One way to steady your mind
If you peek into a yoga class, you’ll see people doing yoga postures — something along the lines of stretching and exercising.
You know that practicing yoga postures can improve your health. But, what you may not know is this:
There are some yoga practices that don’t involve “posing.” These are mind-focusing activities.
Next time your mind gets ruffled with the stress, strain and speed of life, here is something to try:
Think of something that is elevating…something that you consider positive…something you feel drawn toward — an object. If you’re a visual person, choose a picture or another tangible thing to look at. If you are more drawn to sound, play a song, hum a chant or repeat a positive word (any sound or word you repeat can be a mantra).
A student in today’s class said she recently found some steadiness of mind on facebook – of all places!
She noticed herself lingering over her facebook friend’s posting of landscape photos. She said even the sunlight shining in the picture affected her. She felt her breath deepen and had a moment of what she called, “ahhhhhh.” She stayed with it, and her mind shifted from stress to a focused, quieter place.
Ways to try this:
Find something inspiring or meaningful. (Or try it with any object you can conjure up and see what happens….you never know what might help you shift your focus to a more positive place)
If the first object you choose doesn’t help, try a different one.
Any object you find motivating can serve as a tool for concentration as long as it works to quiet the static in your mind.
The path of practice is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of circumstances.