5 Ways To Take Yoga Off The Mat

You go to a yoga class.

You feel amazing - calm, balanced and this sense of inner stillness.

It's as though you're floating.

You get home and those feelings are quickly replaced with stress and anxiety.

Sound familiar?

What if I told you there was a way to remain in that floating feeling? A way to have all those yummy benefits even when you're not physically on the mat practicing asanas (yoga poses)

Yep, that's right - you can take yoga off the mat and feel this way all the time... with practice!

1. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

I say this phrase all the time to my students! Just as on the mat you are encouraged to lean into the discomfort with kindness, compassion & non-judgment, the same applies off the mat. Change is uncomfortable and most humans don't like it - we like to feel as though we are in control of everything. But, as you know, that’s not how life works. Things are always changing - it is in fact the only certain thing in life. So you can either resist it, make things harder and create more pain for yourself or you can lean into the discomfort, get comfortable and be kind to yourself in the process.

The latter means you accept the given situation for what it is and respond from a place of calm. It means you stop reacting to situations whilst in a state of fight and flight where your logical brain is no longer active. Instead, you are able to bring your body to rest and digest, re-engage your logical brain and operate from a centred and grounded state.

2. Be Present

"Yoga takes you into the present moment - the only place where life exists" - Patanjali

Being present is the essence of yoga. It is why you feel so wonderful after a yoga class - because for the majority of that hour you are fully present and aware of your mind, body and breath. Nothing else matters. Being in the moment takes practice and awareness. During asana practice or meditation, when we notice our attention has wandered, we gently bring it back to the breath or body. You can start to bring this level of awareness into your daily tasks. For example, when you're brushing your teeth focus on it fully or when you go for a walk, fully immerse yourself in your surroundings using all of your senses.

We are so often stimulated by screens or are doing 10 things at once whilst moving a 100 miles an hour. Instead, take time to focus on one thing at a time, slow down and be fully present on that one thing. We also tend to spend a lot of our time living in the past or the future, yet neither of these times exist. Begin to notice when you are ruminating on the past or becoming anxious about the future and bring yourself into the present - the only moment that exists. Another way to practice being present is with your breath...

3. Breathe

We are born breathing correctly and as we grow older we begin to breathe incorrectly. That is, we breathe much more shallowly, especially when we feel stressed or anxious. This increases our heart rate and cortisol levels (stress hormone) which can cause us to feel more stressed or anxious so we continue to breathe shallowly ~ a vicious cycle!

Instead we want to deepen our natural breath using abdominal breathing which is breathing into the entirety of your tummy, rather than mainly into your chest. It is the most efficient way to breathe - it lowers cortisol levels, lowers the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases immunity and improves mood & energy levels.

Try it now for 30 seconds. As you breathe in, imagine your tummy is a balloon and is filling up with air. As you breathe out, imagine the balloon is deflating as the air leaves the tummy. Do this for a few rounds with your eyes closed and notice how you feel afterwards. You can practice abdominal breathing with me here on Insight Timer or here on YouTube. Regular practice of this technique will correct your breathing and help you to feel calm and centred.

TOP TIP - if you struggle to sleep, try abdominal breathing when you're lying in bed and it will help you to drift off!

4. Listen to your body

Most of us are disconnected from our bodies. We live from the neck upwards with our bodies being something that takes us from A to B, something that we need to fill with food and drink and the thing that houses our mind. Don't get me wrong, the mind has its place, but our bodies carry so much wisdom and knowledge that we aren't tapping into. I am constantly telling my students to listen to their body during my yoga classes. What do I mean by this? Listen to what it wants and needs in that moment. Listen and start to trust it. Start to tap into your heart space, your gut, your intuition, your muscles, your tummy and all the other wonderful parts. When you were little, you were in tune with your body. You knew what you did and did not want. You knew what felt good and what did not. But years of conditioning has erased that inner knowing. And it's time to get back to your true self. So as you go through your day, stop and check in with your body. Ask yourself does this feel good? What does my body need in this moment? Where do I feel this in my body? What is my body trying to tell me?

5. Practice gratitude

Ahhh, gratitude. A daily practice that I love so much and if you've been following me on Instagram for a while you will have heard me mention it, a lot. The word gratitude is thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean to practice gratitude? Gratitude is simply the act of feeling and being grateful or thankful. It can be as simple as saying thank you aloud for the people and things your are grateful for, writing them down in a gratitude journal or meditating on them. It's about finding what works for you. By watering the seed of gratitude in your heart you are able to live in the moment and appreciate what you have - the small wins and simple pleasures of life. By shifting your focus, you begin to find gratitude in the most unlikely of places which strengthens your ability to notice the good. It is not that 'negative' or 'bad' things won't happen. Of course they will - life is full of ups and downs. But after regular practice, rather than focusing your attention on the 'downs' for too long, you will have rewired your brain to focus on the 'ups', on the positives, on the good.

With love and gratitude,

Jyoti x