Fear Is Good…

I have been watching Grey’s Anatomy and one phrase struck with me when the Hospital Chief Webber said this to a man who was stuck and hurt in an ambulance in an accident :

“Fear is good. When you have fear, it means that you have something to lose…”

I did not think of it that way. But it’s true. When you have fear, whether is it fear of losing, fear of heights, fear of dying etc. it means that you have something good and you are afraid of losing…

Fear is a natural reaction of the body to protect itself whenever it thinks that it is in danger. It’s natural to fear the unknown, to feel fear as the brain releases chemicals to keep the body alert and ready for any possible danger.

So when people have no fear at all, they are what we call reckless. When people have fear, and yet they go ahead with fear kept in check and with much preparation and awareness, they are courageous.

So what does that make me? Fear of dropping over in a headstand in the middle of the room…

I have made some progress – real ones! Now I am able to stay in headstand near the wall for an amazing 2 minutes+. Headstands are really shaking and wobbly when you try to hold it there. And it requires a fair bit of meditative effort to remain still. Maybe I am new to holding in headstands…

See practice does make a difference I might add. No problem with the pose. Now to overcome the fear. My plan is to just do the headstand and don’t think too much. But how to stop the thinking? It appears that that this is more difficult than the pose itself!

But I can do it. Now it is just a matter of telling my body that it’s ok, that it is in control of the pose.
In life, it’s the same thing. When you are faced with an obstacle or run into the unknown, there is always fear riding at the back of your head, but once you regained control, back in the driver’s seat, the fear naturally subsides….

ok.. back to my headstand!

~Namaste!