Thoughts about concentration and distraction
Here are some of the things that popped into my head when I was a student in an online yoga class recently:
There are cobwebs above the living room door.
The sun shining in at this time of day is glorious.
I should re-pot my houseplants later this month.
Shall I go for a walk after this?
I like moving at this pace and should take a similar approach in my own yoga teaching.
It’s ages since I gave my yoga blocks a wash.
Should I cook the tomatoes or have them cold in a salad?
Did I ‘clear the mind’ in this hour-long class? Nope. But I did have 60 minutes of not acting on thoughts as they popped up, not writing them down or Googling for information or ‘just quickly doing X.’ I don’t know about you, but it’s quite rare for me to spend a whole hour without allowing a thought to become a distraction. Sometimes it’s great to do things as they occur to you. But what is not getting done as a result? Chances are you’re giving up the quiet time, time away from a screen, time spent consciously moving your body or consciously finding stillness.
Are you familiar with the eight limbs of yoga? They are progressive, lifelong commitments which eventually lead to the eight limb, samadhi, described as enlightenment, peace, or connection with the Divine. Physical practice, known as asana, is the third limb. One of the purposes of asana is to develop discipline and concentration, which are required to access limbs four to eight. Concentration is also a commonly-used description for the sixth limb, dharana, in which we develop the skill and wisdom to focus on a single thought for long periods of time. This requires regular, long-term practice, including becoming aware of when we are distracted - then immediately returning to the intended focus.
Next time you’re practising yoga asana or meditation (which is the seventh limb, by the way, so don’t worry if you find it tricky!) and a thought interrupts your concentration, don’t feel like you’ve ‘failed at yoga’. Let the thought happen, then continue with your practice. Every time you return your concentration to what you are doing, it’s a positive.
I’d love to know what you think about this. Is the benefit of a yoga class the physical movements, or the mental concentration? Or is it what you are NOT doing during that time, the avoiding of distractions? Hopefully it’s a bit of all three! But every time you notice your concentration returning, recognize the achievement. It’s far more valuable than getting your chair pose lower or your tree pose higher.
Finally, if you want to try some help with this type of relaxation, here’s a blog post from last year where I shared three videos that I found useful near the start of the pandemic.