This entry was published on January 29, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
The practice of yoga has so many advantages. The best known include stress relief, as well as physical resistance and flexibility. But there is more. The practice of yoga can help us navigate in the ups and downs of our lives. Yoga Sutras (Sutra 2.48) declares that the “mastery” Asana makes us “more upset by the game of opposites” in our lives. At first, I discovered another important advantage: yoga’s ability to help us change habits. It is not always easy and it requires an important quality that yoga helps us to cultivate: mindfulness.
I started practicing yoga at the age of 26 and just at university. My university years had not been marked by a quest for clarity. Instead, they were to modify my mind as often and in as many ways as possible. It was the 1970s after all, and I was at the University of Indiana, which at the time had the distinction of being the number one school party school in the United States. In 1982, this phase ended for me, but my lifestyle was still not entirely healthy.
A gradual change
About three weeks after my yoga practice, I discovered that a unpredictable quarter of work had taken place. The day before this special class, I drank some beers. In class the next evening, I felt trembling and weak. I didn’t like the feeling. Even the small amount of sensitivity that I had discovered over only three weeks of practice had lit the effects of alcohol on my body.
Since then, many unhealthy habits have fallen, not by force, but because they no longer feel well. This morning, when I was waiting for my car to be inspected and registered, I looked at the panoply of candy bars at the counter before my garage – the months, the reese, the sneers, etc. – All the candy bars I liked when I was a child. But this morning, I was not even tempted. I haven’t been tempted either for a long time. Looking at the bars, I brought back the feeling that I used to have eaten them: agitated, unfounded, with a “sick” stomach.
It is not that I am opposed to consuming a glass of wine from time to time. But I drink it knowing that during and after drinking, I will feel in a certain way, and it is no longer a feeling that I appreciate as much. The goal for me is that drinking is a conscious choice, not a mechanical habit.
Change your brain, change your habits mindfulness
Some time ago, the Huffington Post interviewed Dr. Timothy McCall. He explained how yoga practice changes your brain. Here is the quote that most resonates for me:
“When yoga is practiced with sensitivity and attention, it gradually increases awareness. This awakens your ability to feel what’s going on in your body, your heart and your mind. When you become more aware of your body, more aware of your mind, more aware of your breathing, you start to notice the consequences of your behavior. So, a particular food that may not be so healthy can taste you good, but you can start doing only when you eat it, you feel shabby. When you notice this connection, you say, “You know what, I don’t think I want to eat this.” »»
In the interview, McCall talks about neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change. When we carry out an action, the brain establishes connections that facilitate the reaction of this action. This is how we create habits. The good news is that we can cultivate the habits we want, the habits that help us feel stronger, calmer, healthier, clearer, etc. And replace the habits that make us feel slow, agitated or weak. Practicing mindfulness helps us to become aware of how our actions affect us.
Everything comes down to mindfulness
The key is to pay attention – to be present to what we feel when we eat, drink, exercise and when we practice yoga. The experience of each individual will be different. For me, alcohol does not feel very well. For others, it could be the best thing to take the advantage of a stressful day. We all have the power to decide for ourselves, if we take additional care to be aware of what our actions make us feel. The ability to change your habits depends on understanding how these habits take place in your life.
Connect what you feel after eating, drinking, exercising and practicing yoga. I like to take a break and connect after each Asana. Mind aware of the effects of a pose helps me to understand the effects of each pose and the quality of my efforts. The installation I just practiced makes me feel agitated or calm, outfit or relaxed, frustrated or peaceful, pissed off or smooth?
Of course, this can be applied not only to what we ingest or our physical practices. This also applies to our mental / emotional habits. How is greed? How does generosity feel? How do you feel to hate someone or love someone?
The practice of yoga has the power to change our habits and our lives, for the best. When we are aware of the current and future effects of our behavior, we have the power to cultivate them – or change them.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyding Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. His third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Pratitioner’s Guide to Protect of the Hips and Avoid Si Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly chronicle for Catalyst Magazine and is online Yoga U publisher. Charlotte is a founding member of the board of directors of Greentree Yoga, a non -profit organization that brings yoga to poorly served populations. Musician of always, Charlotte plays an oboe and an English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and the Sextuant Folk Red Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.