Yoga lesson learned today:

When you are uncomfortable, or in any physical or mental/emotional pain, the mind races to distract you in any way possible. But this is the easy way out. Avoidance of pain is avoidance of life, since pain and joy are on two ends of the same spectrum. Like Kahlil Gibran says, the more sorrow carves out of your being, the more joy you can hold. Pain is a reference for how happy you are right now.

If pain is endured healthfully, you will find that you build more endurance for it. In yoga, by acknowledging the pain, and keeping the mind focused on the breath and settling into the pain, we push our tolerance a little farther, and the result is greater flexibility and strength (physically and mentally). Easier said than done, but well worth the effort.