I was teaching beginners Parshvakonanasana against the wall. As students got into the pose they struggled with balance and became serious and frustrated. At first, I questioned teaching the pose and wondered if there was an easier way to teach the movement of the hip into joint.  Was this too difficult? Then I realized the availability to teach a deeper lesson. 

The students were frustrated that the wall did not allow any leeway for the hip to stick out and they had to be very aware of the movement of their front thigh and knee. I then gave them an instruction to lift to the corners of their mouth. It made them laugh. I asked them what they could each do to bring more enjoyment to learning this pose. Could they play with the pose so that it was less performance and more of an exploration? For some it was important to hold the pose just briefly and then straighten the front leg and then come in and out of the pose, holding it for just 2-3 breaths. 

Once finished and standing in Tadasana, I asked them each to observe how they approach situations in their life that are new, unexpected and difficult? How flexible are they in navigating the experience? If something is difficult do they beat themselves up?  Yoga is about learning flexibility and strength in the body, but also in the mind and emotions. At the end of class, they were smiling and laughing at having gone through something that was hard and knowing they learned something from the experience.  Funny enough, it ended up not being about the pose at all, but about each student's attitude while doing it.