It’s already December 2nd and so far I have practiced yoga zero times, to be honest, in the last 3 weeks. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. My parents were in town for Thanksgiving for a week and just left yesterday. But that’s not why I didn’t practice yoga. There was plenty of down time while they were visiting when I could have taken 30 minutes, or even an hour, to practice. But I didn’t. If it sounds like I’m sharing a confession, I am; a confession of yogi sin. Because, as we all know, we are not allowed to call ourselves “yogis” if we do not practice yoga every single day, right?
The above paragraph is an example of a thought process that leads to the avoidance of a regular yoga practice. It is useless thought-chatter that, when I align and identify myself with it, keeps me from the very thing that brings me peace and joy: practicing yoga and meditation.
The very nature and opportunity that yoga provides for us is the realization that we are not our thoughts. Yoga teaches us that consciousness and thoughts are not the same thing. In fact, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali in verse 1.2, tells us that Yoga (union) is the restraining of thought streams natural to the mind.1 Another translation describes the same verse this way, “Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness.”2
So how do we practice yoga when our very thoughts get in the way of our practice. Mind trickery? Guilt? Sheer will? Force? Positive self talk?
The first and most important step is to realize that you are not your thoughts. Start by noticing your thoughts. Why does this help? Because our thoughts are so pervasive, when we don’t actively notice them and thus separate our consciousness from them, we begin to think that we are them. And, when that happens, we “wake up” 3 weeks (or 3 years) later and realize we have not been living the authentic life we had hoped for.
Other things we can do to disengage from thought-chatter:
- Repeat the word om (1.28)
- Pause for a moment at the top and bottom of your regular breath cycle (2.50)
- Begin to notice each of your five senses – What am I touching? What am I smelling? What am I hearing? Tasting? Seeing? Noticing each of the senses leads to sense withdrawal, which naturally leads us to a more meditative state. (2.54)
These simple acts remind us of our true nature; we are not our thoughts. The more we attempt to wrestle our thoughts (excuses) into submission, or to justify them, the further we get from our practice of yoga.
Citations:
1. BonGiovanni, The Yoga-Sûtra of Patañjali
2. Chip Hartranft, The Yoga-Sûtra of Patañjali
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great information. Thanks!
LeAnn´s last blog ..Exhortation of the Dawn
Great! This article is useful not just for getting us back into a yoga routine, but other positive activities as well. On that note.. off to run! Thanks!
@LeAnn – Glad you found it useful.
@Alex – Thank you and have a great run!
Excellent post. It’s funny how when let the bad practices we are trying to change, keep us from taking the steps to change them! It’s like those bad practices of intelligence. Yoga helps us relieve stress and develop an improved mind body connection, but it’s usually the stressful thoughts of everday life/responsibility to keep us from slowing down and enjoying our yoga practice.
Darvin @ Discount Yoga Mats´s last blog ..Manduka Yoga Mats
wow…. I thought I was the only one who experienced these thoughts. I do indeed love yoga and I tune into my heart when these thoughts appear. Then I follow my heart and 9 times out of 10 (hey – I’m not perfect), I do my asanas and am grateful that I did.
As a yogi for nine years, I’ve found that the ‘best’ practice sessions often happen when you don’t want to do them! If your mind is racing when you start, don’t worry. That just adds another layer of thoughts to the complicated mess in your head!
Just focus on breathing slowly and deeply and doing the postures mindfully. Eventually, your mind will come along for the ride, even if it kicks and screams a little along the way! Yoga is like anything else; a bit of commitment and discipline with your practice will take you a long way.
While my yoga practices has been just fine lately, that first paragraph sounds an awful lot like what’s been going through my head about my daily meditation practice, which got a whole lot less daily during the holidays and hasn’t quite recovered since…and, of course, I’ve given myself a hard time about it, which only makes things harder.
I like what that last commenter said, too. The less I want to do yoga, the more I’m likely to benefit from it (whereas, when I do feel like it, it’s utterly delicious icing on the cake…).
YogaforCynics´s last blog ..If A Shameless Plug Is For A Worthy Cause, Is It Still Shameless?