Yoga As A Transformative Energy Tool: How Yoga Helps Shift Your Mood, Release your Emotions & Creates a Sacred Space For Self Reflection

In the west we still think of yoga as being all about stretching the body, but thankfully this paradigm is now beginning to change, as more and more people are recognising the powerful holistic effects a yoga practice can have on us. In this episode I take a little look at how yoga practices can help shift our energy, physically, mentally and emotionally. We take a brief look at the nervous system (full episode to come on this soon) and how our yoga mat is a vital place of allowing and a sacred space for self love and self reflection.

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With love and light,

Helen xxx

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:05

Welcome to Be Still and Notice, a yoga podcast. Join me, your host, yoga and meditation instructor Helen Taylor, to dive deeply into the vast ocean of wisdom that is yoga. Explore with me how these ancient practices can help heal and elevate us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in an ultra-modern world. Together we'll deepen our practice, explore our connection to divinity and our own inner landscapes with the help of special guests, guided meditations, how-tos and oh so much more. Yoga has the incredible power to change your life on every level and it all begins with stillness. Now let's begin. Hi everyone and welcome. Welcome to episode 12 of Be Still and Notice, a yoga podcast. And in today's episode, we are looking at the plethora of ways in which yoga, good use of that word I think, in which yoga can help us transform our energy, our physical energy, our mental energy, our emotional state, and really all the lovely ways that simple ways that yoga can affect the body's energetic systems. So I hope you enjoy listening and let's begin. Hi everyone, welcome. Welcome to episode 12. And today we're going to be talking about how yoga transforms our energy. I think it's one of the really quite underestimated benefits of a full spectrum yoga practice is how it can really transform our mood, our emotional state, our physical health. state our nervous system and how it can really just lift us up in that moment really quite spontaneously it doesn't take long when practiced correctly to really transform your energy So as we know, exercise is fantastic for our mental and emotional well-being. You know, walking. It's really great that in the last few years, walking has become really, really popular. And... I'm not going to go deeply into the physiology of it because that's not my area of expertise, but I do have read about the side-to-side eye movements when you're walking that help balance both sides of the brain. That's what helps you with your cognitive mind and your emotional mind. The emotion... the parts of your brain that deal with emotions now as I talk to you today you might feel it in my voice I'm feeling really flat I'm feeling very stuck and kind of frozen I'm in this strange state for the last couple of days I think for various different reasons but I just keep sitting to do something and it's not happening I end up scrolling on my phone or staring into space and it's quite frustrating And it feels very flat and low. And literally, quite frankly, all I want to do is sit and slob out in front of the TV. But I'm not going to do that. Sometimes I do, absolutely. I rest, I'm really very good at resting. So I just want to put that out there and I hope you are too. Um... I take my rest when I need it. But when I have these days, it's like a kind of functional freeze. I really, I've slept well, you know, I've rested. It's more of an emotional state. And at the moment, I think that is for various different reasons. So what I'm talking about today is how yoga, and I'm going to use this for myself in a little while, how yoga... holistically can really help transform your energy, your physical energy, your emotional state, and your intellectual, your cognitive, your mental energy and state. So how does it do this? Like I said, asana practice, as we know, is like exercise is great so when you move your body what happens we move the body and we can release if you move say if you go running or you do some cardio on the treadmill or you do a high intensity anything you're going to start releasing feel-good hormones like hormones like endorphins um When you do an asana practice, it's at a deeper level because we are using the breath in conjunction with movement. So there's a synergy in the body. There's an inward total experience of breath and movement. We also... use the mind and integrate that into our practice so we're present moment thinking so as we inhale we lift the arms up we reach up as we exhale we bring the hands down to the heart the mind is thinking purely about if we're practicing correctly purely about the movement and the breath we're not thinking about tomorrow's meeting or what to have for dinner tonight we're in the The moment. So straight away that gets rid of the monkey mind. It starts calming our chatter and it brings us really into what is true and real in the moment. Also, a massive one here, the breath. So as... We all should know now because all of this stuff is so, so good. It's emerging into current thinking. It's emerging into really commonplace thinking now. The breath, when we slow down the breath, we slow down the nervous system. So we slow down the heart rate. We slow down, we lower the blood pressure. Make everything just go... It's like turning down the volume in your body's nervous system. So we turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest. This is the place where you want to be, to be restoring your body, to be restful, to be calm, to feel relaxed. And when we use the breath, that's what we do. Now even... When you're doing really quite a strenuous yoga practice, because the breath is so controlled, your heart rate might be higher. But very rarely will you go into a sympathetic, that's the opposite of parasympathetic, a stress response in your body. So controlling the breath is really, really key. Slowing it down and paying great awareness to the breath. So we can literally take control of our nervous system. I'm gonna be doing a whole episode actually about the nervous system soon. Because I think it's really important to know what's happening in your body. when you're doing yoga, how these practices are influencing your body on a really subtle and a gross level. So we've got movement, breath, the mind is there. We're focused on what we're doing. So we're really channeling and in tune with the body. Also, when you move the body, There's all sorts of things you can do on an energetic level in terms of moving stuck energy. And when we increase the blood flow throughout the fascia, you know, this strong kind of sheath that holds all of the muscles and organs in place, the fascia, it actually has emotional intelligence, they found, which I find absolutely fascinating. When we stretch the fascia, it releases energy, it releases, gets more blood pumping into the muscles, the joints and everything. Throughout the whole body system. And it moves stuck and stagnant energy in the body. Now that doesn't sound very scientific. Again, this isn't my area of expertise. I'm not going to go into all the details of that. But you can do your research and find out more about what happens within the body when you stretch and move and get the blood flowing. We also know... that different parts of the body hold emotion. So the psoas muscle, one of the most important muscles in your body, actually, in terms of nervous system regulation and response, is the psoas muscle. This is a really deep muscle, and it's the main muscle, there are two of them, one on each side of the body, that connect your legs to the spine. And they're key. They're really, really key. I struggle with my psoas at the moment because of my hip problem. So I have a special stretch that my lovely physio has given to me. And I do this morning and night most days. When the psoas is tight and tense... it's normally because we're in a stress response. And these deep, very strong muscles, which are used for moving the legs, get ready when we're stressed out. They're ready to run. They're literally going, right, babes, we need to run away. They're getting ready. With a lot of people, the psoas muscle is in a constant state of contraction and is really tense. And this can cause all sorts of lower back pain. That's my case. Hip pain, all sorts of things. So certain stretches like deep lunges, things like that, can be really amazing at allowing muscles like the psoas and all of the big muscles around the hip joints to open and release. And why is this important? Well... Because the hips are, again, another point in the body where we store emotions, moving to release these joints and muscles just allows everything to be released. Literally, if you haven't read the book The Body Holds the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, I believe I've pronounced that right. I'll put it in the show notes. Please do. It's an incredible read. I haven't quite finished it but I am towards the end now and it's just amazing and it's all about how your body holds the memory of traumas and upsets together emotional upset and Bessel has done I think three different studies on how yoga can help people with overcome trauma and PTSD so again I'll pop that in the show notes have a read it absolutely mind-blowing and if you're someone who has experienced trauma you might just find out some more about yourself I've definitely read some some things and gone oh my gosh I do that or I know somebody that does that so really really good and amazing that he has shown that yoga is a really valuable therapeutic tool when it comes to healing body and mind for the reasons basically for the reasons that I'm talking about today plus lots of other psychological reasons but to keep it simple today um We're talking about shifting the energy. And like I say, on a weekly basis, I can feel it in myself on a daily basis. But on a weekly basis, when I do my one-to-one sessions, often my clients will be just going, oh, I just want to lie down today. You know, a bit like how I'm feeling. And it's incredible when we do some sessions Movement in the shoulders. We release the tension. We'll do our check-in first. Movement in the shoulders. Tension releasing. Swinging. Anything swinging from the midline of the body. Gently swinging the arms and the legs. I've just hit my microphone there. Jumping up and down. Shifting the energy. Lion's breath. Some dynamic breath. And before you cat-cow, getting the spine moving, before you know it, that person's mood at the end of the session is entirely different. Suddenly they have zest for life, motivation. They're like, yeah, oh. It's like literally putting on a different suit of yourself. And it's miraculous. It's simple. It's miraculous. To be honest, it's an absolute privilege and a joy to be able to help people do that. I'm sharing this with you today because I think a lot of people don't see the simplicity of it, especially when it comes to yoga. Stretching, moving the body, using the breath can literally transform you. transform your mood, transform your thinking, transform your emotions. And another huge part of this is the allowing. So we've looked at asana, moving, stretching the body, using the breath. Another big part of this is yoga creates this beautiful cradle, this space just for you. It's a space of allowing and accepting. So when you come and you sit on your mat, whether you're with a yoga teacher, your yoga teacher in person, or you do an online practice, or even a group, you know, public class, whatever it may be, or you're practicing on your own, you come to that yoga mat and that is a safe space for you to just be you. and to allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling in that moment. How beautiful is that? How simple is that? And how often do you actually allow yourself to do that? Most of us are so busy running around, being a mum, working, being a wife, being a lover, being a friend, doing this, doing that, Smashing it in the gym, getting your steps in, trying to look amazing every day, you know, literally doing all the things. I know some people that just, myself included sometimes, just so overwhelmed that when they allow themselves to just sit and be, everything comes out. Few tears, bit of a cry, bit of a deep breath. And then they feel so much better. So having this container of your practice is really essential for our well-being. It's really essential for also transforming our energy because unless you know what's going on at the outset, how can you transform it? So there has to be a degree of recognition, and a degree of connection with your inner self, a degree of self-observation, self-awareness, to tune in, okay, what is happening? How am I feeling? You don't even really need to go into the why. That can come later. but what is happening in this moment, what is happening right here in the present. And once you feel it, acknowledge it, allow it, give it space to breathe, ooh, then the magic can happen. When we don't allow, when we suppress, when we push it to the back, my brother who has... experienced or has PTSD from from his work talked about putting things in a backpack on his back you know instead of dealing with it he would put it in a backpack until one day the backpack got so heavy he couldn't go on anymore and he had to put it down and pour out all the contents so we have to we can't lots of people do when you suppress your feelings and your emotions without acknowledging them and without allowing them to flow through you, then you're really just filling up a backpack that one day is gonna have to be put down. When you haven't expressed your emotion intellectually through talking, the next stage is, and you suppress those emotions, the next stage is the body will start talking to you. So many people get ill, have weird rashes, have strange aches and pains, hives, you know, all digestive upsets is a massive one. And that was very true for me. I've had irritable bowel syndrome since I was a kid. And that was unresolved trauma that I had suppressed. And it flared up again when I was in a very difficult abusive relationship. So your body then starts shouting at you, saying, come on, you haven't listened to me when I've told you through the heart and the mind. Now I need you to listen to me physically. Now I need you to really, really listen. And that's where people start to get some strange symptoms, strong symptoms. So, yoga is a key practice for maintaining your emotional mental well-being as well as your physical. It's absolutely key. It gives you that safe space. And maybe you also have a therapist on the side. Amazing. Do it. I do. I highly recommend that to anybody. But you also need to be able to give yourself that container, that safe space to be. to allow those emotions to flow through you, to allow them space, you won't have all the answers, and that's okay. There's a degree of, and there's an element of faith and trust in yourself, and if you're spiritual and you have a deep spiritual practice, there's an element of faith and trust in the divine that you are held by something bigger and stronger than you. This could be a deity of your choice, if you're religious, very, very personal and subjective. So really important to have that container. So I can't emphasise enough really, as simple as it can be to sit and practice these ancient, ancient practices that have been around for thousands and thousands of years and some of them are so simple. Sitting, observing the breath, noticing the sensations in your body, focusing the mind, allowing... stretching, moving, all of these things have a profound effect on our energy, internally, externally, our emotions, how we feel. so what else I haven't mentioned the vagus nerve so this was a huge part of my kundalini global teacher training that I did with Carolyn Cowan and you'll hear me talk about her quite a lot because it was a really fascinating training and I really learned so much that when we stretch and open up the front of the body and again I think I'll talk more about this in another episode on the nervous system because it's absolutely fascinating and again I'm not an expert but I can share what I know from my experience in my trainings. is that the vagus nerve really controls our sense of well-being in the body. So anything that switches on or tones the vagus nerve, which is a system that runs all throughout the whole body, is a good thing. So things like chanting. Chanting is a really fantastic practice. Again, another episode here. I'm going to talk all about my kirtan practice with you another time. Chanting is really good for the vagus nerve and stretching and opening through the front of the body. So there's so much, there is literally so much that yoga does and whenever anyone does any studies, whenever anyone starts their practice, they begin to realise there is so much more to it than meets the eye and so much more to the practice than yoga. unfortunately what we've distilled it down to in the western world which is stretching and leggings no no no definitely not so i wanted to finish off um i've got in front of me this beautiful book uh by ayanga bks ayanga you've heard of ayanga yoga who's an incredible yoga teacher His Light on Pranayama, The Definitive Guide to the Art of Breathing. I've got that in front of me and I'm just going to read you a little quote which I thought was really powerful in its simplicity and kind of sums up what I have just been talking about. Yoga systematically teaches man to search for the divinity within himself with thoroughness and efficiency. He unravels himself from the external body to the self within. He proceeds from the body to the nerves and from the nerves to the senses. From the senses he enters into the mind which controls the emotions. From the mind he penetrates into the intellect which guides reason. From the intellect, his path leads to the will and thence to consciousness, citta. The last stage is from consciousness to his self, his very being, atma. So my friends, so much to dive into, so many beautiful benefits. If you're not practising yoga already, now is the time. Now is is the time. Wishing you a really, really beautiful rest of your day and I'll speak to you again soon. Thank you so much for listening to the Be Still and Notice podcast. I really hope you enjoyed this episode and perhaps it even added something to your life. If you know someone that might benefit, please share this episode with them and of course a review would be so much appreciated. Please find all the information relating to this episode including relevant links in the show notes and until next time, sending you so much love and light. on your path to yoga.