Change Your Brain
by Susan Pulley
We have all felt benefits from Yoga: a change of mood, a quieting of busy thoughts, more energy, perhaps even better sleep or reduced pain.
What many people don’t realize is, while doing Yoga, they are actually changing their brain too. In recent years, scientists have abandoned the assumption that nerve pathways of the brain are fixed, and replaced it with a fresh understanding of the ability of the brain to change as a result of one's experience (called neuroplasticity).
Any time you call your attention to an action, especially a non-habitual action (in other words, a movement to which you are unaccustomed), the brain forms a new part of a pathway. This is because your brain has not developed a groove for that particular action yet. This is neuroplasticity in action.
In Yoga, we already use a very effective tool that increases neuroplasticity in the brain: Awareness. Every time you bring awareness to the placement of your body in space, or notice some previously unobserved place inside yourself, you create new pathways and change existing ones. ‘Release your shoulders down away from your ears’, your teacher requests, and your mind has to consider the spatial relationship between your shoulder and your ear, perhaps for the first time, and send a corresponding movement.
This has such potential to change everything for us, from the quietness of our mind to our range of motion of a healthy or injured area.
Here are some tips on how to make Awareness the most effective tool for your healing:
In the beginning, use movement to cultivate awareness. Focus on small, slow movements, becoming aware with internal eye of your body’s change of position in space.
Scan your body and notice sensations. Ask yourself, ‘Did that asana make me feel warm, or cold? Heavy, or light? Active, or dull?
Quiet your mind. Every person has to learn what tricks work best for her/him. Usually these involve making a conscious choice not to follow excessive thinking.
Find the balance between effort and non-striving in every asana. Keep a calm and attentive mind while practicing Yoga.
Practice non-habitual movement. Brush your teeth or stir your dinner with the non-habitual hand. Non-habitual movement keeps the mind curious and interested, making it easier to sustain awareness.
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