How To Do Yoga – Controlling Those Thoughts!

An interesting question was posted as a comment to my last post. And it indeed alludes to one of the main reasons we meditate.

Triska asked-”how do you chase thoughts away when you mediate?”

After all, don’t we mediate to give ourselves a break from those never-ending thoughts that chase each other around and around in our minds! We’re not even conscious of many of them! They are part of what is described in classic Yoga teachings as “the monkey mind”! These thoughts are like a bunch of chattering monkeys that go on and on and don’t let up! Right?!

But there is a way! First, it is good to start your Yoga practise with some exercise. You loosen your joints up first and then do some asanas or yoga positions.
This gets your mind focused and present.

Then you finish with a Yoga Nidra or Deep Relaxation (as I have described in the last post) and it’s usually when you’re up to the point of watching your breathe that those pesky thoughts start up.

So what you do is think of them as clouds. Watch them- don’t get involved in them- see them float by and let them go! If you become aware that you’re getting caught up in them take yourself back to your breathe and focus on it again.Breathing in and breathing out. Or you could take yourself to a place that makes you feel calm and peaceful and totally visualise that!

You can control those thoughts but it does take practice and perserverence. And it is worth it.

Hope this helps.