Is yoga self improvement ❓
Will yoga improve our life when we practice it and will any improvement extend beyond the mat and chair into our family life, our worklife and all those roles that we live.
Hmm, now there is a question.
Yoga definitely helps us to improve, there is no denying that after any session we can feel that we have done something to
Improve our mood
Improve our sleep
Improve our emotional balance
Improve our flexibilty - physical and mental
Improve our physical health
Improve our mental well-being
You get the picture?
So, yes,
Yoga helps us to improve ourself
BUT
ah, there's always a but!
I tell my students that yoga is actually
Self realisation
Self awareness
Through our yoga practice we become more aware
Then through that awareness we naturally make improvements
We become aware of the real self, and through that awareness true self improvement and growth occurs
We become what and who we truly are, what we were made to be
and that's REAL self improvement
As we get to know ourselves as part of the Divine, the Universal Spirit, the Cosmic Consciousness, God (or however you feel comfortable naming that which we all come from)
We become
Real
Authentic
Balanced
(not sure about that GOD word? Check out the blog What/who is God?)
So is it Self Improvement?
and if so how can Yoga help?
Through yoga practices we become more Self aware
We gain awareness without expectation or criticism
As we practice postures, breathing and/or meditation we learn to observe
The body, the breath, the mind, the emotions
We notice what works, what doesn't
How we feel before, after and during certain things
What changes within us as we do a particular practice
Which styles of yoga suit us and which don't
It starts with the physical - that feeling of needing a forward bend to release the spine after a deep backbend
but
as we are more than just a physical body, all of our layers are affected - keep an eye out for the blog on KOSHAS for more about those layers that make us human
As we practice a side bend or forward bend we learn
What we need to put us back in balance
Without putting ourself down, we learn from a mistake and grow - overstretching physically brings definite muscle awareness!
This also happens in meditation practice and studying the texts of yogic philosophy
Our practice on the mat and on the chair is our space to learn and grow
and if we make a mistake we get to
Keep the lesson from the mistake but not the memory
Like I say in class, awareness without expectation or criticism and it extends beyond the mat and chair into our family life, our worklife and all those roles that we live.
Have you started yet?
How is your Self feeling, physically. mentally, emotionally?
Tell me in the comments, or drop me a message, I would love to know any awareness you found on the mat, on the chair or just sat with a brew.
