A Yogi State of Mind
“The body achieves what the mind believes”
In yoga, we focus on building strength, stability and flexibility in both our bodies and our minds. To better understand safe and stable physical alignment in yoga poses, I have spent countless hours learning about the anatomy of the human body. As a yogi and yoga instructor, I am a huge proponent of the mind-body connection, which has trickled into my professional work as a therapist and inspired me to obtain my certification in trauma sensitive and addiction recovery yoga.
In working with my clients and talking to my peers, I have found that when it comes to the physical stuff (exercise, diet, etc.) people “get it”. People tend to understand that in order to become physically stronger, one must engage in strength building exercises. In order to improve stability, one must practice exercises to promote balance. In order to gain flexibility, one must stretch adequately. I believe that people “get it” because they can visualize it. Think of how many people you see on social media post before and after pictures as it relates to their physical fitness/ physical body. When we see physical change in our bodies through exercise or diet, it can feel gratifying and we often receive validation (internal and/or external). This reminds us that whatever we are doing is working (Note: THESE PHYSICAL CHANGES MAY NOT BE HEALTHY).
When it comes to the mind however, people don’t “get it”. How does one know if their mind is healthy or becoming healthier? My theory is that because we cannot visualize what is happening in our minds (unfortunately we can’t see our mind becoming stronger, more stable or more flexible) we become unsure. We question whether what we are doing is working and due to lack of gratification and validation (internal and external), we fear that we are not progressing. As I continue to reiterate in my posts, there is always more work that we can do! We can strengthen, promote stability and gain flexibility in our minds to ultimately create a healthier us.
They say that how we practice physical asana (the Sanskrit word for body posture in yoga) and how we deal with physical discomfort on our yoga mats can help us gain insight into how we deal with discomfort off the mat (aka in real life). For example: If you are instructed to hold a high plank and your muscles start to shake and become sore, how do you react? Do you fall out of the pose due to the discomfort? Do you implement positive self-talk or breathing exercises to help you to stay in the pose for one more breath?
Only through self-observation can we begin to identify our own mind-body connection and in turn, strengthen it!
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self”
