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.

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.

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

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

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

Everything you need to know is right there inside, waiting for you to tap in and discover it, and then hopefully do something about it.

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