Why Yoga Is Dangerous For Your Mind :)
An excerpt adapted from Lindsey Lewis:
The thing about yoga is this: it’s about your soul. It’s about clearing the blocks to your ultimate freedom, joy and purpose. It’s about getting to a state of total knowing and complete release. And when we get there we release our mind.
What happens next is not just illuminating, it’s revolutionary.
Because inside our minds live our doubts, fears, insecurities, stressors and our roadblocks to our true selves. Inside our minds live the limiting beliefs that we hold firm to, that keep us held down. Inside our minds lives the belief that we are smaller, less capable, and less brilliant than we really are.
Inside our minds lives…sometimes, loads of crap (SO TRUE).
Yoga is dangerous to those limiting beliefs that don’t serve us.
The mind is a beautiful thing. It’s an exquisite tool that empowers and powers our experience. It enables us to think rationally, to figure things out, and to find the solution.
But…our thoughts create our world. And if what we’re thinking isn’t serving us, or lifting us up, or showing us our truest, unlimited selves—the n we can change that.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~Albert Einstein
Yoga gets us out of our head, and into our body.
It gets us feeling-thinking, not just thinking-thinking.
It taps us into the non-verbal part of our brain, which processes between eight to 11 million bits of information per second. Did you know the verbal part of our brain only processes about 40 bits of information per second? 40!
So all those fear-based thoughts…they’re not based on all the information. They’re not based on everything our non-verbal brain is processing. And, for most of us, they’re coming from an over-stimulated amygdala. These little almond-shaped parts of our brain are stimulated by stress hormones, and when they are, the kind of take over our show. Fear-, anger-, and negativity-based thinking become our m.o. And the part of us that knows how to operate from a different place takes a backseat.
Yoga brings that part of us into the driver’s seat again. It gets us out of fears and stress and into our peace and strength.
Yoga brings our ultimate knowing—not just thought-based thinking—on board.
Yoga brings us our self.
3 Ways to Go Beyond Fear-Based Thinking
- Move your body—consciously. Whether it’s yoga, dancing, swimming or walking, if you do it mindfully, it’ll help you amp up your physical awareness and tap you into the non-verbal part of your brain.
- Notice your thoughts. Do they lift you up, light you up, ignite and fuel your life? If not, question their veracity. Is it true?
- Turn doubt into fuel. When you spot an “I can’t do this” thought, turn it into a question. “Can I do this?” “Yes.” List at least three reasons why. Studies show that providing evidence for an affirmative response to a question like that has a much more powerful impact than empty affirmations.