When the Well Runs Dry: Burnout, Imbalance, and the Practice of Awareness

A colleauge of mine feels overwhelemed and uninspired in their teaching, and feeling sore, sluggish, and resetful of their ashtanga practice . Sound familiar? I’ve sure as fuck been there.

When the well is dry, it’s dry. No creativity, more irritation, and a creeping sense of burnout. Sure, our practice can help refill the cup, but one of its greatest gifts is its ability to alert us to imbalances before we hit empty. We might first notice it in outsized reactions to small annoyances—like my mom being more pissed at traffic than her own cancer. It’s a classic sign that something deeper is off, and it’s not just about the traffic.

In our own system, when we’re flipping out over something inconsequential, it’s often because there’s real stuff brewing beneath the surface. Behaviors are non-linear; they don’t just ramp up neatly. This is where observation becomes essential—it’s all pattern recognition. But without tools to notice these subtle cues, the stress keeps piling up until even minor triggers set off major reactions.

For more detailed insights and strategies for addressing burnout, you can direct yourself, or a friend in need, to this resource on self-care for yoga teachers: Self-Care and Burnout.

Systems thinking offers a helpful lens here. Every system, including our own mental and emotional landscapes, is governed by feedback loops. Stress and overwhelm are stocks in this system, and as they accumulate, they spill over into everything else. What’s tricky is that the behaviors—like snapping at someone or getting unreasonably upset—don’t seem connected to the real issues. They’re symptoms of a larger imbalance in the system.

This is where our practice, particularly Ashtanga, steps in. The daily commitment to breath, movement, and focused attention tunes our awareness, allowing us to see these patterns before they spiral out of control. When we notice that we’re getting bent out of shape over something trivial, it’s a cue: the system is signaling an underlying imbalance. Instead of letting stress accumulate unnoticed, the practice helps us catch it early.

In systems thinking, this is all about feedback and delays. Stress doesn’t show up immediately; it builds, often masked by our ability to push through. But consistent practice acts as a real-time feedback loop, a sort of internal check-in that alerts us to imbalance before the well runs dry. It’s this awareness that allows us to recalibrate, addressing the root issue rather than just reacting to surface-level triggers.

By training ourselves to observe and adjust, we learn to manage these imbalances—before they spill out in ways that leave us drained. The practice, in essence, is about fine-tuning our system, helping us maintain equilibrium even when life gets chaotic. So, when you notice yourself flipping out over traffic, it might be time to check in. Something deeper might need your attention, and with practice, you’ll spot it before the well runs dry.