Developing a mindful practice
In Knoff Yoga, Mindfulness is a Principle of Practice. It is at the core of practicing yoga. Yet do you often find yourself doing the shopping list or wondering what to have for dinner during your practice?
How can you work to develop mindfulness and reduce this nature of the egoic mind to be anywhere else except in the present?
In Knoff Yoga we use three specific elements to develop mindfulness:
The meditative quality of an asana can be greatly enhanced by simultaneously applying:
- Mula and Uddiyana Bandhas (and Jalandhara if applicable)
- Ujjayi Pranayama
- Drishti
None of these three techniques happen by themselves and require a focussed mind and plenty of practice to ensure their concurrent application.
When you practice the postures, applying these techniques will dramatically improve the effectiveness of your practice.
Drishti
Drishti are specific focal points for the eyes in various poses; in some poses we look toward the thumbs and beyond, at other times we may gaze toward the tip of the nose. Yet even if we are not given a specific drishti or focal point, we can still utilise this element of mindfulness in our practice. Once you are in the pose, direct your gaze to a specific unmoving point; it may be a point in front of you, or a point on the ceiling or floor, depending on the posture. Do not let the eyes wander, the moment the eyes dart around the room, the mind will also dart around which will be the opposite of what you were hoping to achieve when you started your practice. When you gaze at this specific point, allow the eyes to be soft in the socket, allow the muscles that surround the eyes to soften. You do not need to tense the eyes to be able to see what you are looking at.
When we utilise drishti, we want 80% or our attention directed inwards to the sensations of the body and the work we are doing, and only 20% outward.
Ujjayi Pranayama
Ujjayi is the soft rhythmic breath that has the slight sound in the throat. Normally, our breath regulates itself. The moment we breath in a specific manner we become aware and mindful, and we are able to utilise the breath to enhance our practice. In every pose we endeavour to create a smooth rhythmic breath, by focusing on this technique you will find that the muscles that are working will work more efficiently without excess tension. The soft sibilant sound created in the throat by practising Ujjayi will also have a calming effect on the mind and nerves.
Bandhas
Bandhas are a principle of practice in their own right, they help provide support and stability to various joints and structures in the body. Bandhas and are also utilised during Pranayama practice. In our poses, when we activate the two lower bandhas, Mula and Uddiyana (Minor), we have to maintain mindfulness for them to stay active, if our minds wander away from the task at hand the bandhas will be lost.
There can be a tendency to overdo the bandhas. When we activate too strongly, gross outside muscles will take over and do all of the work. This will lead to excess tension and fatigue. When we activate bandhas we almost want to think of under-doing them. When we draw back the lower abdominals it is only a distance of about an inch. When we lift the pelvic floor, we are not gripping for dear life, but merely activating the muscles gently. Not too much, not too little.
Try this: draw back the abdominals and lift the pelvic floor muscles as strongly as you can. Know what it feels like to overdo it, and then the next time you do it - apply only 5% of the energy necessary. In a way, when the bandhas are activated like this, it will feel more like a thought than a gross physical action. Maintaining the bandhas will keep the mind focussed and develops mindfulness.
Placement
In my practice and in my teaching, there are other elements that I also use to help with mindfulness. Placement is one of these. This means that whenever you move, do it deliberately, smoothly and be precise. Think of Tai-Chi; every movement and body part goes exactly where the practitioner places it, and so we also utilise this idea in our postures. Place your body parts exactly where you want them to be, the very first time you move. This will develop the focus and diligence in practice.
Get rid of excess
This concept is very closely related to placement. It involves doing only what is necessary and no more. For example when coming back to stand in Tadasana (Mountain) after Uttitha Trikonasana (Extended Triangle), come into the posture smoothly and precisely, and then do not fidget. Do you really need to adjust your shirt or fix your hair in mountain pose? If you have used placement to mindfully come into Tadasana then there is no need to add anything to the pose. Get rid of everything you do not need. This includes getting rid of excess movement.
When performing a pose that utilises both sides of the body at the same time, e.g., Virasana (Hero) or Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle), move both sides of the body at the same time. Why move one side and then the other? It is just a waste of energy, and more than likely you will always move the same side first. By moving both sides at the same time, you have to be mindful and aware of what you are doing. You will begin to remove unconcious habits of moving and tension.
Getting rid of excess also means letting go of any extra effort in the pose that is not necessary. Use only the amount of muscular effort required to come into and maintain the posture. Why tire yourself out? 
When you get rid of excess you are also relieving the body/mind of excess stress and strain.
Finally Knoff Yoga says this about mindfulness in practice:
Mindfulness is the feeling aspect of our practice. It means paying attention and taking care. We turn our minds inward (pratyahara) in order to observe and feel the internal environment … the main difference between yoga and exercise is the conscious involvement of attention to what we are doing. The moment we are inattentive we are no longer doing yoga … This mindfulness can be taken into daily life and into whatever we are doing – making our lives richer and fuller.
And after all, isn’t that the point?
Reader Comments
Hey,
I just stumbled across your site. It is excellent. I love the part where you say that many teachers forget to tell you that they spent years struggling to get on the mat once, too. Excellent resource. I think I will put a link to your site on my blog if you don’t mind? Brilliant, thanks! (I am a Knoff Teacher, too)
Thanks again,
Sophie
http://www.healinchronicfatigue.blogspot.com/