This Is How Yoga Makes Us NICER!

I had lunch with an old friend and she said to me, “Ya know, yoga has made you a nicer person.”

~ Hmmmm? Was I not so nice before? Apparently not…

I responded, “Really? Tell me more about that.” 

She continued, “You’re a lot more accepting now, a better listener, and not so JUDGY! I feel really calm and grounded around you.”  

That meant a lot to me. I felt humbled, I didn’t realize that I was so judgy before. Ayiii! But hey, progress! To be of benefit to others, whether I’m teaching yoga or just listening to them, is what I strive for. It’s a win-win. 

How does this happen? This is unique to yoga and meditation, as they both open our minds beyond the narrow view we become stuck in of past and future tripping. This narrow mindset keeps us anxious or lamenting. Yoga and meditation help us stay in the present - we’re in the NOW, and now is OK. As my teacher reminds me, “Now is always OK”. 

How do we stay in the NOW?

The late Thích Nhất Hạnh gives us simple instructions:

“Now I’m breathing in.

Now I’m breathing out.”

 Try it. With an inner smile, it works wonders to bring us back to the moment. 

There’s magic to breathing deeply while releasing the issues in our tissues through stretching and enduring challenging or long-held poses. Our memory is stored throughout our entire body, not just our brain. That’s why we can find ourselves crying in certain poses, not because they’re necessarily painful (although that may be true) but because old memories are releasing that have been lodged in the area we’re stretching. 

“A flexible body creates a flexible mind”. There’s a lot of truth to this, but not just by stretching our muscles - we need a long slow breath to stretch the mind open past our limited thinking. 

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center writes: 

"When the energy is moving properly, you are bound to become healthy, strong, and peaceful, radiating strength and vitality to others. Flexibility of the body, especially the spinal cord, and flexibility of the mind are interrelated. Flexibility of the mind means adaptability. Its opposite, rigidity of mind, is called ego."

Once we establish a consistent deep breath we can tap into the wisdom mind, known as the vijnamaya kosha. I think of it as resting back into the back of the mind, like a big full moon, observing with kind gentleness. When we observe without judgment, we see a much bigger picture and become kinder to ourselves and others. 

The combination of releasing tension held in the mind and body, breathing deeply, and observing with gentleness makes us feel better and more at ease. We become nicer people when we're at ease.

The difference I continuously witness of students walking into a class stressed, shoulders hunched up to their ears, and furrowed brows compared to when they walk out of class and want to connect with each other, is like night and day! And when we feel better we are nicer people. 

I have my chronic lower back pain to thank for making me get on my mat every day to release it, and stay kind. 

From my heart light to yours~

Namaste,

Maggie