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.

That's what yoga teaches: how to be fully present now, no matter the circumstance.

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.

When we are at ease, our bodies work efficiently, our minds settle, and space opens up for us to connect to our intuition, creativity, and sense of connectedness.

A successful tree pose probably won't change your life. Learning how to keep your breath easy, long, and deep no matter what the circumstance? That absolutely will.

Say you're doing a headstand. The moment you think to yourself, "Wow, I'm doing this pose!" is usually the moment you'll topple out of it.

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.