Losing your 'yoga ego'

Mar 05, 2021
Let me take you back to your first yoga class..... 


Your palms are sweaty, your mind is racing, and you feel hyper aware of your own body in the yoga studio. 


"Why are they more flexible than me?" your mind wonders. "I am not good enough" you tell yourself. "Everyone is judging me."


Before you know it, you’ve spent the entire class comparing yourself to the students next to you who can hold themselves in crow pose for what feels like forever. A pang of envy comes over you as you watch them draw a leg up to their ear in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (extended hand-to-big-toe pose). In an attempt to look good and keep up with your classmates, your yoga ego pushes your mind and body beyond what they are capable of, which inevitably ends up in injury and mental suffering.


This is a prime example of how yoga ego shows up in the yoga studio. In fact, yoga studios are often rife with ego and it is rare to find a class where comparison, fear, anxiety and competition are not present. Known as ‘Asmita’ in Sanskrit, ‘egoism’ causes you to identify too much with the physical, emotional and mental aspects of your body. Thought of as the second of the five ‘Kleshas’, or ‘poisons’, ‘Asmita’ seeks to obscure and hide your truest nature. When you identify too much with your ego, you will find yourself stuck in a negative mental state and it can be a huge hindrance to your practice.


How has COVID-19 offered us the opportunity to dismantle our yoga ego?



Although many of you will be missing your trips to the yoga studio, covid-19 lockdowns have gifted us the prime opportunity to re-centre ourselves in our practice and let go of the 'yoga ego’ that so often plagues us in a live class. With the pandemic forcing us out of the studio and back into our homes, online classes mean that, with the flick of a switch, we can turn our cameras off and be entirely alone in our practice. Practicing in the comfort of our own homes means we can more easily avoid the inner battle with our ego that seeks to compare and judge ourselves and those around us. No one can see you or judge you and you can’t see or judge anyone else! Home practice removes the obstacle of self-comparison and allows us to turn our gaze inwards.


Take a moment to reflect on your own yoga ego and practice:


How has your yoga ego shown up in class before? 
How has your practice changed during lockdown?
What opportunities for growth have occurred during your online practice? 
Have you felt less distracted during class?
Do you prefer practice at home or in the studio? Why?


Jotting down some of your answers in a journal is a great way to reflect on how COVID-19 has transformed your experience of yoga ego and your own practice. Increased awareness about your own relationship with Asmita will ensure that, whenever you return to practicing in a studio, you will be prepared to notice and observe your ego before it gets in the way of your flow.


As the current UK lockdown starts to slowly ease, we really look forward to seeing you all for in person classes and retreats, and maybe we will all have learnt to let go of our egos a little bit more :-)

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