Bring your Mind to the Yoga Mat
By Gina Hardy
Focus Your Mind with Yoga Tips
You will often hear yoga teachers say that the body, breath and mind are the most important combination for wholesome practice and that is true for me, too. Many believe the breath is the energetic bridge that develops a relationship between the mind and body and opens a strong lifelong dialogue that encourages happiness and true health.
But of the triangle of three, the mind is the trickiest thing to keep with you on the mat during your practice. It is often embedded in your thoughts and rarely pops to the mat to see what your body is up to.
Have you ever driven your car and arrived at your destination, but do not remember how you got there? Your mind was elsewhere picking over thoughts, while the car and the world was rushing by. I have done it many times. It is scary.
It is the same with your yoga practice. Your body and its breathing arrive on the mat, but your mind is more than likely engaged in your external life. In a 90-minute class, you can often remain focused on the teacher, on other students or whatever your persistent thought happens to be at the time and, therefore, miss out on deepening your understanding of your body and your practice.
Teachers speak of the mind as though it is a separate entity and in many ways it is, but in an intangible form. You cannot touch it, although many people would think it’s the brain being spoken of, from an anatomy perspective! It is also spoken of in many ways in the self-growth industry, ‘mastery of the mind’ being the popular goal, but how the heck do you get your mind to stay with you on the mat. Why bother, anyway?
Here are a few yoga tips from my personal and teaching experience:
While listening to your breath, learn to be close and personal. A breath technique, Pranayama, called ‘Ujaii’ is a breath you can literally hear. Its soft, even tone is a good way to get your mind to focus on your breathing. It is rather like counting sheep at night to get to sleep.
Where possible, close your eyes while in postures, so you can get to deeply feel what is happening from the neck down. This shuts off the senses of the eye and assists your mind in getting focused.
Take time between postures to stop and bring your mind back to the inhale and exhale. Time is the key! Yoga isn’t a race.
Begin your practice lying in Savasana, the corpse pose, to create the space in your day, still the body and breathe. As the body stops, the mind slows down, given the chance.
Even if it is only for ten minutes, try to meditate each day. Meditation isn’t a quick fix, but with practice your mind will be a lot more relaxed and obedient. Having a foundation of regular meditation will assist and enhance your mind mastery and give you a much better yoga practice. Learn a meditation technique that suits your mind.
Madly busy minds and beginners would be better off with a guided meditation practice. Buy or download a relaxing music recording that has someone’s voice guiding you through it. I have two relaxation CDs to purchase, if you want to learnt to relax and deeply rest.
Other techniques include Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Vipassana. These may be more difficult, as they give the mind more space to wander off, as they are centered in the present moment. Experiment and see what suits you.
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About the Author
Gina Hardy is a relationship educator and coach. For more information on yoga with Gina, please subscribe to her You Tube channel to get online classes, posture tips and more. See more at: http://www.ginahardy.co.uk/
