Like many people, I came to yoga for the stretch, and discovered so much more. As the benefits of my practice unfolded, I discovered something really cool about yoga, the benefits carry-on outside of the yoga class. When we feel better after a class, and that feeling carries on for a while, we realize that Yoga affects our future…at least for a period of time after the class. The powerful truth about yoga, however, is that it affects your past, present, AND future.

Yoga changes your relationship to your past

Every experience in our lives lands somewhere in our body. Each experience, whether it is joyful, sad, exhilarating, stressful, etc, is accompanied by an emotional response. Each emotion lands somewhere in our body. Emotions can create or release tension. Some experiences can help heal past hurts, or potentially deepen them. Our current physical, emotional, and spiritual condition is heavily influenced by our own unique life experiences.

Yoga is a wonderful container in which to have a full “in body “experience. Most of us initially come to a yoga class for the physical stretch or work out. It feels good. Fewer muscle knots, less tension. Through practice, we build awareness of the physical body and, in particular, the many layers of physical tension/ stress in our body. We learn to recognize, and accept our current physical limitations. With this acceptance as a base, our yoga practice begins to unwind the many layers of built up tension. Through regular practice, our body opens slowly, unwinding the muscles knots, and tight hamstrings. Unwinding the tension in the body, disentangles us from the pain and negativity of our past. This effect manifests itself as an ever increasing sense of calm, clarity, and wellness. At the same time as we are enjoying the physical benefits, yoga is unblocking energy channels (Nadis) in our body, allowing for improved flow of prana. By unwinding the physical knots, and improving the flow of prana, yoga changes our relationship to the past by guiding us to let go of past hurts / negativity that keep us stuck.

Unlocking the power of the present moment

The human mind experiences some 60000 thoughts per day. On average, people spend approx. 50% of their time lost in thought. Most of us can identify with “monkey mind”. This is our minds tendency toward future thinking, past thinking, or fantasy thinking. Much of the negativity in our lives is a result of our mind being anywhere but the present moment. Anger, guilt, hate, regret, etc, are the result of too much “past” thinking, and not enough presence. Stress, anxiety, worry, fear, etc are the result of too much “future” thinking, and not enough presence.

Yoga teaches us to follow our breath. Let the breath start and stop each movement. In any posture, we learn to find the edge, and allow the breath to guide you deeper. Paying attention to our breath builds awareness. Breath awareness helps keep us safe in our physical yoga practice. It invites us into a deeper exploration of our inner landscape by aligning the mind with the body in the present moment.

The body is always in the present moment, the mind is often somewhere else; past thinking, future thinking. When we use our breath to bring the mind into the present moment, past thinking, and future thinking, stop. When the mind is present in the current moment, there is no anger, guilt, regret, stress, anxiety, or fear. By practicing breath awareness, and training the mind to be more present, yoga changes our relationship to the present, drastically reducing negativity in our lives.

What we think, we become.

Our thoughts become our words. Our Words become our actions. Our actions become our habits. If we want to change our lives, we must change our thoughts.

In yoga, the physical practice (Asana), and  breath awareness support our preparation for meditation. In the stillness and space of our meditation practice, we learn to recognize those habitual thoughts, words, and actions that do not serve us. As we continue to practice meditation we learn to connect with our highest intuition. By learning to connect with, and listen to this infinite intuitive intelligence, we start to move away from our non-helpful habitual ways of behaving. Through meditation, we change our thoughts. In this way, we change our relationship to our future. We gain the freedom to live our lives as we choose, rather than simply running on auto pilot.

Past, present, and future, Yoga is the technology of freedom