Assistance please?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi, I am a University student studying how Yoga may benefit the community as a whole. I would be very grateful if someone out here in Yoga land could help me (anonymously if you wish) answer some of these questions below. I am interviewing local Yoga instructors, but I also want a much more well-rounded response from other teachers in different geographic areas nationally (U.S.) or internationally. I would particularly really love some good responses to question number five (5).

  1. Does Yoga benefit you as far as mindfulness is concerned? I believe it does, but could you explain how it affects you? (Yoga and meditation)
  2. Does Yoga enhanced mindfulness benefit you at work too? How?
  3. Does Yoga enhanced mindfulness benefit you in your relationships? How, more patience for example?
  4. Does your Yoga practice help you in any of your leadership roles? (if you have one)
  5. Are there any Social Justice aspects to Yoga instruction? If so, how does that work? If there are none, why hasn?t that happened?

Thank you so very much! PM’s would be fine if you want to do that instead of responding to this post.

#2

Hello grizzy welcome to the forums, youve asked some big questions there , on the whole I would say yes .
I almost feel I would need to write a book to answer well .

#3

I agree with the above. I will add that it is process and progressive practice, in my experience. Sometimes I take 2 steps forward, then one step back. This is normal for the human condition (or my condition). I am blessed/cursed with an over-active mind. For me, this is the source of great inspiration, original thought, creativity, passion, humour, curiosity, adventure, and energy. It is also the source of distraction, unrest, emotional instability, melancholy, and idleness. Yoga has benefited me in ways I cannot describe fully, except to say that I can more easily herd my mental ‘cats’ at will, and remain focused on a thought or idea longer and with more clarity.

I would think this is enhanced mindfulness, and it does benefit my work, relationships, and since I have always accepted leadership roles it helps with my personal vision and clarity, and my ability to communicate those.

#4

[QUOTE=charliedharma;56050]Hello grizzy welcome to the forums, youve asked some big questions there , on the whole I would say yes .
I almost feel I would need to write a book to answer well .[/QUOTE]

Thank you for responding Charlie, I am much more interested in [B]personal[/B] experience versus the big picture that would take years to analyse and write about. I should have been more clear about that!:oops:

#5

Flex, that is what I was hoping for! Thank you for responding also :smiley:

I would love to know more about the leadership angle if you were up to embellishing some…

#6

[QUOTE=grizzy86;56046]…

  1. Does Yoga benefit you as far as mindfulness is concerned? I believe it does, but could you explain how it affects you? (Yoga and meditation)
  2. Does Yoga’s enhanced mindfulness benefit you at work too? How?
  3. Does Yoga enhanced mindfulness benefit you in your relationships? How, more patience for example?
  4. Does your Yoga practice help you in any of your leadership roles? (if you have one)

[/QUOTE]
These are really the same question with a slightly different frame of reference. The cultivation of “mindfulness”, which is more of a Buddhist concept than a Yoga concept though not mutually exclusive, pervades one’s living. It pervades all three relationships Patanjali outlines in the Sutras: relationship to self, to others, and to cosmos.

It might be more profound to simply fish for “how does the mindfulness you cultivate through yoga affect different spheres of your living?”.

[QUOTE=grizzy86;56046]
5) Are there any Social Justice aspects to Yoga instruction? If so, how does that work? If there are none, why hasn’t that happened? [/QUOTE]
…[/QUOTE]

Everything in teaching yoga is about respect and that is the foundation of Social Justice. When we as human beings embody respect for ourselves, the practice, and others we create an environment where social injustice could not possibly thrive. But if you could be more specific about the “social justice” issues you’re thinking about I might be able to speak to them more directly.