I’ve been doing yoga for over four years now (WILD!)
One thing I always come back to is how beneficial it is. I didn’t fully understand that until I began my practice.
It has a beautiful way of aligning your thought process so you can think and move clearly.
When I first started yoga, I did it primarily for centeredness, yes, but my body needed something different in that moment outside of my normal strength training . It needed something softer, more intentional, and precise.
What I’ve discovered is that it has done that for me and more.
Not only has it strengthened my body in a different way, but whenever I need a thought realignment, it gently shifts me from scattered to grounded.
It reconnects your heart and mind.
If you like, I want you to think of a time when you had a million things running through your mind.
Do you have it?
You could be, “That’s right now!” LOL
I feel that!
All those things to do, places to go, worries, obligations, commitments, obstacles—all of it.
When you think of that time and all the things, you feel this quickening in your heart, this unsettledness, right?
IT’s almost like you feel like you have to have it figured out right now.
You don’t, and since you don’t, take a deep breath.
In yoga, the breath is a deep inhale (You can count to 4)
Hold it at the top.
Exhale (Count to 4).
Do that a few more times.
How do you feel, just by doing that?
What happens on a chemical, biological level is you’ve lowered your stress hormone, cortisol.
Cortisol is linked to fight or flight, and most of the time we don’t need that response turned up. It’s usually helpful only in situations that require it.
How does intentional movement play into this?
From what I’ve observed, it helps me focus on the present—what I’m doing right now.
You’ll have your thoughts, but you’re focused.
That’s one thing I love about yoga: it requires focus. You can’t do the movements without tuning into your breath to keep you steady.
In yoga, it’s called “Drishti.”
Your Drishti is your focus or point of sight that helps you maintain what you’re doing so you don’t fall out of the pose.
You use this throughout the entire practice without noticing it a lot of the time.
Now that you’ve slowed your breathing and focused on the intentional movements, how do you feel?
I find that whenever I’m thinking heavily about something, by the end of my yoga practice I have a clearer direction.
I’m calm.
I’m grounded.
I have focus.
Then, I return to aligning my everyday life with that starting point.
Give it a try and see how you feel.