A How-to-Guide
Spring cleaning isn't just for external living spaces. Why not apply it to the ultimate living vessel of the body, mind, and soul, using a yoga practice?
Appropriate for beginner yogis, to advanced students, to yoga teachers, today's blog shares 4 simple ways to spring clean our yoga practice that will help us level-up our postures and quiet the mind.
#1 Stop Fidgeting
One of the most effective ways to improve a yoga practice is to stay focused and eliminate distractions. Whether it's adjusting a ponytail or smoothing down a mat, fidgeting disrupts the flow of concentration and prevents us from getting the most out of yoga practice. Cutting out fidgeting sounds so simple and it certainly isn't hard, but it does take a commitment to focus.
A lot of yoga fidgeting is either habit, which means we're less likely to notice it, or else an external expression of the mind's internal discomfort. Either way, applying mindfulness to every movement on the mat before, after, and in-between the poses will help to root out excess motion and cut down on distractions.
At your next yoga practice:
take time to listen to the teaching cues. This helps direct focus to reconnect what the teacher is saying with what you are doing. The more comfortable we get in the class with the teacher and the postures, the more likely we are to "tune out" and start going through the motions. Recommit to listening and staying with the teaching cues.
Change up your "spot" in the practice room. Creatures of habit, we tend to gravitate to a particular area of the practice room. Switch it up to get out of your comfort zone. Disrupting your routine with a differnt place will invite a renewed mindfulness to your movements becasue you'll have to integrate with your surroundings in a new way again. This is a great little trick to help freshen up a stale practice any time of year.
Fidgeting in the body encourages a wandering mind. This doesn't mean you can't smooth your mat or tighten your ponytail, but do you really need to? External distractions will always be around, encroaching on your focus and working hard to steal attention. Discover what it takes for you to remain in the present moment with the posture until its cued close.
According to Patanjali's 8 Limbed Path, concentration is the precursor to meditation. Train the mind to concentrate despite outward distractions because those will always be present. Challenge yourself to purposefully direct your focus. Over time this gets easier. You'll enjoy practice more when the external irritations fall away. Instead of "tuning out" you'll find yourself instead "in the zone" more quickly and more deeply than before.
#2 Practice Economy of Movement
After curbing the useless fidgeting of fixing hair, organizing your mat, needlessly gulping water, etc., practicing economy of movement can help you conserve energy and deepen your flow.
By approaching each movement with intention and purpose, you can maximize the benefits of each pose and improve your overall endurance. When each move into the posture is a deliberate act - or even better, a deliberate act of loving kindness - you'll find yourself more observant of your alignment and of the daily nuances in the body that make each session on the mat unique. Over time, you'll recognize you have more endurance because you spend more time in your maximum pose, instead of wasting time fumbling into it.
This applies to yoga teachers just as much, if not more, as it does to students. No one wants to see a yoga instructor aimlessly walking back and forth across the yoga room. Move with purpose. Be mindful of wandering around while students are balancing. It makes a difference in the class energy. The more focused the teacher, the more mindful the class. Ecomomy of movement is contagious in a good way!
#3 Protect the Mind with a Mantra
If you struggle with a wandering mind during your practice, incorporating a mantra can be an effective way to stay focused and centered.
Decluttering the looping thoughts in the mind is an ongoing process. While a mantra is traditionally passed down privately and personally from teacher to student, at this point in modern yoga practice, a mantra is pretty easy to find online, on YouTube, or from yoga inspired chants, music, and recordings. You can also choose a word that speaks to you like "Breathe," "Love," or "Yes." I like to keep it simple, monosyllabic and easy to remember!
One of my teachers taught me that the purpose of a mantra is to "protect the mind." I love this. Repeating one word or phrase over and over again does protect the mind from our own internal invasive thoughts and judgments. If you struggle with meditation in yoga practice or otherwise, try using a mantra.
#4 The Eyes Have It
Lastly, focus your gaze to still your mind. The eyes are the most reactive of our senses and also happen to coordinate with the spring season, according to 5 Element wisdom. Everything we see either attracts or repulses us pretty much instantaneously. We have an almost immediate subconscious yes or no to everything that enters our sightline.
If you have wandering eyes during yoga practice, deliberately focus to reign them in. Even if you doubt that this applies to you, chances are, your eyes wander more than you think. I was always just short of amazed by how many students look around unconsciously during yoga practice without even realizing it. So even if you're convinced this is not an issue in your practice, for our spring cleaning yoga practice, do it anyway!
If you practice with a mirror, choose one point to keep your gaze.
Alternatively, place a crystal, or another object meaningful to you in support of your yoga practice, and set this around your space to provide a focal point. I had a student who brought a small rock to class with him to set a focal point.
Other students deliberately remove their glasses, telling me that their focus moves inward easier when everything outward is little bit blurry.
Do what bring you success, remembering that the end goal is to still the gaze, quiet the mind, and deepen the yoga practice through increased mindfulness.
In Closing
Everyone with a yoga practice can benefit from a little spring cleaning! These tips can help you stay focused, centered, and energized throughout your practice.
For yoga teachers, examine your cues. Can you increase the specificity so students can clearly understand body placement? This will help everyone in class cut down unnecessary movements. Lead by example: move and speak with purpose to set the tone for your class.
Economy of motion, whether it's physical, like curbing excess paths into the posture, or mental, like quieting the incessant thoughts exhausting the mind, may be the remedy you need to move your practice forward this season for the next level of understanding and rewards.
Clear out the excess on your mat this spring and leave your yoga practice recharged and refreshed in body, mind, and soul.
Try today and see the results!
Thanks for reading!
Namaste,
Lara
Does this spring weather have you dreaming of practicing yoga nestled in the serene beauty of sunshine and the sea? We still have room available in Charka Bliss Meditation and Yoga Retreat this September on Aegina Island, Greece. Click to learn more!
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