I’ve been practicing yoga for 10 years… not that it makes me any more or less of a yogi than someone who has been practicing for just a few weeks. But I can tell you this – it took me years to start practicing for myself and to stop looking around the room and listening to the ego inside of me asking me to compare my body, strength, focus or flexibility to someone else in the studio.

Flowing through your favorite yoga class and not looking around at your peers to see how much deeper they are in a pose; or getting your kicks because you’re a few inches lower in your pigeon pose than someone else is hard to do, but I can promise you that when you start to let your ego go and practice for you and only you, you’re going to reach a whole new level of yoga bliss.

When yoga teachers are training and learning the ABC’s of yoga philosophy, the absolute first thing we learn is that There Is No Ego In Yoga. Once you can truly let go of that inner voice and surrender to the practice, it no longer becomes about who can touch their toes or who can hold a pose for longer, but you start to feel all that ooey, gooey, grounding, balancing, blissful stuff that yoga really is all about (whatever that is for you).

Here are a few tips (and crystals!) to ground yourself, love yourself as you are and peel off the layers of the sticky ego that loves to try to steal all the fun…

• Spend a few minutes meditating at the beginning of each class. Remember why you are there. Set your intention. Ground yourself. Try holding one of our favorite grounding crystals like Red Jasper or Black Tourmaline.
• Carry Rose Quartz with you in your pocket or purse for a little confidence boost and self-love reminder. Rose Quartz is the crystal of love and romance. Let her pink hues remind you that your practice is all that matters and you are enough, not the gymnast next to you bending her knee around her arm 3 times.
• If you catch yourself looking around, be gentle with yourself, have a little laugh inside, and get back to focusing on your practice. For extra grounding, play around with The Crystal Boutique’s Chakra Stone Starter Kit – with one small pocket stone to balance each of your 7 chakras.

Now go enjoy that flow for yourself… and no one else!

Amanda is the Founder of The Crystal Boutique, a 200-Hour YT trained in Rishikesh, India. She lives in Bali, Indonesia.