The number of people practicing yoga has been on a metric rise over the last couple of decades, becoming one of the most popular mind and body practices in the world, and for a good reason too!
The word ‘Yoga’ is originally derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj,’ which means ‘to unite.’ While it’s common to join yoga classes where you can meet and ‘unite’ with other people, the term originally meant ‘uniting oneself’ or finding harmony between the mind, body, and soul. However, all of this is far easier said than done, as yoga is a skill that takes many years to master.
To get the most benefit out of yoga, it’s important to quiet your mind, remove all distractions from the space, and focus on your breath, your body, and the posture you’re holding. This is a difficult task for beginners and even for some of the most veteran yoga enthusiasts.
But fear not, in this article, we bring you nine tips on how to stay focused and keep a quiet mind while you’re practicing yoga so you can get the most out of your next session. Let’s get into it.
Meditate beforehand
As we have already mentioned, yoga is all about maintaining a calm mind and finding peace. This is becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do, especially as we are constantly distracted and bombarded with stressful situations in our daily lives.
If you go into a yoga session in a highly stressed or anxious state, the chances are you’re not going to have a particularly nice time. For this reason, it’s a good idea to do a short meditation before you begin, recentering yourself and calming your mind down before you start.
Concentrate on your breathing
If you find yourself getting distracted, it helps to calm your mind and regain your focus by turning your attention towards your breath. This meditative technique is great for relaxing your mind and body and can help alleviate symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Focus your breath and try to make it flow into the movements you’re doing, helping you to tune out from external distractions and be more present at the moment.
Don’t worry if you get distracted
If you find yourself becoming distracted from the session and unable to focus on your breath, don’t worry! Let yourself off the hook and realize that not every session is going to be a perfect one. It’s completely fine to feel hurried or restless sometimes. We are all human beings, after all.
One of the worst things you can do is to get on your own back and put more pressure on yourself because you’re ‘not relaxed enough’ or ‘not present in the moment.’ This will only compound the issues, and you’ll likely leave the session feeling worse than when you started.
Take it slow, remove the pressure, and ease into it. There’s no rush.
Put your phone away
Put your phone on silent mode, turn it off, or better yet, put it in a completely different room. The last thing you want is to get distracted from your yoga session with the sound of a vibrating phone or an annoying ringtone.
Whatever the message or call is, it can wait. Enjoy this time as it’s for you, and only you.
Wear comfortable clothing
As you already know, it’s very important to feel comfortable in what you’re wearing. This is even more relevant when it comes to yoga. You’re putting your booty in uncomfortable positions and maintaining awkward postures for long periods of time. This is why it’s crucial you wear clothes that have a good range of movement and let your skin breathe when you get a bit sweaty.
One tip that most people aren’t’ aware of is that wearing headbands helps you focus more when you’re in the middle of an intense session. There are lots of companies producing headbands for yoga, we can suggest wearing Suddora Headbands which could help you concentrate during your yoga session.
When you’re doing yoga, it’s unlikely you’ll have a towel around to wipe the sweat away, which is when your headband comes in handy.
It’s also great for keeping the sweat out of your eyes and your hair out of your face, letting you focus on your yoga session, and keeping your mind quiet at the moment.
Close your eyes
Here’s a simple tip if you want to focus more when doing yoga; close your eyes. This is especially helpful if you’re in the middle of a busy class and you can feel yourself comparing yourself to other people.
Even if you’re not in a class full of people, it helps to close your eyes and focus on your breath. Visualize your movements and try to calm your mind.
Relax into it and enjoy the experience
Yoga is similar to meditation in many ways. The more you try, the harder it becomes. If you’re always panicking and worrying about whether or not you’re doing the pose correctly, or if you’re too concerned about how you look rather than listening to your body, you’re doing it wrong.
Yoga is supposed to be a spiritual practice, but you need to keep in mind that you’re doing it for fun, and it shouldn’t be taken so seriously as to cause you more stress. Relax into it, and try to enjoy the experience as much as you can.
Schedule time for yoga and nothing else
This is a big one. Schedule time into your diary for yoga and make sure that you have nothing else to do other than that. These days we are all master multi-taskers, and while that’s great for your job, it offers very little when it comes to yoga.
Schedule an hour in your day and let people know you aren’t going to be available during that time. That way, you can feel better and relax about turning your phone off and ignoring the world for a little while.
If you try and cram a yoga session into a busy day while you’ve got a million things on your mind and an important meeting shortly afterward, you’re not going to get the full benefit.
Don’t push yourself too hard
Last but not least, try not to push yourself too hard. If you’re new to yoga, join a beginner class and take it easy. There’s no use in jumping into an expert class or following an advanced course on YouTube before you’re ready for it.
Yoga takes many years to master, and even then, there’s still so much to learn. If you push yourself too hard, it’s going to detract from the experience and make it uncomfortable, which means that you’ll be less likely to come back to the next session.
Take small steps and focus on your form. Breathe, quiet your mind, and try to enjoy the session as much as you can.
Namaste!
