More than the shape you make

Back in December, I wrote about the “watching self” — the quiet part of us that notices without judgement. In yoga philosophy, this is linked to Asmita: the confusion between who we truly are and the identities or roles we attach to. More formally, Asmita is the third of the five kleshas — obstacles that cloud our perception. It’s sometimes translated as “I-am-ness,” the habit of defining ourselves entirely by the mind, body, or external identity.

We often mistake ourselves for our achievements, our struggles, or - when we practice yoga - the shape we make in a pose. But beneath all that is something quieter — the steady awareness that simply notices. Not judging, not fixing. Just watching.

Eight months on, this theme has been circling back into my own practice — and not just on the mat.

It’s there when I walk away from a conversation and start replaying what I said.

It’s there when I catch the flicker of comparison scrolling through social media.

It’s there when my body feels strong one day but heavy the next.

In each of these moments, there’s a choice: to be swept along by the reaction, or to pause and notice it — like watching a ripple move across the surface of a lake without needing to jump in.

On the mat, I’ve been exploring this through repetition — returning to the same shapes again and again, sometimes with ease, sometimes with resistance. Each round is different, yet the watcher is the same. Some rounds feel light, others effortful. Thoughts wander, focus returns… but the quiet witness is steady underneath it all.

And the more I practise noticing that steadiness in motion, the more it shows up in life’s less choreographed moments.

The next time you find yourself caught up — in a thought, a story, a “should” — take a breath and see if you can meet it from that place. Not as the label or the role or the reaction, but as the one watching.

You might find that, from there, things feel a little clearer. A little less tangled. A little more you.

You are not your thoughts. You are not your performance. You are not your shape in a pose. You are the one who watches — calm, clear, unchanged by the flow of experience.

Off the mat

Notice your “watching self” today.

When something pulls at your attention — a strong feeling, a busy thought, a reaction — pause.

Take a breath and see if you can simply watch it, the way you might watch clouds moving across the sky. No rush to change it. No need to hold onto it.

Just the steady awareness underneath.