A big part of yoga practice is learning how to pay attention. Perhaps we start with asana and learn to pay attention to the body, then we move into pranayama and learn to pay attention to the breath. Slowly these techniques give us the skills and strength to mediate, to pay attention to the mind.
In the different eastern traditions from which the yoga practice originates, there is this shared idea that the quality of life is determined by the quality of mind. Simply put — our external world is a reflection of our internal world. The mind influences our thoughts, words, beliefs, actions, the way that we relate to others, the way we show up. So what is happening in the mind — matters.
When we explore our mind, we start to notice particular patterns and habits that repeat continuously; and even though we all have our own individual stories, characters and colourings, there are some similar tendencies that many of us share.
In 2001 Paul Rozin and Edward Royzman first documented a theory called ‘negativity bias’. They found that most human beings are much more likely to focus, remember and ruminated on something negative, rather than on something positive. Research shows that the mind spends a lot of time, and energy, worrying about something that has already happened, focused on something that isn’t right in the present, or fearful about something that could go wrong in the future.
We see this clearly in our yoga practice. We get so caught up in what feels challenging, what we can’t do, what we used to be able to do or what we wish we could do. This way of practicing often leaves us feeling disheartened and inadequate.
Luckily, what has also been found is that the mind is very workable. It’s not fixed or set in stone. So if we know that we have the tendency of focusing on something negative, if we easily get caught in anxiety, stress, fear, or in being particularly critical or judgemental — we can choose to focus on something different. We can choose to train the mind to focus on something positive.
In our practice, if we can shift the attention to what we can do, what we enjoy, what is changing, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem, we feel empowered and hopeful.
This practice of focusing on something good is not about pretending that there is no negativity or darkness in a yoga pose, in our minds or in the world. It is about realising how powerful the mind is, and that what we choose to focus on — matters.
One of my favourite teachings from the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna says to Arjuna ‘the mind can either be your best friend or your worst enemy, it’s your choice.’ When the mind is wild and frantic, when there is no awareness, we suffer. But when we know the mind, when there is understanding, even in the most challenging time — peace and freedom are possible.
