yoga

It gets a bad rap, but your ego may be

the key to happiness—if you know how

to work with it.

BY NORA ISAACS

The Upside

of Ego

AFTER PRACTICING FOR 10 YEARS,mostly in beginning yoga
classes, Gwen Merrill thought of herself as a pretty accomplished
yoga practitioner. “I was able to do all of the postures and felt really
confident in my ability,” says Merrill, a business consultant who
lives in Northern California and describes herself as a recovering
perfectionist. But when she went to an intermediate class and the
teacher instructed the students to go into Headstand, she felt like
the ground had shifted under her. Merrill had trouble balancing,
experienced neck pain, and was unable to do the pose. “I went
from someone who felt competent and capable to someone
who felt totally incapable. I spent a lot of time comparing myself
to the other students and thinking that I didn’t measure up.” To
avoid practicing Headstand, she started leaving class early—or not
attending at all.
Merrill’s experience is just one small example of how the ego,
when left unchecked by an awareness of its inner workings, can
get in your way. In fact, you likely experience the pull of the ego
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december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg