How to Identify the Ego
The ego is a funny thing, we can’t live without it but boy we wish we could! It’s very cunning but it can also be really dumb, it wants to offer you all the amazing things in this world and at the same time protect you from them BUT it goes at it in the wrong way.
The ego is that loud voice in your head telling you that you can’t climb a mountain or that you are not worthy enough for that special someone. It’s there to cause you distress and discomfort, but how do you know if it’s the ego and not your “intuition” talking?
Here are a few ways for you to recognize the ego:
- When you’re feeling defensive
- When you’re needing to prove that you’re right
- When you want to punish someone for their actions or even punishing yourself
- The fear of losing something
- A need to be liked
- Comparing yourself to others
- Creating “stories” in your head
Another way to recognize the ego (lower self): Picture yourself sitting in meditation and you have an epiphany of your day and how earlier in the day you were giving attitude to the barista because she spilled coffee all over you and you start feeling guilty, well who’s the one watching that? It’s also you. We have a higher self (intuition) and a lower self (ego) there to pull us left and right throughout our lives, aren’t we lucky.
The ego doesn’t make you feel good it’s simply there to make sure you eat and don’t come to work with cream cheese from your bagel all over your face. It serves its purpose but you don’t need to be of service to it. If you didn’t have an ego you’d be meditating all day in the mountains living in a cave, but if that’s what you are in to go for it!
- I’m sure it goes without saying that the most effective ways would be a yoga practice and a meditation practice. When you practice yoga you are bringing awareness of the breath which then filters out to awareness of your thoughts. Meditation is there to guide you through those thoughts.
- Staying for Savasana (corpse pose) at the end of every yoga class is a vital part of your practice because it is a moment of silence, a moment of surrender, of letting go. When you let go of all that burdens you, it uplifts you.
- Another great option would be studying yoga history and spiritual teachers. There is so much more to yoga than just poses, the history of yoga is HUGE with multiple lineages and teachings. We sell great books from our gurus in the studio so feel free to look around. Another great option would be signing up for our Yoga Teacher Trainings, the teacher trainings have much more to offer than just how to’s and learning about poses we offer teachings of the history of the Ghosh lineage.
Through the deepening teachings of yoga, you create an awareness that opens your mind to the endless possibilities of living a more enlightened life. Who wouldn’t want that?!
Written by Kimille Smith for Mountain Yoga Sandy
