What does Yoga and Meditation teach us?

Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool for processing emotions, alleviating stress and also for boosting happiness.

When meditation is combined with regular exercise such as yoga, you can rapidly see positive changes to both your physical health and your mental well-being.

But what do Yoga and Meditation actually teach us?

Reflection

Reflecting on our past successes and reminding ourselves of our past triumphs can often give us the ego boost we need to realise our capabilities in the present moment.⁠⠀
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This can help us tackle new tasks and projects with more confidence and clarity as well as encourage a positive outlook. We know what we are capable of and set about realising our goals with poise and determination. No one can stop us or get in our way. ⁠⠀
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Give yourself a few moments to think about your strengths and capabilities today, maybe write a list and keep it somewhere on you. So whenever you feel that you can’t do something, or it’s beyond your capabilities, remind yourself what you CAN do and what you have previously achieved.⁠⠀

Awareness⁠⁠⠀

In yoga we often start by bringing our awareness to our breath. When we bring to our awareness to our breathe, we then increase our awareness of our body, our thoughts and our emotions.⁠⠀
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This presents us with a choice. We can choose to focus on the aches and pains in our body, the everyday and extraordinary stressors that we have and the anxiety that may be rising.⁠⠀
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Or//⁠⠀
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We can choose to see opportunity, healing, growth and progression. By intentionally shifting our gaze to a place of gratitude and an appreciation for the beautiful and the wondrous, you can create positivity in almost all circumstances.⁠

Acceptance⁠

⁠Our accomplishments are something we can be proud of. When others realise just how much we have done, it makes us feel as if we are a vital and much-needed part of this world, which in turn makes it easier for us to feel confident in our abilities. ⁠⠀
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Accepting our part in the world and the lives of other people, however, shouldn’t be our main goal – we should work toward letting our actions reflect the desires we hold in our hearts, for then they will truly be sincere.

coMPAssion

By showing kindness, care and a willingness to help others, we are showing compassion. ⁠⠀
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When you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and really feel what they might be feeling, this is showing compassion.⁠⠀
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Compassion can begin with the small acts every day, when our loved ones are short-tempered with us, or another driver cuts us off in traffic. We extend our forgiveness by trying to understand their point of view; we know how it is to feel stressed out or irritable.⁠⠀
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This practice becomes more difficult when we find ourselves unable to understand the actions of the person who offends us. These are the situations that ask us to look more deeply into ourselves and really push our boundaries of compassion.⁠⠀
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It can take time to move this practise forward, but it is possible with practice and care.⁠⠀

Live In The Moment…

Everything we experience right now is A MOMENT.

We can’t predict how long that moment might last, but one thing we do know is, it will pass.

When we experience what seems like constant difficulties and negative situations, these can erode our optimism and make us think that what we’re faced with can’t be overcome.

However I want to remind you, that they CAN be overcome. A storm doesn’t last forever, there will be a point when the sunshine will break through the dark clouds. As with this moment, it shall pass and become one brief moment in a million throughout your lifetime.

Conclusion

Being able to maintain a positive and relaxed mindset is a practical skill that can be of benefit in many areas of your life. It isn’t difficult to let your responsibilities pile up and seem as though they are totally on top of you. This can be quite an exhausting state to continue living within.

One of the incredible benefits of a regular yoga and meditation practice is that it helps to encourage balance in your life. It does this in many ways, not least of all by naturally guiding you to a calmer state of mind and allowing you to connect with your mind and body to reflect, accept and truly live in the moment.