Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Getting Out of Your Head and Into Your Body?



When I expressed how much I had enjoyed a yoga class, one of my fellow  students said 'yes, isn't it great to get out of the head and into the body?'.  At the time I agreed with her, but later, when doing my evening stretches, it struck me that when I was in the flow, that particular evening, I had actually felt out of my body!  

This was a great feeling for me because up until that point, I had often looked at other slimmer, fitter, more experienced people in the class and felt inadequate. Old familiar feelings of negative self image had often risen as I struggled with the poses. I had connected the practice of yoga with what my body looked and felt like. I had done this when practicing at home but particularly during class.

That evening, I began to truly realise that I am not in competition with anyone else, either in yoga or in other parts of my life. I realised that my yoga practice should be less about drawing me in to stronger identification with my body, but rather help me to let go.

By practicing yoga regularly, my body is improving physically anyway and my mind is certainly more peaceful so there is no need to dwell on this.  I just 'know' that this is happening as I 'go with the flow' and do the poses in a 'mindlessly mindful' way.

Natasha Rizopoulos saysAccording to Patanjali, it’s the identification with thoughts and feelings that causes suffering not the thoughts and feelings themselves.  So if you can put a tiny bit of distance between them and your sense of who you actually are, then life can be a little bit less painful.  And your mind can be a little bit less hectic.
This is where the familiar practices of Asana and meditation come in.
When you sit, you learn not to engage with every single thought/feeling that enters the fray.  Things come up and you let them float by rather than entering into a (repetitive) dialogue.
Similarly, when you practice postures you learn to use the physical body as a way of focusing your attention in the immediate present, on what is actually happening.  You learn how to corral your attention so that your “fluctuations” are between events that are related in some way, as opposed to the wild roller coaster rides that our minds often take us on.'


Contemplation : Human thought

I agree with Dr Kristin Shepherd, a chiropractor, actor and speaker when she says:  
http://blogs.yogajournal.com/beginnersmind/2011/08/i-am-not-this-body.html  


Here's the thing. I have to watch myself and be careful that my physical practice doesn't draw me into stronger identification with my body. I know it's happening when I don't love the way I look or feel during practice. I start to measure my inflexibility and be frustrated by it. I become a jealous observer of the woman over there whose wheel looks like a wheel instead of a broken crab. I might as well be in front of a bank of mirrors in a monster gym on these days.
The challenge for me, every day, is to begin by remembering who I am underneath it all.

Do you feel that challenge, or is it easier than all that for you?
Thanks to yoga for inviting us to look deeply. 

5 comments:

  1. Oh I sure do feel the challenge but by connecting with beautiful Spirits such as yourself, the journey is made that much easier. Feel the beauty and the sacred power from within, release the love and detach from everything else - yes easier said than done but what a beautiful and noble goal. LOVE this blog Claire. Thank you for your words and sharing your journey.

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  2. Why thank you Graceful Lady! It's lovely to have someone to share it with. And yes, it is easier said than done, but for me, being a lifelong work in progress is fun! I am learning and growing every day with and from people like you.

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  3. I'm glad I'm not the only one who experiences that out of body sensation during yoga occasionally! I don't really know what that means, as I rarely get to take yoga classes with an instructor. I usually follow DVDs at home. But I do frequently experience that very thing - a sense of being out of my body will occur and I feel that I'm floating above and looking down on myself. It's very peaceful when it happens.

    Namaste'!

    - Dawn

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  4. The wonders of yoga Dawn! I only wish I had discovered it earlier in life.

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  5. Yoga is a way of life". A good way of life. It gives you mental balance, the stamina to face the day-to-day challenges of life.

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