We have those moments when that little voice in the back of our head pipes up and says anything you can do I can do...and better! Wow what a troubled path this leads down especially when it falls into not honoring our body. That ego has no place on the mat, but hey we are human and that voice will whisper while glazing at someone's awesome asana. We all love to look which is just fine if it is a mindful glance which is what I discussed in the Mindful Yogi Peeper post. Our whole goal of yoga is learning how to to deal with the mental modifications of the mind which includes that ego.
The ego likes to look around and wants to sample everything it sees. That is were our awareness comes in to reel it back. We want to cut out the commentary and criticism that the ego provides not only during our practice but everyday life as well. When that little whisper says hey look see that foot behind the head...come on you can do that, you have been practicing longer. Tell the ego to shut it because we know our body and what it is capable of doing that day. Honor your body and don't worry about the commentary. Bring it back to your breath and stay focused. Our body may be able to do somethings one day and the next day it just doesn't happen with the same grace or happen at all.
Pushing ourselves past our limits leads to injury and maybe even anger at ourselves for letting the ego get the better of us. I speak from experience where I was in a class and got pushed deeper into a posture when I was warm and feeling a small pinch. The next day I literary had a pain in my tush and a shooting pain down my leg. Here is where the ego came in because I didn't slow my practice one bit...*sigh*. I pushed through classes making a face and modifying where I could. The ego had won. I was starting to feel better with less pain and decided to take a class without mentioning the injury to the teacher. On a side note NEVER do that! My ego said come on keep up and go deep like you normally do and yeah I got pushed in a position and instant pain returned.
It wasn't my practice or the teacher that hurt me. It was all me. The ego is quick to blame everyone else, but my teacher had no clue I was injured or else they would not of adjusted me. The next few days were spent icing my rear with frozen veggies and being angry for letting my ego get the best of me. My practice had to be slowed down significantly while I healed because of my my mistake. I should of know better because I teach people to honor their bodies and leave the commentary out. It is a humbling experience to say the least. Now when my ego tries to butt in I kindly tell it to hush and focus on my breath and my mat.
This can be applied off the mat as well. The ego rears it head in everyday life so don't let it get the better of you. It wants to be heard and can put us in some unpleasant situations or lead to regrettable decisions. The universe is more then willing to offer us a humbling experience when we let the ego roam free. Take a moment and think about if we are really doing something that is in our best interest or are we letting the ego push us into something that doesn't serve us well. Let the commentary go. Who cares what the ego says? No one does! We are in control of our decision making and not the ego. Tell it to shut it, hush, plug it etc...let the commentary go and honor yourself off and on the mat.
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