Face Plant Asana 101

Kula Yoga instructor Collin Poole has been practicing yoga for more than 12 years, giving her ample time to dabble in the world of arm balancing. Below, Collin shares her insight on falling and failing.
When embarking on the challenge of learning arm balancing, it’s important to remember a couple of things:
1.)   You will eat mat.
2.)   You will have to face fear or failure or both.
3.)   You will feel awesome when you succeed.
When I first started arm balancing, I encountered a lot of challenges.  The least of which was not feeling strong enough.  I was scared of falling on my face, of hurting my wrists, of not looking cool, and also faced an overall feeling of inadequacy.  Truth be told, after my first level 2 class, I didn’t go back again for a month.  I thought, I don’t want to put myself through that again!
Then one of my teachers, who really believed in me, told me, “You know, falling on your face can actually be pretty fun.”  I stayed after class and she gave me some tips and tricks to help me start to conquer my feelings of fear and failure.  She reminded me that it wasn’t about the success of the pose (though that’s fun), it was about sitting with the uncomfortableness and working with it.  Avoiding fear or failure is silly.  We have to often fail in order to learn, in order to do better the next time.  That fear is blocking us from potentially finding our greatness.  That fear extends off the mat too.  If you can conquer your fear of arm balancing, maybe you can leave your fears of failure in work or love, or your fear of success, or even your fear of spiders!  If you can fall on your face, literally, and get back up, and do it again until you succeed, imagine what else you’re capable of!
So I stuck a block under my face and ate some mat, got frustrated, got a few bruises, and finally flew for a brief moment in time.  This is now a part of my life, seeing a challenge and meeting it with joy and compassion.   So maybe you can find your hidden potential by falling on your face.
Ready to try? Join us for Collin’s workshop, Balance Within, and learn how to demystify arm balancing on Sunday October 19, 1-3 p.m. at Kula Yoga. For more information about Collin and the workshop, or to book your spot online, visit https://kulayoga.com.au/workshops. All levels welcome.