My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. | Maya Angelou

I love things in yoga that are challenging and new. Like new arm balances or working inversions (not like a 3 minute warrior 2 or something, that would be awful). But in trying these new things, just like learning to walk, you should expect to fall. Probably a lot.

I cant tell you how many crows have ended in my face planting into the ground. Or how many headstands and handstands I’ve fallen out of.

And sometimes, I get really frustrated with that. Especially if it’s poses I KNOW I can do already, but am just not able to hit today for some reason. But let’s be real:

Falling out of yoga poses can be frustrating or it can be hilarious.

Getting mad and frustrated with my body or my ability or a pose is not going to help me mentally or physically. I’ll be more apt to lose my focus and put myself at risk for injury. And I also would be completely missing the point of yoga, which is definitely not achievement, competition, or anger.

It’s just like that in life though too, isn’t it? When we make mistakes or maybe things don’t work out the way we planned, we can get mad or upset, or we can do a little laughing.

I don’t want to sound like I’m suggesting that we brush aside real feelings in really heavy life situations, or that we should be able to give a little giggle and dodge personal responsibility for our actions. I’m just saying, we don’t always have to take ourselves so seriously. And maybe sometimes, a perspective of joy and a little chuckle here or there could make a huge difference. Nothing crazy, just enough laughing to pick ourselves up to a height where we can more clearly hear and see the goodness in life, and see the hope set before us tomorrow.