Yoga Buzzword: Mindfulness
By: Juliana Cole, Yoga Instructor, Yogi & Studio Manager of Yoga HeightsHi Yoga Heights Reader!We are in full swing of the new year, and with it, the transitions that come with new goals, resolutions, and dreams. We are undeniably connected to our environment and it is in these transitions that we tune in a little more closely to what our bodies and minds need. Whether we notice and pay attention to it or not, the shift is unavoidable and we all inevitably talk about our transitions, grand or minuscule. I love seeing how this shift translates to the yoga studio. The prospect of a new, better year and the cold winter chill outside translates to more people coming into the studio and lingering! So as we start our new year, and continue our winter hibernation, when we’ll most likely be spending a bit more time around the studio and listening to each other’s experiences, let’s talk about some yoga talk!As with any vocation or hobby, there is a vernacular that both enables us to communicate more effectively about the thing that we are doing but it also allows us to feel like we are in the know...as long as we know the key phrases of that vernacular. In this post, I want to talk about a word that we hear a lot in class and around the studio that has, at times, eluded me. MINDFULNESS! Maybe it eludes you too, maybe not, but here is my understanding of what this word means and why I use it! *MINDFULNESS*We toss this word around like it’s going out of style and the best part is, it’s always been in style! “Move mindfully through these poses” is something I use often. In a general way, I think we all understand the gist of being mindful: being aware. Our yoga and meditation practice teaches us, however, a much deeper and more tangible meaning for this word. Mindfulness is about being fully aware, fully attentive to what you are doing at the present moment while being cognizant and accepting of your feelings, thoughts and the sensations in your body. It is an all encompassing practice that is intended to aid in self-study, the study of the mind and ultimately a feeling of oneness: bliss.
This term has become exponentially more popular in recent years, and for good reason. No matter how busy our daily lives are, we always seem to find space to add more to our calendars, add more to the noise, the chaos and the stuff. Add in social media and at your fingertips, you have the simplest tool to draw your attention in ten different directions all at once. You barely have to lift a finger! How many times have you described a recent Instagram rabbit-hole that you went down which resulted in you finding some bizarre, funny and very trivial bit of information. These are fun, don’t get me wrong, and I’m not discrediting what these rabbit-holes can do to distract us from some daily stressors. These rabbit-holes are an easy example, however, of how our minds work when left to our own devices. We’re naturally curious, reactive and very excitable beings. Practicing mindfulness has found its greatest challenge and its best audience. That sentence is completely relative and written from the perspective of a 30-something-year-old living in a busy city, managing a job, various personal relationships and multiple hobbies (some that I actually do and some that I wish I had more time for). If I took one of these things out, or placed myself in a different time and place, I’d inevitably find ways to fill space and create stuff that would tax my brain to sort out. It’s human nature.To be mindful, or to be fully present, is an invitation to let go of all the layers of stuff that we pile into our lives that our brain tries to sort out, in order to pay attention to just that thing that is right in front of us. To be mindful is to show up in what you are doing; as opposed to just being passively there- a body filling a space.In my opinion, coming to your yoga mat is the best first step to practicing mindfulness. You have nothing else to do but to pay attention to what it is you are doing and how you feel while doing it. It is still so frustratingly easy to let your mind drift off. Mindfulness is such a simple concept, yet impossible to maintain at times. And the times it is hardest to maintain are often the times we need it the most. When there is a lot of stuff, our bodies and minds crave a break from it all! We need rest from the constant bombardment of stuff vying for our attention. So, how do we practice mindfulness? How do we really show up in what we’re doing? That’s the practice. It’s incremental and it’s slow...it’s like learning to walk. On your mat, it starts with the simple act of following your breath in and out of the body. You start to lengthen your breath as you pay closer attention to your breathing, and then you’re asked to notice the sensations of the breath. How does it feel? When we ask that potentially heavy question, “how does it feel”, we are asking for observation with as little critique as possible. It can be easy to start jumping around in our minds at that point and to start thinking of all the feelings that could arise- so give yourself a break and go back to following the breath. Notice the movement of the breath in the body. Sometimes I narrate to myself the movements that I’m making in order to move slowly and mindfully. I literally tell my body what it is doing and in a very rudimentary way, I am connecting my mind with my body and in the process, the other stuff drifts away and for that moment in time, things are simple and clear and quiet. Throughout the physical yoga practice, being mindful means paying attention to every bit of the process as you move through it. Thinking of just what you are doing and how it feels while you’re doing it and then, once you’re doing something else, that’s where your mind is too. Follow the slow process and at the end of your practice, see how the mind and body feels.Take this off the mat and what does it look like? Exactly the same thing. Yes, it’s harder because the environment is not staged for you with the intention of reducing distractions. But that’s why we practice on the mat- so that when it comes time to do it in other parts of our life, we have some experience. Mindfulness off the mat is a reminder to focus on the thing that you are doing and it can be just the same as how you do it on the mat. Notice your breath as you walk down the street; count your steps, narrate your actions...that’s where you begin! Take the baby steps and remind yourself that it is a constant practice. Also, acknowledge yourself when you do practice mindfulness. Just like we take the time at the end of class to recognize what we just did there; do the same all the time. Acknowledge when you give your brain a break from all the stuff in order to tune in. Be pleased with yourself when you count your steps and you make it to whatever number you make it to without a break. If you break, start over without criticizing yourself...remind yourself it’s always practice! This is part of it. This is the start of what it means to show up, to be present and mindful in all things. The more we practice, the more natural the action becomes. The more we practice, the more capable we are of being truly present in all aspects of our lives. The more we practice, the more capable we are of reducing the noise, the clutter and the fog. The more we practice, the more capable we are of observing and breathing through the obstacles that might otherwise challenge our sense of balance and invite more reactive behavior. Practicing mindfulness is a thoughtful study of our self that enables us to move gracefully through life.In the end, your practice cannot be prescribed to you or taught - it is completely your own, but set yourself up with the right tools. Oh, and here’s another yogi phrase that is as elusive and as wonderful as mindfulness: the tools are completely within you and have been all along.
Take classes with Juliana Tuesdays at 10am - All Levels Flow (Takoma)Tuesdays at 12pm - All Levels Flow (Georgia Ave.)Thursdays at 7:45pm - Restorative Yoga (Takoma)Saturdays at 10:45am - All Levels Flow (Georgia Ave.)