Yoga Beyond the Mat (The Art of Living in the Moment and Dealing with Stress)
After 4 years of practicing yoga, I started out just wanted some exercises but then realized that yoga is so much more. The curiosity bug is bugging me to find out more, so I applied for the yoga teacher training course which costs HK$30000. And that’s just the beginning.
Yoga is the science of religion but not a religion itself. Through the rich history and contribution by many gurus, yoga has developed into more than sports that maintain bodily strength and mental peace. It has become a way of living. And for those who are wondering how to incorporate yoga in your daily life, this article is for you.
If you are not into twisting your body but would like to improve your mental strength, there are ways to do so too.
Breathing
In the first class of yoga, the yoga teacher will ask you to not focus on doing the right move, but to focus on your own breathe and do what you can.
Yoga is never about the posture (despite all the fancy yoga poses photos on Instagram). The basic (and actually hardest) part of yoga practice is breathing. Being conscious about your breathing.
Breathing comes almost naturally for us since we were born. The reptile part of the brain (which is the oldest brain) deals with basic bodily functions including breathing, pumping the heart, and regulation of chemical processes in the body. This means that we don’t have to think about breathing. We just breathe.
Having to think and learn to control our breathing does not come naturally. It takes practice — which is where yoga practice comes in. It is a form of exercise and postures designed to help us take conscious control of our breath and energy. Yet, even when we do not do the yoga posture, we can have the same benefit if we learn to consciously control our own breathing.
How to be conscious of our breath?
There are many ways: you can feel it — feel the air flowing into your nose all the way to your lung, and feel it getting out from your lung all the way out from your nose.
You may also try closing one of the nostrils to intensify the sensation.
You can also control it by breathing fast and slow. Count your inhale from 1 to 6, then breathe out 1 to 6. This can help to slow down your breathing.
If you want to increase clarity and oxygen in your brain, count 1 to 6 when you inhale and 1 to 3 when you exhale so that more breathe goes in than out.
You can even try holding your breath: inhale from 1 to 6, then hold for 2, and exhale.
Playing with your breathing helps you increase awareness of your breathing patterns and increase your conscious control over your breath (and hence your energy).
And you can do it anywhere.
Awareness body-scanning
Take your breath to go around your body like a king journeying through his kingdom to see whether his people are living well. You can start anywhere you like — from the head to the toes, from the heart to left hand, right hand, lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, all your organs, your bones, your feet, even your nails and hairs.
As you do this, feel the breath and energy circulating around your body, feel every part of your body — thank them for their service. Relax that part of your body when your breath comes along. Then go to the next one, until the energy has gone through the whole body. Relax and let the breath rejuvenate your cells and organs!
Don’t under-estimate the power of this little body scanning exercise! This is an engaging meditative exercise that really benefits your body and helps you relax every cell and muscle! Oh yes, it helps you fall asleep as well.
Study of universe and energy
Regardless of your belief and religion, every religion concerns energy. Every matter is energy. The study of energy is the study of yoga.
Every moment, we emit energy into the atmosphere (despite that we cannot see it). And yoga is a series of moves that facilitate the energy flow within our body. Energy transfers within our bodies through breathing.
That’s why we practice being more aware of our breath and controlling our breath in point 1. Other than those breathing exercises, you can study about breath, energy, and the universe through various courses, books, or materials.
Here I would recommend 8 classic yoga reference books:
Light on yoga by B K S Iyengar
Light on Pranayama (means breathing) by B K S Iyengar
Light on life by B K S Iyengar
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda
The Sivananda Companion to Yoga by Swami Vishnu Devananda
The Breathing Book by Donna Farhi
Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff
The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama by Richard Rosen
They may not be the easiest book to read but they contain much wisdom and are well worth your time to elevate your life and energy.
You don’t have to be a yogi to study yoga.
Living in the moment
According to yoga knowledge, stress is the no.1 cause of diseases in this day and age. Whether it is heart diseases, cancer, or any tricky illnesses, every sickness starts from within. Diseases are merely symptoms of the negative energy and imbalance of elements in our bodies.
A certain level of stress is actually beneficial because it gives some fuel and pressure on us to do what needs to be done, yet far too often we are over-stressed. Instead of being a motivator, stress becomes a de-motivator. We turn to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, long hours of games, etc. to escape reality. We turn off our ability to think and forget our real purpose of being here. We live like robots day by day because we are over-stressed and we don’t know what to do. We are not taught how to handle stress at schools. Nowadays, men and women are under tremendous stress from all directions — work, career, family, financial, politics, technology, mental, just to name a few. The world instability, political distrust, economic uncertainty, job market changes, diminished pension, ever-increasing workload, risk of being fired compounded with family burden — there are simply too much anxiety, worries, and stress going around. Which may explain the ever-increasing people suffering from deadly illnesses even at a relatively young age.
Medicine can help to kill the germs and bacteria that cause the diseases but it is not a preventive measure. The best way to reduce the risk of sickness is to reduce stress. And the best way to reduce stress is to live in the moment.
How to live in the moment?
Counting has been a really useful tool for me. For example, when we are walking, we tend to think about something else — what to eat today, what we need to finish today, what time is it now whether I will be late, is there any meeting, future work plan, etc. If we live in the moment, we simply walk when we walk. How to empty our minds? Count — count your steps, count your breathe, and just walk. Enjoy the walking, enjoy your feet, enjoy the blood flowing within you, just feel amazing when you are walking.
When you are eating, of course, I am not recommending that you count the number of rice. But the same principles apply — just eat when you are eating. Feel the texture of the food, taste it, chew it, sense the favor.
When you are working — work. When you are bathing — bath. When you are writing — write. You get the idea. And you are living in the moment.
Get off the mobile and create a space that is fully yours
The yoga mat has a special power of creating a space that is fully yours and you are the god of your own space. It doesn’t have to be the yoga mat actually. It can be any space as small as a chair where you can simply slow down and have a moment with yourself — away from all the noises, opinion, news.
Even when you are on your way to work sitting in public transports or standing, this can be done if you just consciously put away your mobile for a moment and be with yourself at the moment. Give yourself the space to breathe and enjoy life at the moment.
Creating that space can be done beyond the mat and literally anywhere you like. This gets you into the meditative state very quickly even when you are in a venue full of people and noises. And you can very efficiently calm and focus your mind this way.
If you find yourself rushing or being forced to make hasty decisions, or under the control of strong emotions such as anger, hold the horses and take a moment in your space. The fog will soon be lifted and you will be able to see and think with divine clarity.
