Mind, Movement, and Yoga

Yoga is essentially a practice for the mind, although most of us associate yoga practice purely with physical asana practice. So, what does the mind have to do with physical movement? According to modern science, everything.

Mind is the Mover

How we relate to and react to things through our senses as life unfolds is governed by the nervous system. We create patterns and habits that we are not even aware of. These patterns are not only reflected in our movements and thoughts, but in how others perceive and react to us. We can say that how we come across is a reflection of our experiences and how we have dealt with them up until now.

Changeable Mind

Ancient yogic texts, such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, show the ancients understood how much the mind is responsible for our happiness, and the yogic path is all about changing our minds.

Physical or asana practice, breathing, energy work, and self-reflection are an important part of this pathway to peace of mind.

Yoga practices help us reach the more subtle layers of ourselves and bring the unconscious to the surface and take more active control over our lives.

Insight

Once we are aware of what we are doing, we can make different choices and respond differently to what is happening around us, taking responsibility for how we are.

It’s easy to forget that yoga is an embodied philosophy, not just ideas. The good news is, yoga practice is a tool that helps us redefine our destinies and ultimately find peace and fulfilment.

Mind in the Muscle

Moving back to the body, we can see how building strength and stamina improves our health on a physical level. 

Here is a list of the almost endless physical benefits of physical yoga practice and related exercise; building muscles, lowering body-fat percentage, strengthening bones, improving stability and mobility, increasing longevity, protecting joints, reducing injuries, improving tendon, ligament, and fascia resilience.  

Cultivate Resilience and Calm

If you follow a regular asana practice you will notice how your yoga practice affects you on a more subtle level, creating more confidence, improving mood, emotional balance, reducing personal fears, conflicting thoughts and misunderstandings and heightening self-awareness.

Steady and Resilient
Remember to bring in the parameters of yoga to your physical practice. Cultivate steadiness and ease in your asanas, breath long and easy, with focus on exhale.

The more you clarify your mind and move from a quiet place, the more your daily actions will bring you into alignment with yourself and the life you wish to lead.

By Natasha Gunn, Yoga Therapist, Program Lead Hot Yoga Eindhoven