Self-Awareness vs. Self-Consciousness

I've started reading B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Life and the section I read last night spoke a lot about cultivating a sense of self-awareness by listening to and learning from the body. Things like this, coincidences, I guess, seem to be happening more and more regularly and I'm not sure if it's because I just didn't take the time to notice before or if there is some truth to the idea that what you think can really affect the events in your life. I’m going with it’s a combination of the two.

One thing really stood out for me while reading last night. Iyengar made a critical distinction between self-awareness and self-consciousness. They are two completely different concepts. According to Iyengar, "self-consciousness is when the mind constantly worries and wonders about itself, doubting and being self-absorbed. Self-awareness is the opposite of self-consciousness. When you are self-aware, you are fully within yourself, not outside yourself looking in. You are aware of what you are doing without ego or pride."

Practicing yoga with a mind that is open and observant and asks "What am I doing" and "Why am I doing it" is how we move toward a greater sense of self-awareness and away from self-consciousness.