Overcoming the fear of falling

One of the many reasons that led me on the path to teaching yoga was the idea of connecting with my students, guiding them to those little moments of clarity that translate into the real world. But, as a new teacher (and often when we are new to anything), it can be difficult to put yourself out there. I find myself wondering, what happens if I forget a cue, or mix up my right and left sides? What if no one enjoys my class?

Often, students that struggle with arm balances like Bakasana are physically strong enough to practice the pose but cannot overcome a mental barrier — the fear of falling forward. Teachers will suggest placing a prop, like a pillow or a block, underneath the forehead to bring the ground closer and eliminate this fear. Practicing with this safety net allows the mind to understand that the body is capable.

In life, we don’t always have the opportunity to create a safety net. Instead, we have two choices: face our fears and overcome them or allow our fears to prevent us from growing and moving forward. 

Feeling the fear and trying it anyway can create several beautiful outcomes:

• We can fall and understand that the worst thing that can happen isn’t all that scary.

• We can fall and learn something new that we can apply to our next attempt.

• We can fall but know that we did it a little better than our last attempt.

• We can fly and trust ourselves enough to try the next thing that we want to work towards.

No matter what happens, we’ll always be stronger when we allow ourselves to fall. Because yoga is not about the pose itself; it’s about all those wonderful things that happen as we work towards becoming everything that we want to be.