When Good Intentions Go Sideways

Only just recently before class, one of my students shared how her day had spiralled. She set out with the best intentions to drop off her child at her mum’s place, on the way there she wanted to stop at the local supermarket to buy her child’s favourite breakfast, and then ease into a calm morning.

But life had other plans. Because of a traffic jam, she took another route to her mum’s, forgot to stop at the supermarket, turned back to get it, and on her second trip, got a flat tyre. By the time she arrived for yoga that evening, she was counting the minutes until she could finally exhale.

As she spoke, I found myself saying these words, “Sometimes our best intentions can be our worst enemy.”

And it really resonated, for both of us.

We all start with good intentions, we map out our days, our goals, our hopes, and we try to do everything “right.” But sometimes, the more we hold onto how things should go, the less space we leave for how things are meant to unfold.

Yes, our intentions are important, they give us direction, focus, and purpose. But when we become fixated on one outcome, we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Sometimes, the path still leads to where we hoped to go just not in the way we imagined.

And maybe that’s the quiet teaching of yoga: it’s not about how well we can bend or balance, but how flexible we can be… in the mind.

Flexibility isn’t just about touching your toes; it’s about softening the grip on how you thought the day (or your life) was supposed to look. It’s about being able to breathe through the detours, to see things from another angle, to find empathy for yourself and others when plans go astray.

Because life will always ask us to adapt.

The wind will change. The route will shift. And sometimes, that different path will bring you exactly where you were meant to be all along.

So the next time your “best intention” starts to unravel, pause.
Take a breath.
And instead of asking “Why isn’t this working?”, try asking “What else might this be showing me?”

Because yoga, like life, isn’t about looking the part or even getting it right.
It’s about being in it. Fully. Authentically. You.