Yoga - What’s the Secret Ingredient that Makes me Feel So Darn Good?
Yoga
I’m always amazed by the beautiful feeling one is left with following a yoga practice. While I love the feeling after a long run or an intense HIIT Class, the afterglow of a yoga class is…more. Depending on the type of class you choose you might feel the physical burn but the focused breath work infused into the movement, the balancing of chakras by way of strategic postures leaves you feeling relaxed, calm and centered.
Before I became a yogi, I was a runner. I would run almost everyday. I ran to save my life. Or in hindsight was I running from my life? The more stress I had and the bigger I felt my problems were getting, well I would just run more. Faster, longer, harder.
There never seemed to be a long enough road to solve my problems. I just physically exhausted my body so I could forget or at the very least be distracted by the pain for a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED running but it wasn’t helping me to unpack the source of my stressors. Each morning they would be back again.
Then I started taking a yoga class..just once a week at our local community centre and it was a game changer for me. I felt mentally and emotionally calm and relaxed and my body felt strangely energized and strong…not beaten to a pulp. I felt balanced.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was balancing my chakras or enabling the flow of my energy . I was working through emotional and energetic blockages one twist and downward facing dog at a time. Funny how one class changed the trajectory of my whole life.
Oh I kept running for many years after that, but implementing yoga into my daily routine too. In time, the yoga became more and the running became less until I realized I no longer needed to run to save my life. The problems that I tried to run through, or maybe away from were no longer there. I was…good. “I” am good thanks to my yoga lifestyle.
So What is Yoga Exactly?
Well you know I love a good definition so I took this one from Yogapedia…
Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India. Patanjali is known as the father of yoga. It isn’t actually known if he was one person or a group of people who gathered and wrote down the teachings of yoga in the Yoga Sutras around 400 C.E.
(If you are wondering C.E. stands for Common Era ~ a method of numbering years or period of time that began after the birth of Jesus Christ.)
The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” or “to unite”. The practice aims to create union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness. Such a union tends to neutralize ego-driven thoughts and behaviours, creating a sense of spiritual awakening.
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, and while many different interpretations and styles have been developed, most tend to agree that the ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve liberation from suffering. Although each school or tradition of yoga has its own emphasis and practices, most focus on bringing together body, mind and breath as a means of altering energy or shifting consciousness.
The journey of a yogi is known as Patanjali’s 8 Fold Path. There are 8 Limbs to yoga so right away we see that it is more than just an exercise. It is a philosophy and a way of life. Each limb is equally as important as the other. We won’t do a deep dive into all of them today (that is for sure another podcast or two) but I will list them so you have a general understanding of what they are:
Yamas ~ universal moral principles
Niyamas ~ the practice of personal discipline or inner observances
Asanas ~ the physical postures
Pranayama ~ the practice of breath control or breathing exercises
Pratyahara ~ controlling the senses, also withdrawing from the senses
Dharana ~ concentration
Dhyana ~ meditation
Sumadhi ~ enlightenment (the dissolution between subject and object)
That’s pretty deep. So if Yoga is the union of mind, body and spirit. Let’s break it down
Yoga for the Body
I think in this day and age you’d have to be living under a rock to NOT have heard about yoga.. I have had many newbies come into my class only to shift into a perfect downward facing dog because they have literally seen that pose everywhere. In newspapers, magazines, on the internet… In the western world, yoga is often stereotyped as beautiful people doing impossible body contortions in lulu lemon pants…that look perfect. I’m here to tell you…that’s just not true. Yoga is so much more.
Oftentimes we come to yoga for the physical aspect ~ that third limb ~ the asanas or postures. But reminder, each posture is just as important as the others.
There are many different types of asana yoga all with a slightly different focus; maybe a hot room, maybe longer holds or just 12 postures but the roots are all the same ~ move the body in a series of postures to find balance in the mind, body and spirit by way of balancing the chakras
Ahhh there’s that word again. What is a chakra? This is a sanskrit word referring to wheels of energy.
In Yoga, we speak of the Seven Major Chakras that are located along the spine. (starting at the tailbone and ending at the crown of your head) The Chakras connect your physical body to your energetic bodies (auras) and in turn distribute energy throughout your physical and non-physical self.
When your energy is flowing as it should, (meaning, when your chakras are balanced and free flowing) you feel lovely, happy, and peaceful. When your energy (or chakras) becomes blocked or flows in the opposite direction from its normal pattern, you can become agitated, angry, sad, aggressive, jealous...you get where I’m going with this.
In order to live your best life, it is important to keep your energy flowing and balanced. And in order to do this you must balance the flow of your energy and that is done by having balanced chakras…and one of the BEST ways to do this is to add the physical practice of yoga into your life.
Yoga for the Mind
It is easy to understand the physical practice of yoga…it looks like an exercise. It makes the body strong, toned and flexible..feels transactional…work hard and your end result is a better body. So what does it do for your mind? And how honestly can you measure these results?
Go back to the beginning. Yoga is the union of mind, body and spirit. So the practice affects all of those aspects of your being.
As I mentioned earlier, most people come to yoga for the physical. It is something that can be seen and understood. It tends to be what the western world focuses on most. And honestly, that’s okay. Because once you hit the mat, you begin to notice how amazing you feel. And the feel goes beyond the body.
When we practice the asanas, we infuse the 4th limb (also known as pranayama or breath control) into our practice. One movement, one breath. For example, when we are drawing our shoulders back towards our spine and opening the chest or heart centre…we are taking an inhalation breath and when we fold forward compressing the belly and the lungs, we are taking an exhale. It just makes sense. When we are working with more challenging postures, we use the breath to settle deeper into the posture or perhaps into our joints. Think of warrior two. This is a strong grounding posture, feet are planted, shoulders drawn onto your back, you are looking out over the front hand and you are holding a wide stance…the more challenging you want the posture to be, the greater the distance between your front and back foot. Here we are for sure challenging our hips and our quads (thigh muscles). Imagine this posture, you might even come into the posture now (unless you are driving) Imagine settling deeper into the posture, relaxing into the posture with each exhale. Relaxing into it by way of the breath.
When we are focusing on each breath, not only are we going deeper into our physical practice but we are shifting our awareness to the present moment. A big part of the problem with our society today is that they are in a constant state of fight or flight. They are constantly in the past and regretting the stuff they did or didn’t do OR they are worrying about the future which is a completely useless endeavour. Nothing good comes from spending more than just a few minutes of thought in these states. Yes of course we need to plan for the future but we shouldn’t live there in our minds. The present moment is the only place where you can find true happiness. And focusing on the breath in your yoga practice keeps you there.
When we learn to control the breath, we learn to control the mind and we also have the opportunity to bring our emotions into our control as well.
Sounds lovely doesn’t it? Fully living in the present moment. Letting go of the past…only taking glimpses of it from time to time. Not worrying about the future but living each moment fully and making each moment count.
That is what yoga offers you.
We have one more aspect…
Yoga for the Spirit
This is probably my favourite aspect of yoga to talk about. If we learn to live by the 8 limbs of yoga, we are being kind to ourselves, we are being kind to others and contributing to our society in a mindful way. We are strengthening our bodies through the asana practice and we are learning to become more mindful and present by way of breath control. The remaining limbs teach us to control our senses (so don’t be triggered by the barking dog) just let it become part of your surroundings. We learn how to concentrate…man do you we need to sharpen those skills in this cell phone age. And all of this makes the idea of meditating achievable.
I know so many people that say, “Oh, I can’t meditate.” Well have you ever even tried? The asanas are meant to prepare our bodies for meditation. Learning to control the breath and concentrate prepares our minds for meditation.
And meditation itself, when we gain control of the monkey brain gives space. Space for us to connect with our higher selves…our soul selves. Our spirit guides and creator.
I have seen it written that when we pray we speak to God and when we meditate, we create a quiet space for God to speak to us. How lovely is that?
Just like anything else, you need to practice meditation to get good at it or maybe comfortable is a better word.
What sets yoga apart from any other “exercise” regime?
So what sets yoga apart from any other exercise regime? Well ALL of it! It is just more! It is like comparing an apple to the whole damn orchard.
Every exercise has its place. You might prefer running or pilates but there are simply that…just an exercise. They are at best a nice complement to yoga but they cannot replace yoga practice. Yoga is a philosophy and a way of life that works to improve every aspect of your being.
Imagine moving through your life in a calm, grounded and centered way. Imagine being fully in control of your emotions, not being triggered by your surroundings…just calm and in control. Imagine never stressing about a busy holiday. Never worrying about a work or school presentation. Never being afraid of confrontation…just calm and control…That is what the power of yoga can do for you.
Recap
So to summarize, yoga is the union of mind, body and spirit and you just won’t find that with any other type of exercise. Some adrenaline junkies might disagree but if you are hoping to find balance in all of those aspects and not hang off of a mountain, yoga is your go to.
Yoga is a philosophy and a way of life. The practice goes beyond the physical form. The postures or asanas are just one of the 8 limbs used to increase flexibility in your body.
As a busy single mom, business owner and traveler, yoga to calm and manage my mind is invaluable.
By focusing on the breath, I am able to live in the present moment rather than constantly focusing on the past and future; a tool to live my best life.
Learning to control my breath enables me to control my mind (bye bye monkey mind) as well as my emotions.
My yoga body is stronger and more flexible, my mind is calm and so that means I can step into meditation where I can connect to spirit, source, creator. Here I can connect with my soul self as the ego eases to the background.
I have just given you a ton of information and If this is all new to you then it will feel like a lot. If you are interested in learning more, I have created a FREE Chakra Balancing Guide to help you understand what they are, how each one affects our lives differently, how to recognize if they are out of balance and tools to keep them balanced. There are a few free yoga classes as well. Just go to my website, www.greenriverandco.ca and click the bar at the top of the home page.