If you focus on your physical wellness, it may be time to include your mental wellness in the equation as well.
With the semester of graduate studies now behind me, I’ve finally embraced some essential self-care and signed up for a nearby yoga studio. My practice has been sporadic lately, given everything happening globally and the added pressures of grad school alongside a full-time job. However, since my schedule is packed, it’s crucial to carve out moments for self-care as well.
Although my yoga sessions have been significantly less frequent these past few months, with me attending outdoor classes once a week, I have been nurturing another aspect. I began to seriously engage with mindfulness and meditation over the past year. I’ve explored solitary quiet time, a Calm trial, and meditation sessions on Clubhouse. It felt like a daunting challenge initially, but as I’ve established more robust routines around meditation, I’m discovering it’s much easier to remain mentally present when I unroll my mat for yoga practice.
Mindful awareness is often the most overlooked element of yoga for many practitioners. Even while on the mat and executing the poses, your thoughts can wander endlessly. The greater the stress and responsibilities in life, the harder it becomes to disconnect from all of that and simply be yourself, fully present in the moment.
Flowing with your breath is just as vital in yoga as mastering the postures.
In the earlier stages of my practice, I consistently undervalued the significance of breathwork. I would attempt to keep pace and manage my breathing, but when you’re new to it, juggling everything at once is challenging. Although I focused on learning proper alignment and working on seamless transitions between poses, I overlooked the mastery of breath.
Reflecting on that now, I recognize the shortcoming in my previous approach. Breath is genuinely a critical component of yoga. It’s difficult to breathe mindfully while striving to build strength and flexibility, but genuinely syncing breath with movement, as teachers often recommend, pushes you to be more present. It’s absorbing and immersive. Coordinating your movements with your breath requires substantial concentration.
Even if it feels incredibly challenging to you as it did for me initially, persist in your efforts. As the poses become more familiar and slightly easier, breathing through them will start to feel more instinctive. The process of aligning your movements with your breath turns each pose into an event. You prepare for each moment as you inhale and exhale. It intensifies the sensations and stretches of every pose. When captivated by those feelings, it becomes significantly easier to be mindfully present during class.
In tranquility, counting breaths is remarkably grounding.
It’s such a straightforward exercise — track how many seconds elapse during your inhale and exhale. This tip is quite common when beginning a meditation practice, as it gives your mind something to do connected to the action at hand. Frequently, when consumed by your thoughts, what occupies your mind bears little connection to your physical actions. For instance, while driving, you typically aren’t focused on the act of driving every second you’re behind the wheel.
If quieting your thoughts is challenging, counting each breath is an excellent grounding approach. I used to struggle to stop my mind from racing. That simple, automatic task of counting greatly simplified my journey toward genuine meditation.
Moreover, during the cool-down segments of a yoga class, deliberately extending your exhalations can be beneficial. This technique has been shown to lower your heart rate. If you fancy a bit of science, that simple act of lengthening your exhales compared to your inhales stimulates the parasympathetic nerve, promoting relaxation. If you’re winding down and heading towards shavasana, this method is a superb way to slow down.
Visualization techniques can assist in calming tumultuous thoughts.
If your mind resists stillness, try engaging it in a soothing way. Visualizing images and perceiving them in your mind’s eye demands significant mental effort to maintain.
I began to experiment with visualization during shavasana when practicing in a studio that always played music. I found it challenging to quiet my thoughts, so I would try to keep my mind still and visualize images that complemented the music. Sometimes, I envisioned myself floating if the music had a nautical feel. Other times, I simply visualized colors swirling around in abstract patterns.
Visualization is deeply personal and subjective. If it proves helpful, you might consider picturing yourself achieving