External means of escape like alcohol, drug use, and even overeating are a means of pushing uncertainty away and covering it up temporarily. And they may feel comforting for a moment, but I don't need to tell you that eventually they will cause more trouble than they ever solve.

Everything we need is already there. The challenge is letting go of all our stuff in the way.

When your breathing is easy and deep, your body works efficiently, and your mind settles. That doesn't mean that your balance (in tree pose or anywhere else) will be perfect and your life will be seamless, but you'll be better equipped to deal with the wobbles and earthquakes that get thrown into the mix.

When we practice paying attention, whether in meditation, yoga (moving mediation), or simply walking down the street, we can choose to be at ease, or choose to be tense. It's a choice, and that choice is up to no one but us to decide.

Your tree pose is going crazy and you're falling; and your leg is burning; and it feels impossible to maintain any sort of stability practice observing what's happening instead of getting wrapped up in the circumstance. If you can learn to be easy with your breath in these moments, your body and mind will follow.

Each full, deep inhale creates more space in your body and mind. Each long, exhale moves you directly into that space. The deeper you breathe, the more opens up. It's like opening a door and walking through with each breath. The fuller your breaths the more and more doors open on up, leaving you with the space to walk on in!

You are whole body, whole mind, whole spirit, all the time. When you experience all of you at once, anything is possible.