Taking Yoga off the Mat and into Your Life
By Jeanine Josman
Yoga provides fantastic physical benefits—toned muscles, greater flexibility, improved posture and stamina—but it offers excellent mental benefits as well, even beyond the calm you feel in class. The ancient yogis believed that life was tough. They devised the philosophy of yoga as a path to happiness by freeing our minds of distraction and bringing us into the moment. Yoga teaches us to be present in our bodies, the way we were as children. Practising yoga postures helps to strengthen and focus the mind; bringing our practise into our daily routines can make us less reactive, calmer and more able to take life’s challenges in our stride. Here are five tips for taking yoga off the mat and into your life:
1. Breathing and movement
Control your breath, control your thoughts. When you are agitated you breathe in a shallow, quick way. If you consciously deepen and control your breath, inhaling and exhaling through your nose, you calm your thoughts and focus your mind.
If you combine this simple mindful breath with some mindful movement—say, simply raising your arms above your head on an inhale and then bring them into a prayer position or down to your sides on an exhale—you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which forces your body to relax. If your body is entirely relaxed, it is not possible to be angry.
2. A strong foundation
In a pose, you consciously build up from a strong foundation. That is, whatever is touching the mat—feet, hands, shoulders or sit bones—you find the correct alignment and engagement as you reach through to the height of the pose. This strong foundation gives you a sense of possibility—of openness, a space for something new to come in. Translate this through to everyday tasks by consciously making good preparations; do what you can (laying the foundation), and be prepared to let go of the outcome (maintaining openness). Things may not work out quite as you planned, but maybe something even better happens instead!
3. Attitude
If you don’t like a yoga pose you always have two choices: change the pose or change your attitude to the pose. Think about ways you can take this wisdom into challenging situations in your everyday life.
4. No judgement
We try to accept our yoga practice for what it is, with no judgement. So what if the flexible lady next to you can do the splits? Our bodies are all different and we all work to our edge, which is just as valid wherever it may be or whatever it may look like. In class and in life, we all have strengths and weaknesses. We do our best, and try to accept ourselves and others just the way we are—right now. No judgement.
5. Breathing and posture
As always in yoga, we return to the breath: we use good posture to create optimal breathing, to strengthen our core muscles as well as the muscles that externally rotate our shoulders. When you sit, consciously pull your navel back—just a little—to your spine, roll your shoulders back and down so your shoulder blades come closer behind your back. Tuck your chin and push your nose back an inch. Relax. Breathe deep as you feel your ribs expand and contract. Feel the extra oxygen expand your breath, your abilities and your horizons.
About the Author:
Jeanine Josman is the founder of Chiswick Yoga. Prior to becoming a yoga instructor, she worked at the BBC as Producer/Director of Fashion Health and Lifestyle programmes for 11 years before helping to launch Channel Health (Sky Digital). She has been practicing yoga for 17 years and teaching for 4 years. She believes in fitting yoga into your life, not the other way round, and is a proponent of yoga as something that is not scary or precious, that does not require you to be ultra-bendy or take it ultra-seriously—and from which everyone can benefit.
