Yoga

[stacheman101]

Hi All,

I'm resistant to doing the yoga portion of the mindfulness practice. Not 100% sure why - maybe because it's "mixing in" another kind of practice with what I'm used to from previous experiences with insight/vipassana meditation.

Did anyone find the yoga meditation sessions particularly useful?

Jeff

[LucidMind]

I actually found Yoga not useful at all. I gave it a good try, but in the end I decided to not incorporate it into my practice (at this point in time). I did do it during my 8-week course, but once I finished I stopped. Also, I am a young and very active person who engages in a lot of sports and physical activity. I didn't get much out of the "physical" part of the yoga at all.

The thing I disliked the most about it was that you are supposed to actively control your breathing...you have to breath from your belly during the poses i.e. "diaphragmatic breathing"....which is a very different method than what I have been practicing in my other meditations (simply watching your breath, but not controlling). This aspect of yoga also really turned me off to it.

I have been doing sitting, walking, and body scans, and those all resonate great with me!

[Gareth]

Yoga has been very good for me, but then I have MS, so this gentle body awareness thing is really very good for me. The principle benefits of mindfulness are in the mind for me, although I am definitely getting some benefits with my body too.

I am going to move this to mindful living.

[FeeHutch]

Because of the physical disabilities I have yoga has always been seen as a no no for me. Pilates has been suggested and I have attempted it quite a few times. Some of my physio exercises are pilates based but I am still unsure how linked it is with yoga.

In the 8 week course I did I probably felt least comfortable with the mindful movement practice but got a lot from mindful walking. I wish my house was bigger to give me more space to do this

[piedwagtail91]

i took up yoga a couple of years ago when i did my mindfulness course, my therapist who then became my mentor is a qualified yoga teacher so the mindfulness aspect of yoga was easy for me to move to. i'd previously done years of weight training, mainly as a form of self harm because of the depression and anxiety.
same with cycling.
yoga is the first thing i've done that i haven't spoilt in that way.
for me it's an hour of being in my body observing the sensations.
thats had benefits in dealing with strong emotions in that i'm more aware of the body sensations, even very subtle ones.
having an intense stretch that some yoga poses bring feels to have made intense emotions easier to deal with for me.

[BioSattva]

I haven't done the 8 week course but I do a taichi-related kind of yoga here in China. I think the main purpose of the yoga is to bring one's attention back into one's body more and open us up to new growth and potential, since our habits have most often been elsewhere or self-sabotaging.

There is an overlap between posture and and the activity of the nervous system - when a dog pricks up it's ears to listen to something we see a physical reflection of it's nervous system - the pricked up ears are a symbol, as well as a necessary condition for the dog's natural alertness.

The necessary conditions for us to identify and 'work with' tension within our body so that we can soothe ourselves before the stress response kicks in is a body which is relaxed - psychologically and physically; the two of which we know are intimately and seamlessly intertwined, as well as an open body. If we are scrunched up in a ball, then it will be more difficult to identify and let go of unnecessary tension than if we are stretched out, and so yoga enables us to become more open - physically, and therefore, of course, mentally. Maintining an open mind - open to new information and ready for any growth and change - requires maintaining an open body, and vice versa.

The seated upright posture of formal mindfulness meditation is a yoga posture in itself - like the dog's pricked up ears - stretched upwards scanning for information - it embodies the alert state. The spine is elongated and stretched to raise the head and it's sensory apparatus up as high as healthily possible - watching, sensing, noticing, while giving the internal organs enough space to hang unobstructed and operate at optimum efficiency. This also allows unnecessary tension to be released from the tendons connected to the vertebrae. Other yoga postures can healthily open the joints and limbs further, thus benefitting one during formal seated practice, as well as in one's life in general.

If one has a creaky, achy body, then one will have a creaky, achy mind. It may be worth noting that I see yoga as mere stretching, and do not recognise a deeper 'energetic' component to it - that said, the benefits of stretching are not to be sniffed at. As the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki (a favourite of JKZ's) said: "The posture is Enlightenment". Open body, open mind. Working with dissolving unnecessary psychological and physical tensions (which always occur together) within manageable limits lies at the core of mindfulness as I know it. I find that seated meditation helps more with zoning in on the unnecessary tension arising from judgements, while yoga helps more with identifying physical tension, with the body scan lying somewhere in the middle.

[GianKarlo]

Yoga classes are full of little comments and insights that smooth over life’s rough edges and change the way we see ourselves. But today’s “aha!” experience is often swept away in the flood of tomorrow’s activities... Cool resource!

[Ricky]

I must say that yoga is a healthy exercise and good for brain and physical health. Yoga gives us freshness and also reduces stress. We can get a better body shape with doing yoga.
lakecountybootcamps

[Keith Smith]

Yeah I found the yoga meditation sessions useful.
I found it the best technique to deal with the stress, depression, and anxiety. I have controlled my anxiety and stress through the regular yoga meditation.

[David]

Good read everyone - TY. My wife has MS too Gareth. I can see how mindfulness would be of great benefit and wish my wife would embrace is as you do.

Stretching is the key word that comes to my mind - but without all the hype and bubble so commonly associated with the activity of yoga itself. The very word troubles my mind because of the way it and other activities are so commonly sold. When looking to such teachers, I almost feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off!

Just kidding - Was something I read in one of the above links, selling a service to answer all my troubles. Just taking a deep breath to think about all that is said here and what I could possibly add, is quite a stretch for me.

Feels good too. I've only just started walking again - I think I'm going to give this business of stretching a good go as well; although steer clear of business end.