Yoga has a sly, clever way of short circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety,” Baxter Bell.
Yoga is very clever. As a discipline that is over 5,000 years old not only has it stood the test of time, but it is therefore more prevalent today than ever. The healing benefits that yoga brings for body and mind make it a perfect supportive practise complimenting the recovery process.
By starting on the physical level, yoga seamlessly leads the practitioner through a series of steps to a place of balance, wellbeing and observance of self. It raises consciousness and offers mankind tools to help with being human. As humans we are a holistic entity, our bodies and minds are connected, and yoga teaches how to observe both ourselves and others without judgement; to accept and speak the truth within ourselves.
Through the physical postures – the asanas – the body is put through a range of movements that bring flexibility, balance and strength. By bending forwards, backwards, side to side and twisting, all functions and systems of the body are supported and enhanced. What’s so clever is that by learning the postures the mind is harnessed and locked into the subtleties of postures such as alignment, lengthening and yield. Add to this the effects of conscious breath work – pranayama – and you have the body and mind connected, working together in the here and now. Not reflecting, not projecting, just being.
Step by gentle step and with regular practise, yoga guides the practitioner through physical awareness to mental awareness. The breathing exercises can energise, calm, or balance the mind immediately. As it is the mind that creates patterns that lead to anxiety, yoga is a tool by which we can learn to observe how these patterns manifest, how they are triggered and where they originate from.
This beautiful ancient practise is a blueprint to getting the best out of being human. Yoga isn’t about perfect posture or being perfect, it’s about getting the best out of who you are, what you’ve been given and dealt with in life. It isn’t about what you can’t do, it’s about what you can do. It empowers, liberates and heals.
Camino Recovery recognises the many complimentary benefits that the regular practise of yoga brings and we have our own in-house yoga teacher. We provide tailored yoga sessions within all our therapy programmes.
