Mind-Body Methods for Health and Fitness

There is a powerful movement toward Mind-Body awareness in the field of health and fitness. It is no longer enough to experience movement randomly or mindlessly. The instructional emphasis is shifting away from activities performed unconsciously, in favor of direct experience of one's inner awareness, of being able to perceive and consciously direct the use of the body. Through Mind-Body techniques like yoga we learn to awaken our somatic (the conscious experience of the self as a body) awareness. We recognize the Self as an embodied Mind that interacts with both an internal and external environment. Conscious awareness of our somatic processes allows us to improve our abilities to sense, perceive, choose, and respond. Such conscious utilization of the Mind-Body connection is beneficial when learning a skilled activity, as a means to restore functional capacity, or to facilitate stress reduction.

Visualize the three components, the Mind, the Body, and the Breath, as the three points of an equilateral triangle. All three of the components are connected, interrelated, and interdependent, with none having greater importance than any of the others. Thus you can enter into the Mind-Body mechanism via any one of the three pathways, for a change in one has an immediate and direct effect on the others. For example, when we practice yoga’s static stretches, we unexpectedly discover that we are also transforming the mental state via the physical pathway, though the immediate and superficial goal may be simply good posture or improved appearance.

When we practice mental-repetition of a term or phrase such as ‘let go’ the release of physical tension is an unforeseen byproduct of concentrated mental focus. And when we bring our attention to experiencing and regulating the state of the breath, we come to acknowledge the breath as the ultimate barometer of our immediate state of being. We realize that through the respiratory process we have found a quick, easy, and efficient way to diminish both physical tension and mental stress, with the tremendously satisfying effect being an undeniable sense of general well-being.

Mind-Body methods are practices that promote good health. These methods can help us relearn how to relax and unwind, to live in a comfortable and functional body, to balance assertion and acceptance, to cultivate healthy and happy relationships, and to have a sense of our lives as a meaningful existence that is grounded in somatic awareness. These techniques are practical and applicable to our daily lives. For the majority of yoga students, positive results will be immediate and amazing. With ongoing practice, you will begin to contact deeper, more substantial, and more fulfilling insights.