What is Yoga Awareness?
Member/Student: 'Teacher, I don't seem to be able to feel what you're saying about tightening and opening.' Teacher: 'You need to improve your awareness.' Member/Student: 'What is awareness?' Teacher: 'Would you like to hear me continue?'
What is awareness exactly?Awareness is achieved through consciously moving your body to know that you are moving, and stopping to know that your body has stopped. Simply put, I want my feet to root themselves like tree roots into the ground, and I can feel, and also know that my feet are rooted in the ground. Awareness is in the present moment, because it is in the present moment, so it is different from the last time, and also different from the next time.Awareness level 1: No awareness, just stylingMany beginners, and even long-term members, lack awareness. Most of the class is imitation of the teacher, listening to the points the teacher says, at first it's like being in a mist, and later it's simply ignored. Seeing what the teacher does is enough. It is easy to injure yourself if you try to force an extra movement, or if the joints are not properly aligned, and you still want to add more force, it is easy to injure yourself. 2, Some degree of awareness, but not persistentWhen you first feel a certain part starting, you will be ecstatic, but is this feeling persistent? For example, when practicing Qigong, you can feel the airflow moving your lip hairs when exhaling, but you don't feel it the next breath. Or you can feel the spine extending vertically as you inhale, but you don't feel it the next breath. These are all manifestations of your lack of persistent awareness.3, Touchable awarenessThis is the last level, where you can completely perceive your body, what you are doing, when you want to move, you know you are moving, when you want to stop, you know you are stopping. This is what Yoga strives for, to keep the body, consciousness, and breath in the same moment.
What are the benefits of awareness? 1, Clearly perceive every action, every thoughtYou can clearly feel what your body is doing, clearly feel the signals coming from your inner self. You can tell yourself 'I know what's happening right now, and what I'm thinking.'2, When emotions appear, you can control emotions, know emotionsWhen you encounter setbacks, you don't get angry, you don't get depressed, you don't make impulsive decisions that you might regret, you can calmly view the problem, or at least you can calmly maintain a few minutes of silence to think about the matter.3, Maintain neutrality, observe internal changes with a detached perspectiveMany people can't see themselves, can't see the difficulties they are in. That's because we stand in the darkest place under the spotlight, try to jump out of this circle, you can see the problem and yourself more clearly.How to cultivate awareness? How to improve awareness in Yoga, and in life? 1, In Yoga, how do members find awareness under the guidance of the teacher1) Don't look at the teacher, don't look at other members, listen to the teacher's instructions with your heart, and feel with your body. 2) Focus your awareness on your breath, your breath will be faster than your body to know where it's suitable for you to stay. If your breathing starts to become erratic, hurried, or even breathless, then it's not appropriate to force yourself to continue, you can stop and rest, or lower the difficulty. 3) When holding a posture, don't think aimlessly, feel where the body is opening, where it's tightening, where there's pain, follow it to adjust, and breathe. 4) When the teacher comes to your side, try to relax, follow the teacher's guidance, and feel the tension of the muscles the teacher is talking about, don't resist, follow the teacher's strength. 5) As a teacher, you must first be patient, everyone's degree and physical condition are different, don't demand everyone according to a unified standard.
When the member comes to your side, don't suddenly assist her, but point to the place she needs to sense, and slowly guide her with language to make her own effort, instead of using the teacher's force to help her.2, How to maintain awareness in life1) Pay attention to your breathing constantly, focus your awareness on a fixed point. 2) When you think about something, what is your emotion? Happy? Sad? Excited? Embarrassed…? 3) When you think about something, what does your body feel like? Does your heart rate change? Does your breath change its frequency? Do your eyebrows involuntarily tighten? 4) When you can't control your emotions, don't do anything that decides, let yourself be quiet for a few minutes. 5) Your decisions are not impulsive. You don't need to reach a consensus with others, you don't need to please others, you don't need to control others' thoughts, but be in accordance with your inner feelings and reach a consensus with yourself. This is what I want to say about awareness, just for beginners and those who can't find awareness. It's just like walking, every step depends on yourself to walk and explore. It's a great honor to choose us as your cane on your exploring journey!
