CONCENTRATION, HIDDEN FORCE OF YOGA

ATTENTION SHOWS THE SPIRIT AS THE MOVEMENT SHAPES THE BODY!

We constantly have the mind filled with information, thoughts, judgments, comments, questions. Is it not?🙂

Do not you feel like talking in your head all the time , except when you’re completely off in front of a video, show or movie ?! And again … does not it remind you constantly what you need to do and what you should have done, among other things ?!

Concentration is a fundamental element to cultivate to promote everyday well-being . Yoga offers several techniques that begin with a practice of sustained attention.KNOW BEGINNING BEFORE THE INCIDENT MENTAL BAVARISHING

What is sustained attention?

The sustained attention allows you to recharge your mind: because there is a big difference between putting our brain off and soothe and focus its activity. Practicing sustained attention greatly reduces mental fatigue and can even make it disappear.

Because talking constantly, even in our head, requires a lot of energy!

Putting your brain in front of a video for example does not calm brain activity, so it is not advisable to watch television before going to bed: it is stimulating. The mental activity remains well paced and encourages the return of the ceaseless chatter well known under the name of Mister Hamster .

EXTEND: FROM ATTENTION TO MEDITATION

Whether it’s your goal or not, tell yourself that yoga has been created to prepare the body and mind for meditation.

FYI – There are three stages in the “world” of concentration:

1. Sustained Attention
2. Concentration – Dharana
3. Meditation – Dhyana

Whether you want to learn to meditate or not, the first step is to develop one’s sustained attention to develop the ability of this state of constant mind chatter when one falls into it.

The ability of sustained attention is very useful, because it allows you to become adaptable and resistant to the daily requirements.

Cultivating one’s attention is cultivating the ability to distance oneself from your habitual and everyday mental state. It is also the possibility of cultivating something other than mental activity!🙂

In life, one can cultivate sustained attention in several ways:

– By closing your eyes, you can observe the ambient noise without stopping, without thinking, without commenting.
– Fixing a candle, long time.
– By fixing a point inside your body, for example the center of your ribcage.

And there are so many others!

Being attentive means that you simply observe and continue to observe, without commenting, without judging, without waiting for something, without anticipating anything, without projecting.

So it is not empty, it is to be attentive, without will. You do not want to change anything, you just want to be present to the object of your attention and support this state as long as possible!

It is an ability that is learned, cultivated and deepened.

THE TWO VERSANTS OF YOGA

There are, therefore, in my opinion two sides to the practice of yoga for a complete well-being. The outer side and the inner side.

Each yoga posture has one or more points of concentration on which the mind ideally stops. This increases the benefits of posture because the body and mind are fully available.

That’s what I could call yoga from the inside. If there is a practice of yoga from outside (movements, breathing, etc.), there is this yoga from the inside (breathing, attention, etc.)

In fact, attention and concentration allow us to appreciate the present moment and what we realize at its full value.

Let yourself be surprised by the incredible value of the attention for our well-being!

Our lives require multitasking skills within the workplace, and between our family, social, and other lives. the ability to hold all these responsibilities and desires at arm’s length on a daily basis is only really possible if we know how to get fresh ideas … on a daily basis!

ATTENTION IN THE MOVEMENT: ACTION! EASY ?

During the practice of yoga, it is an additional level of difficulty to know how to focus your attention in specific places! Already the realization of the movements is important, but one must never lose sight, once the integrated movements, to channel his attention as soon as possible.For many, it may be important to cultivate it in stillness, but I think it is very useful to know how to cultivate attention in action, in movement.

I propose you to start with a simple technique, quite traditional. That echoes the visualization!

1. Place a hand on your chest, close your eyes.
2. Imagine a small candle flame in the middle of your chest.
3. Breathe slowly and imagine with each inspiration the flame grow and at each expiration the flame will shrink.

How many breaths or minutes are you able to hold without thinking of anything else? (It’s not a competition, it’s information for yourself!)

 Is it easy? Is it difficult? And if you start by staring at a real flame to begin. Is it different?