"Through yoga, a practitioner develops and fine-tunes a sense of her or his
body. She learns that she can move her body safely, and with practice
increases her strength and flexibility. She or he can also experience the deep
feelings of well-being that are available during relaxation, which is the integral
and essential conclusion to a yoga practice. These combine to develop what is
called in the psychological literature an internal locus of control. In lay
language, this can be understood as empowerment, a clear antidote to feelings
of helplessness.
To the body/mind, threats include not only fear but also things like worry or
stress, time-pressures and self-judgement. Negative thinking and selfjudgement lower self-esteem and immune function in addition to creating
physical tension.
The yogic approach can be thought of as non-doing or nonstriving. In a yoga practice, the instructor facilitates an environment in which
respecting one’s self and body is encouraged. Students are instructed to stay
within their physical capacity, to listen for their own body cues to move more
or move less. The quiet, tranquil environment of a yoga sadhana encourages
slow and mindful movements of the body and breath, increasing the
parasympathetic nervous system dominance associated with the experience of
pleasant emotions and bodily homeostasis." – Shulamit Day 2008
This writing above made me happy.
I have been working on my own journey through Yoga on and off the mat. My heart has been opening with every class I teach and with every students smile.
.enjoy.
