Train your mind, get better at yoga

A Youtube recording of Bikram Choudhury teaching his famous yoga sequence starts ominously: “Welcome to Bikram’s beginning yoga class, to kill yourself for [the] next 90 minutes.” He also implores his students to “struggle harder!” It doesn’t sound like fun.

It does, however, appeal to determination and grit. For years practicing Bikram yoga, I believed that I would get the most out of each session by maximizing determination. Now I see there’s a better way to use my mind to get better at yoga.

First, let’s review: where does your mind go while holding a static pose? You may:

• Grit your teeth and think about challenge and determination
• Drift off to something a friend/coworker/partner said that made you angry/sad/frustrated/happy
• Intentionally think about anything but the pose while waiting for it to end
• Battle fear or frustration associated with not doing the poses well or feeling pain
• Focus on your breath

All of these mental focuses comprise a “demand-and-ignore” approach. You demand that the body does the pose, and then settle the mind elsewhere, ignoring the body. The body may protest: “that hurts!” But we are determined in our demand.

Imagine teaching a child to eat a scary food. If you demand that the child eat the food and ignore him, there may be friction. A power struggle may ensue. Alternatively, you can bring curious attention to the child’s experience, holding his hand and checking in. Similarly in yoga, you can get curious about your body, noticing everything the body feels.

These are the instructions I wish I learned on my first day of yoga:

1. Bring your attention to your body
2. Get curious about what is happening in your body
3. Let other thoughts come and go. Notice when your attention has shifted outside of the body, be happy for the noticing, and redirect curious attention to the body

Everyone has a dreaded pose, and this is when attention on the body is most needed. As you bring awareness to the body parts that are struggling, you can tend to them: if you notice panic, you can back off; you may also notice opportunity to relax and create more space, easing into the pose. When you give your full compassionate attention to the body, the feeling of the pose will change. I find that my attention on the body softens the pose, often permitting me to push farther with less effort.

Which body tissue nags you in that pose? Is the strain on the lower hamstring or upper hamstring? Is the feeling changing? Curiosity means that your body parts are being seen! It will change how the body responds.

It’s normal to have also fear, frustration, and mind wandering. As we intend toward curious attention on the body, we’ll grow in our concentration.

Give it a try, and comment how it makes you feel. I am genuinely curious about your experience! Does that make a difference?