Yoga is a wonderful way to wake up our body and a great way to relieve stress. We spend the time during our yoga practice paying close attention to our body and breath. With each pose we are urging our breath to move through our body, waking up our muscles, bringing good energy into them, and breathing out the stagnant energy from sleep or stress from the day. We breathe into different parts of our body to create energy flow and to release pain and tension. Since we are already practicing such mindfulness, it's the perfect time to add in meditation. This way not only the body benefits but the mind and soul will also feel rejuvenated.Studies have shown that yoga and meditation together can decrease feelings of stress by more than 10% and increase the quality of sleep. Basically, they go together like peas and carrots (I would have said peanut butter and jelly, but I'll take the healthier analogy). Think of meditation as yoga for the brain. So now that I've convinced you, now what?
What is breath?
Seem like a silly question? Maybe not. Breath is what sustains us, it brings in oxygen and that oxygen is carried through our body to keep us alive. In yoga, Hindu philosophy, and Ayurveda, Prana (Sanskrit for "life force" In Chinese medicine, it's known as chi) is carried by the breath. Prana is the subtle cosmic energy that permeates the universe on all levels. If you have been doing yoga for a while you may have heard it mentioned or you may have heard just the term "energy" or "breath" used. When a yoga instructor tells you to breathe into an area of your body to release the muscles or to get the energy flowing, It's truly directing the flow of prana to those locations and imagining it either carrying energy out of or sending the energy into that area. So our breath is very important during our yoga practice.
The flow of prana:
We want prana to flow smoothly through our body. when it does, we feel good, we feel connected to the universe. There are ways to help keep the flow of prana moving smoothly through us. Keeping our chakras balanced is the biggest. If we can keep our chakras in alignment, many things end up falling into place in our lives. Our health improves, our stress levels decrease, our mood improves, we sleep better and have more energy. So how do we do it? There are many ways and I do go into them in different blog posts, but today I want to talk about the main ones and that's meditation and yoga.
Why add meditation to yoga practice?
Because these both are so powerful in being able to balance the chakras and are so connected with the breath, it makes sense that they would go well together. Yoga helps us to get the breath and prana moving through the body. It helps us to get rid of stagnant energy and replace it with fresh. Our breath is such a large part of any yoga practice, but especially if you are doing vinyasa yoga. You are moving with the breath, you are moving with the flow of prana through your body, like waves in the ocean. You are already halfway there. In our yoga practice, we want work our muscles and our body in balance by making sure we do the opposite sides of the body or complimentary stretches after working a set of muscles, it's about balance. Where yoga is the practice of movement., meditation is the practice of stillness, it is still about balance.
How to start incorporating meditation:
Once you have completed your yoga practice and you are resting in savasana or sukhasana, take a few minutes and enjoy the stillness. You can focus on your breath or you can check in on your chakras to see if the energy is flowing smoothly. There are many different forms of meditation, some might include chanting, find which type is kindred with your personality or beliefs.I do have a couple suggestions. If you are doing yoga in the morning to wake yourself up and get your energy flowing, then you might want to do a short meditation beforehand to check in with your body, start increasing your breath and set your intentions for the day. At the end of your practice, just touch base briefly as your breath returns to normal and reaffirm your intentions. (you don't want to lose all that energy you just worked for) If you are doing yoga at nighttime or to relax, I suggest trying the meditation after your yoga practice. I have included a playlist of a short root chakra practice with Adriene followed by a guided meditation to balance all the chakras. It is at the bottom of the page.I do hope you try introducing some meditation to your yoga practice. I think if you give it a chance you'll be hooked. Let me know what you think. Leave your comments below or send me an email if you have any questions. I am always glad to help. I wish you all happy and healthy practices, namaste!