Fear & Yoga

So for over a year now I've been doing the preparatory but never full asana Salamba Sirsasana, or Headstand. Why? Fear, plain and simple. I've been afraid that I'd fall over and break my spine or crash into my neighbor. I've been afraid that I wasn't strong enough, hadn't been practicing long enough or wasn't centered enough. And then today during a vinyasa class we partnered up to do a headstand variation. With a tinge of shame in my voice, I told my partner that I'd never done one before. Luckily she herself was a yoga teacher (FYI: Renata's vinyasa classes @ Yoga People are chock full of experienced practitioners). She guided me through the pose and one-two-three there I was, perfectly balanced on my head. I hinged at the hips and not so gracefully came down onto my mat. So it _is_ about balance I said in awe.

But it got me thinking: how many other things have I avoided doing out of fear, out of some intense self-imposed anxiety that I just wasn't ready yet?