You have heard it before, Yoga is more then exercise.
Yes, you will get in shape, be more flexible and reduce stress but what really makes yoga so much more than an exercise routine is that it develops your mental and emotional states.
Years ago when I first started martial arts, I started so that I could develop some much needed personal discipline. It helped me a lot, but honestly as 20 something young man I lacked certain characteristics that would ultimately make me successful in life.
About 1 year into my yoga training, my yoga teacher Tony Sanchez looked at me and said, “You need to develop you psychological powers if you want to flourish”. It kind of pissed me off. Here I was, a new budding yoga teacher who was becoming popular. My yoga classes every where were beginning to fill up and my life seemed great.
However, he was right. Martial arts had developed 1 part of my mental state, the others that really took my life to the next level. I want to teach those to you now. I was holding myself back because I had not rounded out my mental state. Once I honed my mental state, I found higher purpose for in my life. Suddenly I had the tools to enact what my life’s work has become and without them I would have quit a long time ago.
There are 5 mental superpowers that having committed yoga practice will develop. Because to to attain whatever you are seeking from Hatha Yoga, you must have them be to flourish. Whenever I have a challenge in life, I always go back to to them. When I do, problems seems to just vanish.
1.Self confidence (or faith)
You must believe in yourself to live a full life. Self doubt will destroy you, if you lack the confidence or faith in yourself. Being able to finally attain pose that you may have struggled with for years, will give you a tremendous amount confidence that if you put your mind to something and KEEP AT IT, you will get it. It will literally change your life.
2. Determination
Nothing in life is easy, life will not hand you everything on silver platter. You must work for it and work HARD for it. Being able to do your practice regularly, go through the layers of whatever you body and mind hold for you and KEEP GOING even though it’s challenging, builds your determination. Your desire to move forward no matter what the challenge is paramount to your success in practice and your life.
3. Discipline
You must be able to do the work and do it consistently. It takes work to do yoga regularly. You need to show up and get to practice often or you don’t get results. Same thing in any aspect of your life. If you want to something in life, it will take a sustained consistent effort. Just like your yoga practice. Getting your practice regularly forges this skill.
4. Concentration
Keep your eye on the prize and do not waiver. Yoga requires you to remain focused, clear, calm and steady throughout anything that comes in practice. This will help you whenever you need to focus all your attention on something in your life. Got a big project at work? Keep your focus, eliminate everything but what is needed and get shit done(GSD)! Be calm, collected and keep focused the same way you would if you were doing a yoga pose that challenges you. Keep focused until you get it!
5. Patience
Yoga takes time to work. It takes time to see amazing results. Longer then you usually want. It is this process of sustained faith, determination, discipline and concentration that develops patience. To have the patience for the long haul is ultimately more rewarding than short term satisfaction. By learning to wait to advance further through the poses or have your injury get better, you learn the challenging skill of patience.
All of these are the framework to be successful in anything in life. The more yoga you do the better these get. The longer in years you practice you will see a change in how you make decisions. Your mind will clear and calm because your mind state is such.
The best thing is all you need to do is just do your yoga and it will happen automatically!
So, what are you waiting for? Go practice?