Written by Hello beautiful ones,
Over the past 9 years of teaching Yoga, one thing I have noticed more and more is how difficult it has become for many of us to stay focused, concentrated and truly present during our practice.
Not because we don’t care.
But because modern life is constantly pulling our attention in a thousand different directions.
Notifications. Social media. Endless information. Fast-paced living.
The pressure to consume more, know more, do more, have more.
Our minds are rarely given the opportunity to settle.
In Buddhist teachings, the mind is often referred to as a “monkey mind”, meaning it is endlessly jumping from branch to branch, thought to thought, future to past.
Thoughts themselves are not the problem. Thinking is natural and an important evolution for human survival. But I think we all know the feeling of being completely swept away by our own minds, unable to rest our attention anywhere for very long.
Let us reflect for a moment on how we care for the rest of ourselves:
- We go to the gym.
- We eat healthy food.
- We practice Yoga asana (postural practice).
- We take supplements.
- We prioritise sleep and recovery.
So why wouldn’t we also care for the mind?
The beautiful thing is that concentration and focus can be cultivated.
Our minds are like muscles. The more we tend to them, the steadier and more powerful they become.
And with steadiness of mind comes something incredibly valuable: spaciousness.
When our minds are less scattered, there is more room for clarity, insight, presence and ease.
We begin responding to life rather than constantly reacting to it.
This doesn’t mean blocking thoughts or forcing the mind into silence. It simply means learning how to gently guide our attention back, again and again, without judgment or rush.
So how can we create conditions for strengthening the “muscle” of the mind?
Everyday ways to reduce scattered attention:
- turning off notifications on your phone
- doing one thing at a time instead of multitasking
- taking three breaths between tasks
Even small shifts like these begin to change the quality of our attention.
Things to reduce that overstimulate the mind:
- reducing unnecessary information consumption
- easing up on short-form videos
Our Yoga practice gives us such a beautiful opportunity to cultivate concentration too.
Every time we notice the mind wandering during practice and gently bring it back to sensation, movement or breath, we are strengthening our capacity to focus.
One of the most powerful tools I return to is Ujjayi breath.
The soft whispering sound of ujjayi breath gives the mind something steady to rest upon. Again and again, we return to the sound, the rhythm, the feeling of breathing. The breath becomes our anchor for attention.
- Drishti, or a focused gaze, can support this too.
- Feeling the contact of the feet with the floor.
- Fully inhabiting sensations within a posture.
- Slowing our practice down enough to ACTUALLY experience what is happening rather than rushing unconsciously from shape to shape.
The practice is not about never becoming distracted.
The practice is returning.
Over and over again.
And perhaps this is one of the most important things we can cultivate in modern lives – the ability to consciously place our attention where we choose, rather than endlessly giving it away.
Because, as over-used and as cheesy as this phrase is:
where attention goes, energy flows.
And as we harness the power of our mind, we can move through life with greater clarity, freedom and intention.
That’s all beautiful ones.
Thank-you to those who read all the way to the end.
Ironically, those who didn’t are probably the ones in most need of cultivating the power of attention. wink. wink.
Love, Sonsie.