Open Your Eyes to the Internal World

I came to yoga with an overactive mind. Anxiety was overriding me and panic was always lying in wait to burst forth. When I practiced, I found freedom from the noise. That time in the studio was an escape, a respite, a vacation from the chatter. After practicing for awhile, the chatter returned. I didn't go into a state of happiness each time I practiced. My experience lost its shiny newness. It became normal. The poses were repeated from class to class. I was fine with that, but I found that my attention wasn't captured quite so easily. So my mind wandered and found its way back to Chatterville, aka Anxiety Junction. This is a test for a yogi, one that comes back again and again. If you can push through the mind-wandering, double down on your dedication, and find focus from within, yoga becomes a place where the mind quiets and the eyes are opened to the internal world.

Whether or not you're not used to physical activity, yoga provides a space to focus your body. As the body clears, so does the mind. But this works only if you dedicate your practice to quieting. You could go through your practice as though it's any other workout. Like on a treadmill at the gym, you could watch TV during your yoga practice. I would argue that - even though you might be doing yoga poses - if you're not practicing with devotion, then you're not practicing yoga. One way you focus yourself is by going to class. The teacher keeps time, you know when class starts and ends, and so you can assign this hour and 15 minutes to your practice. No interruptions. Or are there? Are you practicing with devotion or are you simply going through the motions, getting your practice in for the day? Are you checking your watch (or worse, your watch that tickers texts across its screen)? Yoga can give you the world, but only if you let it.

It takes time and dedication for yoga to quiet the mind. Yoga will only give you that for which you work. Just as asana takes practice, quieting takes practice. Each day you sit on your mat, you try to focus. When the mind wanders, you reign it in, over and over. Your eyes begin to see inward. You find interest in a pose, a sensation, a body part, a philosophical point. You notice where you are on your journey. You play and find joy in your activity. This work is highly difficult and highly rewarding and so much more interesting than texts. When you find yourself wandering away from your practice, double down. Go all in. There's a whole world in there. It would be a shame to leave it unexplored.