• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Learning to Fly: Overcoming Our Physical Fears

Is fear stopping you from moving forward? Our physical practice can also become practice for overcoming fear in other places. For me, my practice is learning and conquering the handstand.

Mahala Grant-Grierson

Written by Mahala Grant-Grierson Last updated on January 25, 2013

Yoga is my life and I’ve been practicing for the majority of it. My mom introduced me to yoga and I have intermittently attended yoga classes since the age of seventeen. I always wanted to become a yoga teacher, but I was always afraid. I just didn’t think I could do it, so I never tried. I felt stuck working in a passionless career and didn’t believe change was possible. My life took a sudden turn when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. I found myself challenged with some severe physical, mental, and emotional setbacks and once again began practicing yoga regularly. After breast cancer, I made my way to New York City and became a certified yoga teacher. I had no reason to be afraid anymore.

As a yoga teacher and practitioner, sometimes one specific yoga pose can become an insurmountable feat. It’s a common myth that as a yoga teacher one will be able to sufficiently practice and teach all yoga poses. I find there’s always that one pose that “poses a challenge” (insert cheesy yoga joke here). Similar to any form of exercise, there are goals that may seem unreachable. How do we, as practicing yogis, master these poses or attain goals in exercise with a little bit of grace and dignity? This is a self-discovery worth some further exploration, regardless of your discipline.

I have found in my own yoga practice that I am riddled with fear and self-doubt when it comes to handstand. Practicing against the wall doesn’t seem to relinquish my fears much. I find myself hesitant to practice and doubting I can do it. It’s possible that the inability to master handstand all lies within my mind. I find when I’m in a state of fear or doubt, my fears come to fruition instead of the pose. The obstacle seems even more unattainable as I allow my fears to control my thoughts.

Tonight I was practicing my handstand again and immediately I thought, “I’m not going to be able to do handstand no matter how much I practice.” I have to admit that I don’t practice handstand every day. The reason for my lack of practice may be due to a lack of discipline or commitment, or it may be a lack of confidence. I am stuck in this belief that I won’t be able to do it, so I just don’t. Mastering the pose becomes a battle of the mind. How many times in life do we just give up because we think it’s impossible?

When I accept my body’s limitations and get out of my own way, I allow the possibility for change to occur. I found myself in handstand tonight for a microsecond! Not the full extent of the pose, but a microsecond nonetheless. One of my yoga teacher mentors, Sadie Nardini, would say that I’m “learning to fly from the core.” That means methodically building up to the pose, rather than just jumping up into handstand thoughtlessly. Tonight I felt the possibility of flight for just that moment and it was exhilarating. I keep practicing my bend, hop, and engage – fly!

handstand, fear of handstand, handstand fear, yoga handstand

And perhaps it is the feeling of flight and freedom that is most satisfying. I have to ask myself whether mastering handstand is really going to satisfy my desires, and ultimately, I know I will find another pose that is even more challenging. So, is mastering a yoga pose really where the joy is, or is it the journey of overcoming? This is a question that comes up for me often. There’s always more to learn and explore.

I get a lot of joy out of seeing how far I have come. I may not be the best yoga teacher, be able to do any yoga pose, be uber flexible and strong, or be able to do handstand, but I have made a lot of progress and come a long way. I am my own personal yoga coach repeating to myself, “You can do this handstand.” I truly believe someday I will do handstand. Today my state of mind is my yoga practice.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Mahala Grant-Grierson

About Mahala Grant-Grierson

Mahala was exposed to yoga in the early years through her mother. She began her own journey as a yoga instructor with the 200-hour teacher training at Three Sisters Yoga in New York City working with her teacher, Jen Whinnen, and mentor, Krissy Shields, from Sonic Yoga. In 2012, Mahala attended the Iowa City Yoga Festival and was introduced to yoga teacher and mentor, Sadie Nardini, who nicknamed Mahala as the “Pixie Queen.” Mahala is currently taking Sadie’s Online Rockstar Teacher Training and practices regularly with Mary Miller at Everybody’s Yoga.

Mahala began teaching yoga classes following her teacher training at Shambala, Budding Buddhas and The Rabbit Hole in Brooklyn, New York City. She worked as a “Karmi” at Om Factory New York City and Shambala Yoga Studio. Mahala also took advanced yoga classes with Dharma Mittra, Jivamukti, Bikram Yoga, Om Yoga, Aerial Yoga classes at Om Factory NYC, and Yoga for Cancer classes with Tari Prinster.

After all this NYC yoga adventure, Mahala moved to Quincy, Illinois to take a job and be near family. She quickly became known in the small community and made several appearances on the local television station, KHQA. In Quincy, Mahala began Yoga in the Park and Cancer Survivor Yoga, in addition to teaching at many different local facilities.

Mahala is a former cheerleader, with a wide dance background, and martial artist. Her yoga classes are light-hearted, spiritual, challenging, yet beginner-friendly. Mahala aspires to help heal others after her battle with breast cancer in 2011. She’s a strong believer in being a student for life and has future educational plans in the healing arts.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

catcowyogawoman1
A 10 Minute Yoga Flow for Low Back Bliss
mindfulnessandyoga
Use Mindfulness to Enhance Your Yoga Experience
Join the United Tribe of Fitness
The Magnificent 7 Yoga Poses for Lower Back Relief

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Andrew Jacked Looks Shredded as He Seeks First Career Arnold Classic Title

Jay Cutler Pegs Nick Walker as His 2023 Arnold Classic Favorite

2023 World’s Strongest Man Events Revealed

Actor Jonathan Majors Ate 6,100 Calories a Day to Become a Bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams”

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About