The most important thing to do within a yoga class is to focus on breathing, and to feel it moving through you like a fresh breeze, the same feeling you get when opening a window on a summers day.
This will automatically start to relax the body, so you feel space start to appear where tightness and tension once was.
This will guide the mind into the space of the body and out of the head.
When you start to move the body with the breath, everything that seemed so important during that day will gradually slip away and you will experience a slice of freedom, that moment where there are no demands on you , and your body moves effortlessly accompanied by the breath like a graceful bird flying through the air.
The next important thing to do or rather not do within a yoga class is expect a particular outcome to each asana. if you want a certain outcome the body will automatically tense up and push to where the brain tells you it wants you to go. Eg: I want my head on my knees in a seated forward fold.
So instead of commanding the body to go to the end of the asana , image yourself floating within the asana with the visual power of the breath taking you with it.
This removes all stress and once the body feels safe and calm, it relaxes the muscles and you may be surprised just how far you get through the asana before the body puts the brakes on to hold you back .
We talk about acting without the ego, one step towards this is doing yoga using these two secrets mentioned above. Because if this is how you move through your yoga class, then soon it will reflect in your everyday actions in your life.
