How you act on the mat is how you act in real life
Oh, it hurts, I cannot concentrate, I will never be able to do this… It is true. The way you act on the mat is how you act in real life. How we feel while practicing yoga in the hall can show us a lot for our actions in everyday life.
A Dress Rehearsal for Real Life
Yoga centers. Yoga calms. Yoga balances. Do we consciously use all those precious properties of yoga to prepare ourselves for everyday challenges? What we feel on the mat is a sign and we should pay more attention to it. Discomfort is most probably a mirror of the same feeling in our lives. And vise versa – the feeling that everything is all right, the sense of balance and serenity, the awareness that it is hard but not insurmountable – this attitude in life is key to our practice.
Yoga Asanas and “Poses” in Life
The Warrior Pose (Vibrahadrasana)
It stretches the chest, shoulders, neck, abdominal muscles and psoas – the muscle of the soul. Increases the strength of the thigh muscles, knees and calves, strengthens the ankles. Improves lung function. Calms the mind, increases confidence. This is one of the poses in yoga that gives us stability, confidence and determination. The Warrior pose in life does not look like that, but it could carry the same feelings, and the aura we will radiate at this moment will attract people and situations into our lives in which our strength and determination will shine.
The Downward Looking Dog Pose ( Ado Mukha Svanasana)
Stretches the back, shoulders, elbows and wrists, chest, waist, buttocks, thighs, knees, calves and ankles. Gives strength to the arms and legs and tones the body. Reduces stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression. Relieves symptoms of insomnia, menstrual discomfort, high blood pressure, asthma, osteoporosis and more. The Downward Looking Dog pose in our life would manifest itself as our desire for better adaptability, for the right distribution of forces, for readiness to cope with difficulties.
The Relaxation Pose (Shvasana)
Relaxes the body, lowers blood pressure. Calms the mind, reduces feelings of depression, anxiety and fatigue. Relieves headaches, stress and insomnia. In our life it is our ability to really relax, to let the mind roam freely without being attached to our thoughts, to get rid of stress and tension, to “get back” the soul in the body.
The Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)
With it we open our hearts, we begin to give more care and love to others and to ourselves.
There are hundreds of other asanas that can be “translated” into our lives as real sensations. It is no coincidence that people living a balanced and calm life have better achievements in yoga. And vice versa – yoga is one of the great tools that can help us live better.
