Written by Aviva Tulasi
The other day in yoga class, I found myself falling over as I transitioned from Warrior 2 into knee lift. I tried to maneuver from one position to the other and lost my balance. I know I can do it. I tried it again. I almost fell over. I became frustrated. I am supposed to be able to do this. It’s not hard. Judgement and the feeling of lack of perfection was settling in. I let myself go down this negative thought process for just a couple of seconds, then I found myself noticing my thoughts. I recognized that my mind was distracted and could not connect to my body. An audible sound came out, “Where is my body?” I closed my eyes and took a breath. I checked in with myself and found the peacefulness of not caring about what the posture looked like. I let my mind connect with my body. Then I tried it again with control.
Jessica Booth, from Cognitive Psychiatry of Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC, describes my experience on the mat perfectly in her recent interview with Jennifer from Dogwood Studio. “A lot of times people struggle with the feeling of disconnect between the mind and body; that they might be conflicting with one another or that they have different priorities from one another. It is hard to get them in sync. Yoga is one of those aspects that promotes you being in sync with your body and mind together fulfilling one purpose.” Listen to the interview and read the full article HERE.
Dogwood Studio is fostering a new partnership Cognitive Psychiatry of Chapel Hill. Our partnership aims at diving deep into the importance of mental health in our self care routine. We hope to highlight how your yoga practice supports your work you do in therapy and your mental health. We look forward to collaborations and workshops that explore this relationship.
Our mindfulness practices in Dogwood Studio classes and private sessions can help cultivate calmness when confronted by the inner critic, making it easier to begin to repattern how we hold our body and our thoughts in a safe environment. Also being in a community that supports each other, helps us remember we are not alone in our struggles for inner peace and calm.
You can also practice self-compassion in our On Demand Video Mindful Meditation Workshop Series Session on Self-Compassion. For a limited time, the video is FREE using the coupon code: SELFCOMPASSION21. Expires August 31, 2021. In the video, you will get a lecture on self-compassion, an exercise to practice as homework and a guided meditation focusing on self-compassion.
For our latest online and in person event schedule on the website, click HERE. We have many gifted teachers to support your cultivation of self-compassion.