and public way. You don’t know if it will be a success and it can feel like there are plenty of people who are waiting in the wings ready to judge you if you fail (or fall). But the thing is, if we’re aiming for success, we will fail more often. If you’re failing, then you’re trying. Get up, try again. Keep trying, that is all you can do, my loves. Namaste.

You can find out about more about the yoga I offer here.