Simple Yoga

BEYOND THE BODY

The practice of relaxation also invites and enforces this new awareness.

Our mental patterns are revealed in the way that we practice yoga. For instance, sometimes our minds tell us–wrongly–that we are not capable of a particular posture. Or our minds can make us overly confident, pushing us beyond our proper limits. As we become aware of these automatic mental tendencies, we see how they can limit us, both on the yoga mat and in our daily lives. We begin to realize that our habits are essentially false beliefs we have about ourselves, and that, in fact, we are something more than what our minds may tell us. This dawning awareness of ourselves is supported in our yoga practice as we continue to observe and work with our habits.

being in our bodies can change so dramatically that what was “normal” before is no longer acceptable: we have a new standard of health.
The mind can also be impacted by yoga practice. Many people report that their powers of concentration increase. People also find that memory is improved. In general, as yoga becomes more central to our lives, we become increasingly sensitive to the activity in our minds. We become aware of how much random mental movement there is most of the time. In particular, though, we notice our mental tendencies, or habits, and we begin to wake up to how these tendencies influence our actions.