Yoga, and mindfulness in the present moment
Welcome to the people gene.
The website that helps to bring a healthier perspective to busy, stressful lives through Yoga and other techniques based on mindfulness:
- reducing stress by quietening the mind
- being kinder to yourself and others
- building healthier, more effective relationships
- making a positive difference to you and those around you
The term mindfulness has become a real buzz word recently. But what does it actually mean to be mindful?
A good place to start is The Oxford English Dictionary, which defines mindfulness as being:
“Conscious or aware of something”.
Adapting the definition for this context:
“Consciously aware and mindful in the present moment”.
Being mindful helps you appreciate life more fully.
By “showing-up” in the present moment rather than dwelling on the past, or anticipating future events that may never happen.
Allowing a more balanced reaction to life’s ups and downs.
Specifically, those things that attract you that often only bring temporary happiness.
And more acceptance of the inevitable painful aspects of life that, typically, we try to avoid or block out whenever we can.
Recognizing that, “It is what it is”.
Less emphasis on all that busy “doing”, more emphasis on just calmly “being”.
“That’s all very well”, I hear you ask, “But how do I actually become more mindful?”
If you want a simple answer……..just breathe!
More specifically:
- be fully aware of your breathing
- conscious of the inflow and outflow of each breath and the sensations in the body
- letting any negative thoughts pass in front of your eyes without the usual attachment to them
For those who have not experienced this before even mindful breathing alone can awaken new perspectives on life.
So where does Yoga fit in to all this?
Interestingly, the only reference to an “asana” (the Yoga poses we think of today) in the ancient, seminal work on Yoga, Patanjali’s The Yoga Sutra, is as a comfortable seated position for meditation.
It’s only in the last few hundred years that Yoga practice has developed a more physically demanding range of asanas. Adapting Yoga as a form of moving meditation.
Click on the the people gene Yoga page link above to see more specific information on Vinyasa Flow style Yoga, or movement with the breath.
And there’s so much more.
So we invite you to raise your awareness by reading the regular blogs.
As well as Yoga, learn about other tools, techniques and methods that can contribute to being more mindful in the present moment.
Some practices such as The Enneagram and meditation are thousands of years old. Visit The Enneagram page to take a quiz that helps identify your primary energy type.
Other practices, like Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), are much more recent.
Most “quick fixes” in life turn out to be gimmicks.
The path to true mindfulness is a significant journey of substance, along an often rocky road.
Fasten your seat belts!