Mindful Yoga lab is a research project about practicing mindfulness while being on a yoga mat. born to be an answer to the difficulties of some people to use mind while doing body exercises of yoga, it aims at producing a mindful guidance of any body movements and of asana stay and exit. We decided to create a yoga challenge as Bernie Siegel book 101 exercizes for soul has inspired to us. Every week for one year, We will publish an article about an exercize of mind into a yoga practice. Usyually Yoga labs last 60' and are in a Vinyasa style. Please feel free to comment and like. A crowdfunding for the Book publishing is ON at https://www.paypal.me/benedettaspada
Introduction
Mind is a part of our wholeness which can be helpful to work on our self silently, with willpower, creating a new wellbeing culture. The only instrument you need to use are concentration for a while and smile. It can be easier that working on body or spirit. As a interior way of being it works from inside to ouside also on the body, creating a dialogue. If mind was a muscle, it is easy to think it could be stronger of flexible with a specific workout. To create a healthy mind, it is necessary to listen to the mind after stimolating it, without painting the answer with our fear or anger or others' convictions. We need faith in the divine project for us, and be the change for a true increased real life. Being stronger mindbody do not leave a chance to illness, bad news or distructive behaviour.
LAB #1
Pain is necessary is the starting point in mind to Look Back Lab and go to opposite of numbness. Practicing yoga you may feel your limit, in the present moment and from the past. Anytime you remember or live or even anticipate a bad karma, keep an open mind and peacefully watch what occurs. You may associate something good which happen at the same time, write it down, keep it in your mind. Thich Nhat Hanh would say make your worst memories the new plants and opportunities that grew out of the ashes and best compost of your life. Yoga is an opportunity to make a talk between soul and body, following the outside pain to go back to inside and finally release.
#2
In front of your fear Will Power is necessary in yoga, as breating to live. We need a voluntary breathe for the Freedom From Fear Lab. What is it? There is a natural individual breathe and a voluntary collective breathe. If you are calm your breathe is calm and steady, if not you can eventually hick up. If yoga corresponds to women, locks and breathes correspond better to the maschile part of us which should make it easier for men. In fact it corresponds to the right part of the brain so every sane body should make it. Usually natural breathe is an expression of our reaction, voluntary breathe is an struggle for freedom. Lets have an exemple, if I dream during the night it is a reaction in act, if I do a visualization during the day it is a act of willpower. Breathing as a wilful act which envolve body, mind and spirit. Unwilled breathe is an expression of our unbalance life. Putting in front of us our fear, helps in finding our own yoga posture, breathe, and holiness.
Lab #3 is a transitory exercize to settle down our soul evolution. The focus of the laboratory is a high value of yoga: integrity. To be true with ourself is different than to be honest. Let me tell you this event I assisted, a man in a park drop a 50-euro bill and as several others I saw it and decided to return it to the man, that was honesty. But if no one else saw that the man had dropped the money and I decide to return it, that is integrity. Integrity is internal honesty, or as Anita Moorjani said is being centrered within the universe, it is god speaking through me. Patanjali has writen a Sutra about: you can not say anything that does not come true. In your asana practice that choice of truthfulness means to star at your mat, and not compare with others, to do the postures as far as you can, may be some more and then come back to your maximum of the day. Then release tensions, speak about emotions and let go. The contrary would be to be distracted, to cheat about your effective limit, to go out of a posture without a benefit, to repress emotions.
