I recently read an article where a New York Times writer remarks on how yoga typically gives her anxiety because she wonders how long she has to stay in position before she can check her twitter feed. It occurred to me that she’s exactly the type of person that would reap some of yoga’s greatest benefits.
One side bonus of practicing yoga is being away from all external demands, all distractions, all social media. Sure, many of us rely on staying as connected as possible for our work. But if we’re not dealing with a life and death situation, it would help us a great deal if we allow ourselves to unplug for at least an hour a day.
In fact, having time to breathe and focus inward with yoga and meditation has been scientifically proven to help us deal more effectively with life’s stresses. According to Sophia Dunn, a clinical psychotherapist who studied at King’s College London, “Yoga and meditation are tools for enabling us to swim in difficult waters.”
Be in the moment
It’s also important to take the time to be in the moment, and experience the things happening right in front of you. Being constantly concerned about what other people are doing or saying in cyber-world may cause you to miss out on things happening in your own world.
Just as when we have many apps running at the same time and we have to recharge all of our smartphones, laptops and tablets (even if we’d charged overnight), when we have a number of demands sapping our own energy we need to stop and recharge our minds and bodies.
So instead of wasting your practice worrying about getting back to your texts, emails, and tweets, embrace the brief hour where you can rest on your asanas.