Try some yoga!

[Gareth]

Yoga is adding a whole new dimension to my mindfulness. I have been going for about 3 months to a local yoga teacher who specialises in theraputic yoga for people with health conditions. Yoga is essentialy mindfulness of body. When doing the poses (I have been told off for calling them exercises), the aim is to bring your attention to the body and how it is feeling, in much the same way that we do in mindfulness meditation. I have been trying to make this a daily practice in the same way that I have managed to do with my meditation. Slowly but surely it's coming I think.

In much the same way as meditation, I am beginning to notice things because of my yoga practice. This week for example, I have been noticing the position of my shoulders so much more. I must have been holding them hunched up so often. I am noticing that now and making a conscious effort to hold my body in the correct way. This is remarkably similar to how I began to notice the entrance of my 'thinking mind' as my meditation practice was beginning to take hold.

I am really enjoying the yoga, and it feels like it will be a lifetime practice for me, much like my meditation.

[Eugene]

Hi Gareth,
Agree with you and like to say yoga is great for health so we must practice yoga daily. Yoga increase body flexibility and helps in breathing better. Yoga increase your strength, reduce pulse rate and relief pain. Yoga stable autonomic nervous system balance and reduce high blood pressure.

[Steve]

The way I look at it is yoga = 3D mindfulness

[JonW]

Beautifully put, Steve.
I've been neglecting yoga of late but I have invested in Boccio's Mindfulness For Yoga and aim to make more effort to incorporate yoga into my daily routine.

[piedwagtail91]

i can thoroughly recommend yoga - mindful movement.
i've been practicing since i started mindfulness almost two years ago.
i'm lucky in that i can go to a paid for class 100 yards from home and my ex therapist who's now my mentor has just qualified as a yoga teacher and runs staff yoga at lunchtimes once a week, so i can get that one for free!
we did some shibashi/tai chi based movement for 20 minutes today at our mindfulness reunion meeting. that really is gentle and great for practicing mindful movement.
come to think of it we did 15 minutes of mindful walking as well.
we do have quite a lot of movement based mindfulness in our courses, it's great for building awareness in the body sensations, getting used to more intense sensations which some have found to be of benefit when trying to cope with the sensations of intense emotions.

[JonW]

It's interesting to me that yoga is built into the Kabat-Zinn-inspired eight-week course but it's barely mentioned in any of Kabat-Zinn's books. In terms of formal practice (that darned word again), I aim during the week for a mix of seated meditation (I use a meditation stool that I tuck my legs under), body scan (lying down on a rug, head resting on a paperback) and light yoga. But the yoga tends to take a back seat.

[BioSattva]

I practice a standing yoga posture almost every day - for 70 mins each time!
It's an ancient chinese practice called 'standing post'.
When I go to the school in the countryside north of Beijing, I practice it twice a day, and do accompanying exercises as if in water and slowly moving my feet through mud - a total of 6 hours training each time.
It has helped my posture incredibly and has balanced out many 'wonks' in my frame. One stands with shoulder blades opened outwards with arms holding a ball, hips tucked under, knees slightly bent, feet parallel around shoulder width apart, and head and spine hanging from a string above. One seeks to relax into the posture under 'natural tension' - all the joints springy like the turgidity of a cell.
It can be utilised as a formidable martial art if one studies hard enough.
When I began it was very painful in certain areas as my tendons began readjusting after years of unhealthy postures and wieght-bearing, but now my body loves it and the healthy sensations counterbalance any pain in the muscles.

[JonW]

Six hours?!
Blimey.

[BioSattva]

Six hours?!
Blimey.

Ha - indeed, and the residential people at the school do even more in their evenings.

After a few years in China I realised the true meaning of practice and dedication - my UK standing yoga teacher called the Chinese fanatical when it comes to these things, and he wasn't wrong in many ways, however I prefer to call it a championing of excellence. They know from their ancient teachings what kind of perseverance and dedication is required to create counterbalances to unhealthy habits and instincts, and to achieve long-lasting and effective results.

I often tell Chinese people that if anyone who isn't a musician or an eccentric artist in the UK does the same thing every day - even for 30 minutes then they are classed by their friends as on the way to OCD. Lol.

I guess the situation flips when one practices dropping the heuristics underlying potential OCD in an 'OCD' way - i.e. daily mindfulness stuff... that's when it begins to be truly living.

[JonW]

"A championing of excellence."
Beautifully put.
I was just out walking my dog along the beach and there were three people doing tai chi. Other people were standing around, laughing and pointing, as though the people doing tai chi were circus performers. Rather than being curious. Struck me as an odd reaction but I see it all the time.