Chapter 2

Yoga and the Mind-Body Connection

In This Chapter

arrow Quieting and calming your mind

arrow Concentrating on transitions between exercises and activities

arrow Listening to your body as you exercise

arrow Breaking the mind barriers to exercise

arrow Focusing on the here and now

You may not know it, but when you exercise, you have the potential to exercise with your mind as well as your body. And in yoga, the mind plays a bigger part than it does in other exercise disciplines, because one of the goals of yoga is to be self-aware and to develop your relationship with your consciousness in everything you do.

This chapter explores training your mind and some of the mental aspects of yoga. You look into quieting and calming your mind, listening to your body as you exercise, and breaking the mental barriers that keep you from wanting to exercise. You also discover a mental visualization technique for focusing your mind and a special contract-and-release exercise for wringing all the tension from your body.

Taming the Monkey Mind

One of the objects of traditional yoga is to discover how to calm your mind to achieve clarity of thought. An overactive mind is sometimes called a “monkey mind.” In traditional yoga, a monkey mind is one that swings wildly from branch to branch — that is, from thought to thought — without really considering where it’s going. A monkey mind is always busy, so much so that it leaves you feeling exhausted and robs you of your precious energy resources and your ability to concentrate.

Taming a monkey mind isn’t easy. It takes time, practice, and, perhaps most importantly, a commitment to discovering how to relax your mind and always remain in the moment. What does “in the moment” mean? It means to be consciously aware of your surroundings and how you feel now — not letting your mind drift into memories or fantasies. When you tame the monkey mind, you achieve self-awareness and the ability to think with clarity. You literally pull yourself together, body and mind. For more tips on taming a monkey mind, check out “Bringing Your Mind into the Present Moment” later in this chapter.

Focusing on the Transitions

Yoga masters pay a lot of attention to transitions. The entire yoga philosophy is not about abrupt stops and starts but rather smooth transitions of breath into breath and moment into moment. This philosophy applies to all activities in life — the transition between sleep and wakefulness, the transition between work and play, and even the transition from year to year and decade to decade, for example. In yoga class, it means paying as much attention to getting into and out of a pose as being in the pose itself.

The object is to make all transitions, from the smallest to the largest, smooth and graceful so you maintain your self-awareness and your yoga consciousness as a matter of course, no matter what you do or where you go. When you take on a yoga lifestyle, you strive to make all your activities — all the moments of your life — one vast, inspired moment imbued with yoga consciousness. This effort gives you a greater sense of personal empowerment and freedom of choice as you skillfully live your life. With each breath and each moment leading one to the other, you’re fully alive as you embrace your life to its fullest without missing out on a single moment of the journey.

Easier said than done, of course, but practicing yoga can help. To start down the road of greater consciousness, focus on the transition between yoga exercises and how you link one breath to the next. (See Book II, Chapter 1 for breathing details.) Try to create effortless, flowing, graceful transitions between exercises, with as little excess movement as possible. When your mind wanders, as it will, gently pull it back and focus on what you’re doing in the present. When you forget to breathe properly, you put more mental effort into breathing next time. You observe your own training, and, in the process, you become your own peak-performance coach. No one knows better than you do whether you’re getting the most out of yoga exercises.

By focusing on the transitions between exercises, you can carry vitality, strength, and endurance from one exercise to the next. With enough attention to transitions, you can turn your yoga workout into a living dance, with all the postures connected through balance, presence, attention, and breath. And guess what? You’ll even have some fun in the process.

Exercising from the Inside Out

Yoga is different from nearly all forms of exercise in that you do the exercises “from the inside out.” In basketball and weightlifting, for example, the object is to do something outside of your body — make a basket or press a certain amount of weight. But in yoga, the object of the exercises is found mostly within, not outside of, the body. Yoga, in all its forms, is a profound technique for getting in touch with your body. As you perform an exercise, you feel and listen to the inner workings of your body. Your body tells you whether you’re doing the exercise correctly, and part of your job is to discover how to listen. If you’re in tune with yourself — if you feel balanced, if you feel the right combination of muscles at work, if you’re pushing yourself precisely to the threshold of your ability — you’ll know it.

Exercising from the inside out takes some getting used to for people who aren’t accustomed to exercising this way. It requires a fair amount of patience; it requires you to focus within; and, to a certain degree, it requires you to rely on your intuition and to notice the subtle sensations in your body. Although instructors can help you with your posture and movements, knowing whether you’re exercising correctly is ultimately up to you, and you’ll know because you can feel it. No outside objective — jumping to a certain height, lifting a certain amount of weight — can tell you whether you’re on target with an exercise. Only you, your intuition, your innate wisdom, and your intelligence can tell you when you’re exercising right. Figuring it out may take some time, and it takes practice, but when you do, it feels great.

Letting Go of “I Can’t Do It”

More so than muscle fatigue, what keeps most people from yoga is that broken record that each person has in his or her collection, the one that says over and over and over again, “I can’t do it.” Exercising is hard in and of itself; attempting a new exercise program may be even harder.

The only way to push aside “I can’t do it” is to use your head. When the old record starts playing, take notice and then focus on your breathing. Listen to the air slowly entering and slowly leaving your lungs. This technique helps quiet your mind and keeps the record from playing. It helps you immerse yourself in the exercises. (For more information on breathing during yoga exercises, see Book II, Chapter 1.)

Resistance to exercising can come from many different places. Everyone can find excuses not to exercise. Everyone can think of things he or she would rather do. The easiest way to break through old barriers that your mind has built up against exercise is to take the first step or the first yoga breath. After you get going, you discover that exercising isn’t as hard as you thought it was. Let each exercise session act as a new beginning and a fresh start. Take it one breath at a time. Make that your objective. Personal power — your greatest potential — rests within. When you bring what’s within out into the world, miracles happen.

Bringing Your Mind into the Present Moment

Bringing your mind into the present moment is easier said than done. All people have distractions that keep them from focusing on the moment. To help you get there, check out the mental visualization technique and the exercise for relieving tension in this section. Turn to these pages when you want to coax yourself into living in the present. The information you find here can help you live life to the fullest by being in the moment.

Visualizing a calmer mind

One way to tame a wild and overly active mind — a monkey mind (see “Taming the Monkey Mind” earlier in this chapter) — is visualization. With visualization, you close your eyes and go on a mental journey as a means of calming your mind and achieving a quiet, meditative state of self-awareness. In effect, you become the producer of your own visual effects — a sort of director of your own mental movies. The idea is to reach a state of deep relaxation and focus.

The object of the following visualization is to discover a refuge of calm and quiet within yourself. You need at least 10 minutes for this visualization. Lights, camera, action:

  1. Lie down or sit comfortably in a quiet place.

    Do your best to find a place where you aren’t bothered by cellphones and other distractions.

  2. Notice the tip of your nose and the coolness or warmth of each breath as the stream of air flows in and out of your nostrils.

  3. Keeping your attention on the tip of your nose, feel the sensations of your lungs as they fill with air and then empty themselves of air.

    Focus on your lungs for at least six breaths.

  4. Imagine that the innermost center of your body, from your hips up to your shoulders, is a deep pond.
  5. View this deep pond in your mind and direct your attention to the surface of the pond.

  6. Notice the currents or waves on the surface of the pond and look toward the sky, above the pond in your mind, and observe any clouds.

    The clouds represent your emotions, and the surface of the pond represents your thoughts. In the next several steps in the visualization, you sink deeper into the image of the pond and distance yourself from your flow of emotions and the activity of your thoughts.

  7. Visualize dropping a pebble into the pond.

    In your mind, follow that pebble with all your awareness as it sinks deeper into the pond. Breathe in and out calmly and quietly, remaining aware of the tip of your nose if doing so helps you breathe more calmly and deeply.

  8. As the pebble continues to sink (which represents deeper levels of your awareness), feel a sense of your own depth, the calmness within you, and the stilling and quieting of your mind as the pebble falls into deeper waters of inner knowing.

  9. Imagine the pebble coming to rest on the bottom of the pond.

    You’re at a point of restfulness in the depths; dwell here for as long as you want.

  10. In the role of an observer, step back from this visualization and notice that you’ve taken your mind and thoughts into deeper waters.

    High above, the clouds (your emotions) are still alive and well, and the surface of the pond (your thoughts) is still ripe with currents and activity. Down in the depths, however, you are still and quiet. You’ve discovered the deeper well of a steady mind and calm deep within you. This state is known as equanimity, when the mind is calm and aware.

    Dwell comfortably and securely in this place of calm for as long as you care to remain. Remember: This place of calmness is always there waiting in case you need to visit it.

Releasing tension with a contract-and-release exercise

The object of this contract-and-release exercise is to release tension in your body and bring your mind into the present moment. You isolate different areas of your body one at a time, starting with your toes and working your way up to your head. In each body area, you contract your muscles hard and then gently relax them. The idea is to tense each muscle group hard, without straining, for about five to ten seconds, and then suddenly let go of the tension or contraction. When you release your muscles, you do so fully and abruptly, relaxing and letting your body fall completely limp. In this way, you achieve a state of deeper relaxation, and you systematically relieve tension from different areas of your body.

Visualize each muscle group you’re working on in your mind’s eye before you contract and relax the muscle group. By directing your thoughts into a part of your body, you can discover the nerve pathways necessary for relaxation. You discover how to relax by directing your mental energy toward your body.

Repeat the contract-and-release sequence three times with each part of your body you’re working on. Hold the first contraction for five counts, the second for about seven, and the third for about ten. As you do so, inhale through your nose during contractions and exhale through pursed lips after you relax your muscles. Inhale deeply, yet not so deeply that you feel discomfort in your chest or lungs.

This exercise takes a bit of time — perhaps 10 to 20 minutes — but it’s well worth the effort. Follow these steps to do the contract-and-release exercise:

  1. Lie down on your back in a quiet, comfortable place, and take a few deep, slow, abdominal breaths (Book II, Chapter 1 explains what these breaths are).

    As you exhale, notice the weight of your body and how that weight is distributed on the carpet or on your yoga mat.

    In the next seven steps, starting with your toes and working upward, contract and relax muscle groups for five seconds.

  2. Direct your attention to your right and left legs and, in a wavelike action that moves from your feet upward, tighten your feet by curling your toes downward, and then relax.

    If your muscles cramp, relax and gently shake off the cramp or wait until it stops, and then start again. Sometimes the muscles act up because you haven’t used them in such a deep way for a while.

  3. Move the contractions up higher, tightening your calf muscles while flexing your toes toward you or turning your toes under (do whichever feels best).

  4. Move the contraction higher again, engaging the muscles of your thighs all the way up to your hips.

    You may tighten your buttocks along with your thighs, because the thigh muscles attach to that area. Feel your thigh muscles smoothing out and relaxing completely as you exhale.

  5. Tighten and relax your buttocks, hips, and abdominal areas.

  6. Contract and release your back and chest.

    As you relax, imagine a wave of release moving smoothly downward from your chest. Feel the excess tension in your chest flowing away with each exhalation.

  7. Clench your fists and feel the contraction moving up your arms; relax your arms and hands.

    If you have to lift your arms from the floor, you can do so. Notice the muscles around your shoulder blades pushing in.

  8. Tense and relax the muscles in your neck, forehead, face, and scalp, as well as the muscles around your ears.

    Be careful not to grind your teeth. Feel the frown lines on your face melting away.

  9. Repeat Steps 2 through 8, holding each muscle contraction for seven counts before releasing.
  10. Repeat Steps 2 through 8 again, holding each muscle contraction for ten counts before releasing.

  11. Take a deep, full breath and mentally scan your body for any tension that still remains; notice where you’re still holding tight, and contract and relax the muscles there.

    Feel your body resting deeply.

  12. Inhale and, as you gently hold your breath, contract your muscles everywhere — bottom to top, front to back, inside to outside, outside to inside, forward and back, up and down.

    Feel a wave of contraction moving from your held breath into every area of your body.

  13. Exhaling quickly through your mouth, release all the muscles you’ve been contracting.

    You’ll hear a swooshing or deep-releasing ahh sound that rises from your belly as you exhale.

  14. Repeat Steps 12 and 13 three times.

    Finish by resting gently. Let your breathing become natural again. Enjoy the sensations of your body resting on the floor.

Playing a bit of soothing music in the background helps some people with this exercise. And this exercise is a great way to finish off a yoga routine!