Yoga is more than just yoga poses pulled together to give us a good workout. Granted, that is the reason most people come to yoga but, it is really the power that comes from each pose that brings people back.
Why? Because within each pose we learn more about ourselves.
As we settle into each pose over and over again, our body and mind start to relax and in that relaxing inward, the magic of yoga starts to happen. You see that inward focus allows us to tap into our body, our thoughts, past experiences and beliefs we have. Let’s dig into these a little deeper.
When we do yoga we learn more about our body, what feels good today, what is our current level of comfort, how far our body can go. In this process we gain body awareness, appreciation for our body and in turn we build self-esteem around our body image.
When we allow our mind to settle we learn more about our thoughts. During poses with single point focus we can hear our mind more clearly. What it is thinking and where we are placing our attention. In this process of listening to the mind, we may find we are saying things to ourselves that is not true, we are thinking on things we really cannot control or even thoughts we wonder why they are even there. It allows us that deeper awareness into the thoughts we may be thinking. This allow us to sort out those thoughts that don’t serve us and allows us to make changes to more positive thoughts that will take us to a better place mentally. I think we have all heard the saying “What you think about comes about.” Well learning how to change our thinking is a big step in changing our lives.
Once we get past some of the initial stages of self-growth, we may start to notice feelings, emotions and even old memories or beliefs coming up during our yoga practice. This is a sign that we are ready to address this topic at a deeper level. For some of us if we just relax into the pose, this will start to notice this happening. For others, this may take years. When one of these thoughts or feelings comes up, it is the body saying it is time to address this topic and to gently let it go so you can move on to bigger and greater things. This means not only there on your mat but off your mat, you will want to think about what came up and what changes you need to make from your new awareness.
I love seeing students connect at a deeper level during class. It is always so evident on their faces and I know when I see it, their lives are about to change for the better. It is my hopes that all of you will continue to have these experiences in my classes, that you continue to experience The Power of the Pose.