3 Ways To Enhance Your Yoga Practice
In yoga, pratyahara is the practice of depriving the senses & gaining control over external influences. It’s often referred to as the ‘forgotten limb of yoga.’ In today’s information age, we’ve gotten so used to eagerly absorbing all of the available information to us, that we’ve turned away from intentionally shutting superficial information out. The below points will give you some food for thought when it comes to practicing yoga and getting the most out of it, every time you return to your mat.
Close Your Eyes
Did you know the human eye transmits almost 10 MILLION bits of information to the brain per second? This alone can overwhelm our system & lessen our ability to engage with other senses. This is why we frequently unconsciously compensate by closing our eyes when we want to feel, hear, taste & smell more deeply. Like the first lick of an ice cream, eyes closed for maximum enjoyment.
Closing your eyes during yoga can be a wonderfully introspective experience. Try minimising external distractions the next time you get on your yoga mat. Just you and your breath for the entirety of your practice, with your eyes closed as much as possible. Of course, for safety open them during transitions. When you take away your eyesight, your gaze turns inward & you become more in tune with your body. You start to really notice and tune into individual muscles, your balance & your alignment.
3. Let The Flow Guide You
The glorious part of removing senses is that others heighten, so you gain new insight and perspective. Open your heart & stand tall in mountain pose & you’ll feel how firmly rooted you are to the earth. Lift your leg to enter tree pose & you’ll notice just how many muscles & bones are in your feet as you find your balance. Focusing your gaze inward can be just what you need. Lunge down into your warrior stance & you’ll feel the energy move up your legs & through your fingers as your hamstrings engage and your arms extend. In each pose, play with eyes open and closed. You’ll uncover new sensations, you may even lose balance or feel uncomfortable, and that’s cool. It means you’re growing.
2. Remove External Distractions
In our practice, it’s natural to take in all the sights and sounds around you. But you’ll soon begin to notice pretty quickly how distracting visions and sounds are. Whether you’re eyeing up someone’s yoga apparel, or a song playing that’s made you reflect, a car alarm outside… distractions are everywhere and endless.
But by recognising the less functional external influences, you can guard against ones that aren’t serving you. So the next time you find your eyes hungrily combing the room, searching for a distraction to occupy your attention, take a moment to identify why. Why are you searching for a distraction? Does your practice feel too easy? Are you bored? Ungrounded? Mind elsewhere?
Take a moment to center yourself by closing your eyes, placing one hand on your heart and the other right below your rib cage. Breathe into your hands a few times & feel your energy and warmth. Remind yourself that you are here. You are present. You are home.