If you are reading this post, then you have already been convinced that yoga is awesome. The best. Makes a difference in physical and emotional well-being. Wonderful! Let's move forward carrying that positive assumption.
If yoga has made an impact on your life, then the question becomes how can we increase this positive effect. In what ways can I take that feeling yoga gives me and reproduce it even when I'm not in the classroom?
One answer: Bells of Mindfulness
The power of yoga comes from its ability to bring us back into our body and the present moment. It is when we are lost in the past or the future that the thoughts become chains, we tense different muscles, and we end up feeling chronically tight/sore and emotionally disrupted. The technique, called bells of mindfulness, is something we can use to accomplish present moment awareness in our daily lives.
In many monasteries, there is a bell that rings throughout the day. When you hear its chime, you pause and come back to the present moment. It is a wonderful way to recenter, to release any thought patterns you are stuck in, and to take a deep breath.
While we do not live in a monastery that has beautiful bells, we can alter this technique to be useful in our lives.
Step 1: Choose your "bell"
The first thing to do is to choose the event that will cause you to pause for a minute or two. This is the thing that will trigger a mindful moment. This can be anything! A few ideas:
- Every time you are at a red light
- Every time you refill your water glass
- Every time you pick up your phone to look at social media
My favorite method is to use an actual bell sound. I have downloaded the Plum Village app. There is an option on this free app to create a bell of mindfulness. You choose how often it will chime throughout the day.
Step 2: Breathe
Every time your event occurs, pause in what you are doing and take three deep full breaths.
Step 3: Relax the body
After 3 deep breaths, come into the body. A quick scan will tell you what it tense. Perhaps the jaw it clenched or the shoulder have risen up towards the ears. Take a moment and release these muscles, maybe even doing a quick stretch.
Step 4: Ground yourself
Look around. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you feel?
Step 5: Assess the thought
The mind creates the thoughts but we get to decide which thoughts we keep and which ones we discard. What was the thought you were having when your "bell" chimed? Is this a beneficial thought? If so, go back to it gladly. If the thought is harmful to you or others, let it go. Choose which thought to shift into and continue along your day.
This whole process takes 2 minutes or less. In those 2 minutes, you are coming into the body, the breath, and the present moment. You will re-engage into your activity in a more mindful and calm state. You are also preventing chronic tightness from building up.
These tiny moments add up! The mind looks for repetition. If you can use the bell of mindfulness technique to create a pattern, over time you will start naturally recentering, even when the bell has not rung. Take 2 minutes at a time to create a positive shift in your life!
Leaving yoga class floating on a cloud. Sweet.
Taking 2-3 yoga classes a week to increase the experience. Lovely.
Incorporating yoga into your daily life. Priceless.