We're spending the weekend down in southern Arizona for a high school mountain bike race. Armed with the advice of a local mountain biker, I went on a few solo rides around here to scout out some trails for a ride with the MoB on Saturday while my husband was working with the league. It wasn't exactly the wilderness, but it wasn't in the confines of a park either. The terrain was a little sketchier than I'm used to, the trailhead signs warned of bears, the trails weren't marked well, and a friend recently crashed and got a concussion. What I'm getting at is that I was a little nervous out there. But I did it anyhow, my bike bell jingling all the way. I set out and completed my mission; I practiced tapas and excellent risk-management, and it all turned out well.

Then on Saturday morning I rode some Jeep trails to see if they would be more suitable for our Moms on Bikes group ride. Everything always looks good on a map, you know? It was fine at first until I found myself on very overgrown trails. I was riding through waist-high chaparral, over I don't know what (snakes? rocks? mud puddles? are there ticks here?). I pedaled as fast as I could so I wouldn't have to put a foot down, always wondering if the trail would open up or if I should turn back. Eventually I was so far in I told myself, "The only way out is through, Sara!"

As I reflected on these rides, I found it interesting how scared I was despite being a yoga teacher. Shouldn't I be calm and relaxed and have a let-it-be attitude? Why did I feel so frantic?

What I realized is that of course I was scared. Those are not comfortable situations. And mountain biking, as fun as it is, can also be very uncomfortable. But I do it anyway because I love it, and I probably would not have ever tried it if I didn't have my yoga practice to ground me in the present moment, to coach myself through that discomfort.

Which brings me to the fourth niyama - svadhyaya, or self-study. This is what we'll be exploring in our practices this week: knowing ourselves better, quirks and all, and working to understanding our whys. For those who choose to go on that adventure of self-study, it can be a fantastically enlightening experience.