Why yoga isn't just great for your back

​My seedlings haven't sprouted. Some did, they are in the garden magically growing into little lettuces. However, I have 4 egg boxes on my window sill that are showing no signs of life. I still water them in hope. But I think I'm going to have to admit defeat. More than half of what I planted didn't sprout.
 
You create a wonderfully fertile environment, plant some seeds, maintain light, moist and warm conditions, and hope for the best. There is nothing more to be done. Hope for magic to happen, participate in the possibility of magic, and enjoy the pleasure of gardening along the way.
 
We might not call it magic. We might call it luck, or lifeforce or alchemy. Whatever your term for it, we all need 'it' more than we'd like to think.

Rational?
We like to think we are in control. That good compost and conditions = seedlings. Well half of the seeds got that memo, the other half...
 
Plenty in our lives, like my seedlings & non-seedlings, is frankly quite mysterious. 
 
Our rational heads like things to be logical and rational. I bet some of you are thinking up reasons why my seedlings didn't sprout, and would have good advice for me. We like to feel in control and in charge, and think that the world makes sense. 

3 intelligences
But our intelligence is only partly in our heads. Our bodies have their own innate intelligence. They are doing a million things right now that we don't even know about, are not controlling, and don't understand. And beyond just the functioning of our bodies, our gut has its own intelligence. We feel things in our gut, perhaps we notice a reaction or an instinct that is worth following, even though our head might rationally think otherwise. Likewise our hearts also have a profound intelligence that we all know and feel, but don't perhaps give enough space for.
 
We weren't always like this. As a little kid, before anything else we are usually asked - are you hungry? are you tired? do you need the loo? Beyond that, we were considered pretty much fine. But as grownups we don't ask our bodies how they are, we ask our minds.
 
Our bodies, our hearts and guts have intelligence worth listening to. Our heads can't sort out how we feel much of the time. We overthink things. In fact we might just be thirsty - take a drink and feel better.

Cultivate whole body-mind connectedness
Our yoga practice is one of the places where we attend to and cultivate this wholeness, this whole body-mind connectedness. We invite our attention out of our heads, and attend to the body, to the heart, to the gut, and listen.
 
At first we might find this hard. The mind throws up much more interesting stories and problems to solve, lists to make, distractions to offer us. But with practice our focus is able to be sustained elsewhere.
 
We start to breathe from deeper in the body, we notice subtle sensations that are often overlooked. Our movements feel fuller and more satisfying. And we nourish something that we can't quite rationalise but we know is important. 

Stretching and strengthening is great
Our heads rationalise what we are doing, and sensibly value the stretching and strengthening. We think that the stability in our back is the reason we keep up our daily or weekly yoga practice. And of course the physical benefits and better mood are reasons enough to keep doing it.
 
But our body knows more. It knows that we have just attended to something vital, essential, and necessary. We have reconnected to something deeper within us, that when nurtured brings us back into harmony with ourselves and those around us.

It's hard to verbalise
By very definition it is beyond words, because it isn't from our heads. But just because you can't write it down, don't be tempted to underestimate it. You'll know it when you touch it, and you'll miss it if you don't. It is vital and essential. 

Prioritise your yoga
Prioritise your yoga practice, above many other things in life. Let your mind think it is because it keeps you stronger and healthier. And allow space for the possibility that it offers you much more than your mind will ever know.



UPCOMING EVENTS 

| Late-Summer Retreat Day in Bristol with Clara|
Relax, pause and revitalise your whole self right here in our beautiful Bishopston studio. 
Sunday 15th September 2024
10:30am - 4:00pm
Find out more > 
 

| Book Talk on "Yoga as Pilgrimage" with Ranju Roy, 7th July |
Book here >