It’s no mysterious process of how yoga and meditation can help you balance your mind and body. Both are great activities for bringing your mind and body into harmony with one another. They can keep you calm and centered and may even help shield you from disorders of the mind and body. By accessing the power of your nervous system, yoga and meditation are both excellent ways to pursue mind-body balance. They can easily be practiced separately or together, each in a variety of forms. In yoga practice, you’re commonly encouraged to practice breathing techniques and meditation as a regular part of your active yoga asana classes.
Benefiting the Mind and Body
The mind and body are often seen as separate entities, but they’re definitely intertwined. While it’s impossible to separate the functions of one from the other, we often lose track of their infinite connections. Yoga and meditation bring us back to that connection. For example, if you’ve ever been anxious or nervous, you know how that feels in your mind. Your thoughts race and you might even be irrational. At the same time, the nervousness has a tangible profound effect on your body. Your heart pumps blood faster, your muscles tighten and your breaths become quick and shallow.
Yoga and meditation allow you to center your awareness on your breath so you can breathe deeply and relax, helping both body and mind restore equilibrium. Both practices require some mindfulness work in order to reap the benefits. It’s one thing to KNOW about the mind-body connection, but it’s an art to recall it and put your skills into action when you need it. When you stick with it and make practice a part of your everyday routine, you’ll enjoy the serenity of a balanced mind and body, no matter what situations you may find yourself in.
More About Yoga
Yoga is an ancient practice where you assume certain postures while you concentrate and relax. Yoga helps you gain flexibility as well as clarity in your thinking. When you practice yoga consistently, you may even find that you bounce back after illness and injuries because your mind and body are in such a healthy state.
If you’ve never tried yoga before, you may want to attend a local beginner’s class. For best results, start slow and ease your way into practice. Listen to YOUR body and allow your teacher to make suggestions and modifications that will serve you best. Remember that yoga is not just about your body and the shapes you can make with it. The majority of practice is about your slowing down the racing thoughts of the mind, bringing your awareness back into the physical body, breathing intentionally, and witnessing the union of the mind-body connection. In time, pulling all of these elements together and moving in and out of the yoga postures will be easier for you to get into and maintain.
More About Meditation
Meditation doesn’t focus as much on the body, but it’s still important to maintain good posture whether you’re practicing sitting or walking meditation. According to all yogic philosophies, the active asana (exercise of making shapes with the body) is designed to prepare the body for deep, reflective meditation. It’s often harder to sit still than most of us assume at first glance. Your main focus with meditation will usually be on the breath, but more specifically on the present moment. When starting a practice, you’ll first want to find a time and place where you know you won’t be distracted. The time period immediately upon waking or before you go to bed usually works well.
It’s best to start by sitting in an upright posture with your shoulders back. This will ensure that your chest is out and in a good position for deep breathing. Focus on your breath and brush away stray thoughts that cloud your thinking. This prepares the body to relax and to eventually sink into deeper levels of meditation.
Tips To Deepen Your Practices
Once you’ve begun yoga and meditation practices, you can continue to deepen them by practicing every day, or maybe just a couple times of week. Routine persistence pays off, especially at the beginning of forming this healthy habit. When you practice consistently, you’ll start feeling a new level of harmony forming between your mind and body. Additionally, your awareness of the mind-body connection increases tenfold. It doesn’t take long for either practice to become a part of your daily routine that you look forward to. It’s something that you GET to do, and these routine relaxation sessions make you feel so good that you’re more centered and prepared to meet the day head-on! In the end, you’ll wonder how you could have ever waited so long to give them a try! Find a practice that works best for you.
Namaste.