Learning to savor the moment keeps us from living in constant worry and fear and tension over things that haven't happened yet and may never come to pass. Practicing yoga helps us to undo these bad mental habits and stress triggers that we often unknowingly pick up along the way.

It takes an honest look to observe our selves without judgment, and then to do something about it. Observing without judgment is the practice of yoga. Doing something about it is the stuff that makes up your life.

Any of the yoga poses could be substituted in this analogy. How you practice is much more meaningful than what yoga moves you can or cannot do.

Why is balance important? From a life lesson standpoint, it's about learning to enjoy yourself without getting the ego involved.

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

You can fall out of a tree pose with ease, or with frustration and a sense of defeat. Just like you can take a spill in your life and decide to dust yourself off - with a chuckle or an annoyed grunt - and get back up, or you can stay down, lie there, and give up. It's entirely up to you. It's your life, and your practice.

What you practice on the mat is what you end up doing in your life.