Google the term ‘yoga’ and most results say it means ‘union of mind body and soul’.  However, ‘union’ implies connection, which is essentially the bringing together of two things to make them stronger than the sum of its individual parts.

It’s true, yoga is fundamentally all about connection.  However, we can sometimes separate the body from the mind. Often,  it’s the mind influencing the body. Sometimes the body influences the mind.

Think about the last time you had to do a presentation at work and your body starts reacting and your mind starts churning irrational thoughts: “See, I told you that you can’t do this, your tummy is queasy, your heart is beating too fast and you’re sweating”.

On the other hand, when you think about the client who bought your flowers in appreciation for the work you did on their behalf, or your boss says “job well done”, you smile and get all warm inside.

We are all capable of reacting strongly at times, that we might wish we could react a little less. How awesome would it be if we could stay present when giving that presentation and our body be perfectly calm.

We can use yoga to reduce the influence of the mind on the body. We can train ourselves to turn the senses inward. This is known in yoga as Pratyahara. Meditation teaches us to quietly watch the mind, which results in the mind becoming quieter. This is known in yoga as Dhyana. In giving less attention to the mind, and the thoughts running through it, we learn to observe them, let them pass and not to believe all the stories the mind it telling us. We then create space to notice when the body becomes calmer and so the effects the mind has on the body begin to lessen.

Even when the body still reacts, (our bodies are always present, it’s our minds which wander!), we can learn to observe that, sit with it until it passes. This way we are not denying the experience, but the influence it has on our system will not be as strong and ultimately, we will handle the situation differently as we are working from a place of objectivity not to the body chemistry.

Learn to meditate with me from the comfort of your own home. New online meditation course coming March 2023. For enquiries please email [email protected]