YOGA/PILATES ARTICLES
How Yoga and Mindfulness Are Interconnected
Take a minute and look around. Does it seem as if the world that surrounds you is buzzing with constant energy? We’re a society of multitaskers, always on the move and trying to scratch just one more thing off our never-ending to-do lists.
Commotion has a place in the world, but that place shouldn’t be in your mind or your heart. The constant stimulation isn’t good for your physical or mental health, but unfortunately it’s incredibly easy to fall prey and lose sight of the present moment in the blur of activity.
Scientific evidence tells us that we’re meant to slow down, breathe deeply and just be present in the moment. Today, we wrap this all up in one beautifully package called mindfulness, and yoga can be an essential tool in achieving it. Let’s discover how.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Frankly, the concept of slowing down and savoring life in the moment sounds so divine that mindfulness shouldn’t require too much convincing. But, regardless of how great it feels to breathe in the moment, it’s even more beneficial to really understand how mindfulness benefits your health. If we had to gather all the benefits and come up with a top 5, they would include:
• Improved physical health, including lower blood pressure and pain reduction
• Stress relief
• Improved sleep habits
• Less anxiety and depression
• Improved perspective and clarity among some of life’s most challenging moments
The Yoga Mindfulness Connection
There are so many different types of yoga, but each style has something in common with all the others, and that’s unity. We’re seeking to unite the body, mind and spirit through conscious movement. Mindfulness is just an extension on this concept of unity, except it isn’t just about what’s happening within, but also around you.
For example, their might be a flurry of commotion around you as you sit on a park bench. Mindfulness is the ability to quiet the excess stimuli and focus on the scent of a flower or the happiness in a child’s giggle.
Yoga and mindfulness go hand in hand because they each encourage you slow down, breathe in and pay attention.
5 Ways to Encourage Mindfulness in Your Yoga Practice
For many people, whether they’ve practiced yoga for years or just one day, achieving mindfulness requires practice and patience. It’s not easy to instantly turn off all the noise you’ve grown accustomed to listening to. That said, mindfulness isn’t necessarily about tuning everything out, but instead learning to separate and identify each element so that you can appreciate it for what it’s providing to you at this very moment.
When beginning to work on achieving mindfulness through your yoga practice, start by doing these 5 things.
• Remove distractions, including your smartphone and distracting technology
• Don’t worry about following an agenda, just tap into what you’re feeling
• This isn’t a competition, so avoid comparing yourself to others if you’re taking a class
• Become aware of when you start to let distractions interfere with perseverance and the experience
• Remove thoughts of the past and future, and only focus on the now.
Encourage Mindfulness with a Yoga Class
There’s no better way to begin your path to mindfulness than in a class with others who are focused on the art and beauty of yoga. We offer yoga classes for every experience and fitness level.
187 Butcher Road
Vacaville, CA 95687