Mindfulness in Yoga
To illustrate what mindfulness is, and what mindfulness looks like in yoga, I want to share a brief story on why I personally fell in love with the practice in the first place. Admittedly, my journey began in shame, with the door closed and away from everyone I lived with. I didn’t start because I wanted to be part of the “trend”. I chose yoga because I tried other forms of exercise, and nothing seemed to work for me. I had tried to start running and at-home cardio videos, but hated the way I felt afterwards, being too sore and tired to move at all the next day. I knew that I wasn’t taking care of myself, but I didn’t know how to. Like a switch, when I tried yoga, I found that the most impactful aspect was the time spent before any movement even happened. At the beginning of each class, there was always a moment of quiet reflection with zero expectations on how to be, other than being open to listening. The message radiating throughout class was, “you are doing everything right. You are not needed to do any more than you feel like you can”. Then the movement started.
Seemingly like magic, my body was moving and getting stronger. It was moving in ways that I had not believed, or even expected, possible earlier. At the same time, I was not focused on what comes next, it was only on what I was doing in the present moment. As my practice expanded, and my knowledge of Eastern yoga philosophy and Western terminology grew, I found myself becoming more in tune with what what happening in my mind, in sync with what happening in my body. And that practice, that awareness of the present moment, not of what is coming next, or focusing on what you’ve done before, is mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a practice of becoming aware. It is the process of slowing down, becoming in tune with your surroundings, your emotions, your breath, and the present moment.
The traditional class structure of a yoga class begins with a moment of meditation, of stillness. In this space, the student is called upon to listen to their breath. For just a few minutes, the task is to simply focus on the inhalations and exhalations, and to calm the mind to the natural rhythm of the breath. As the student finds themselves in this state, know that more than likely the mind will naturally wander to other thoughts- what comes after class, what is for dinner, what if they replied to that one email, etc., and that is ok. The practice of being mindful asks for acceptance, patience, and acknowledgement. Notice how none of those keywords say “change” or “betterment”. Being mindful simply means to be as you are.
Yoga also has a beautiful relationship with the mind and body because it is not just about breathing/mediation. As class progresses, then the movement begins. During this time in class, the student is called upon to keep listening to their breath. “Let the breath move you” is a common phrase you’re maybe familiar with already. As the student, as you progress in your movements, you’re called to feel different muscles turning on, becoming in tune with the inner workings of your body.
Unlike other forms of exercise where you are directed to push yourself to your body’s limit, yoga is asking you to find your appropriate edge, and stay there with your breath. Hold the pose, give perseverance, feel your breath, pay attention to where it burns, and know that there is a space to rest always. The Earth is there is catch you and the ground will always be underneath you. The idea during the times when your body is burning and maybe feeling uncomfortable, is that you always come back to your breath with self-compassion and a gentle voice. Come back to the present moment. While in the present moment, you can dissect each feeling that you’re experiencing. For example, in Warrior 2, the most intense feeling is with your front, bent leg as it really starts to be engaged. But what else is happening? Your shoulders blades are pinching back, fingers are pointing beyond the edges of the mat, and you feel the weight pressing into all four corners of your feet. This awareness to the subtle body is the mindful practice to help you stay in tune with not only your body, but with your feelings and what is happening around you. When you give yourself permission to feel where your body is at in that present moment in yoga, brilliant things start to happen in your daily life, off the yoga mat.
As you learn how to stay aware of the subtle sensations that happen in your body while in the yoga asanas (yoga poses), you will find it comes easier to stay aware of how you move and feel as you live your life throughout the rest of the day. You can start to dissect a certain way you’re feeling, which makes it easier to calm the storm. As stress gets elevated at work, or as someone increasingly gets on your nerves, you can pause, take a breath, and tell yourself “I am overwhelmed”, or “I am irritated”. By putting a label on your emotion, it makes it manageable. Suddenly, if you know “I am overwhelmed”, you can create a game plan to overcome those feelings. By taking a deep breath in, you are able to reset your nervous system, calm the mind, and be on the same team as your mind and body, without having to fight this huge, uncontrollable force.
In yoga philosophy, “mindfulness” is expressed in an abundance of teachings. Most notably is this explained in the Yoga Sutras, which lay the foundations to why yoga exists, what the purpose of the practice is, and how to live a yogic lifestyle. Throughout future blogs I will elaborate more on these teachings, as well as incorporating the findings of western studies. The western academic field of “mindfulness” is still small, relative to other academic fields, but findings continuously prove that mediation, growing inner-awareness, and identifying feelings, benefit you throughout all areas of life.
Yoga is there to help you do what you do, better. Although yoga is an ancient practice, it guides you to create a modern toolkit of awareness. By listening to your breath and moving deliberately, you will be able to find that perseverance, inner peace, and less stress become a more natural way of being. There is not a one-size-fits-all guide on how to live life, nor should there be. Instead, yoga provides a mindful practice to help you find personal ease, comfort, and empowerment in the way you choose to live. Throughout your journey, my wish is that you find peace and choose to see the good, choose to lift yourself up, and choose to lift up others as well. Yoga will be there when you choose it, too.