Mindfulness for Everyday Life: Yoga Practice Off the Mat

What you practice on the mat, you take with you off the mat and into your life

When I first started practicing yoga in my 20s, I was in it for the physical benefits. I wanted strength, flexibility, and to stand on my hands with ease. What I wasn’t expecting was how much my life changed.

It started small. I noticed that after class I was less anxious. My breath was deeper, slower, and relaxed. I wasn’t in my usual New York City rush, but moved a bit easier, not just with mobility, but with calm. Although I had places to go, people to see, and things to do, I could get to them with less hurry. And it was okay.

My Type A-ness softened after class. It didn’t disappear, but the screaming taskmaster voice inside my head got quieter. She became kinder and more gentle. At first this would be short lived, but over the years, her voice became the norm.

It took me a while to see that what I practiced on the mat I took with me off the mat. The attention I paid to my poses I started to apply to my work. Eventually I began to apply it to myself in quiet moments. Sometimes I played with being fully aware of my hands while washing dishes, cutting vegetables, or combing out my son’s hair.

My ability to focus fully on one task at a time became challenged with the invention of smartphones and tablets. For me, I was very easily distracted by these gadgets, and I regret not putting them down sooner. But every time I came back to my yoga practice, the focus was there. The ability to be with one thing at a time and give it my full attention.

This was a learnable skill; I just had to remember to use it.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness means paying attention, noticing, and being present with what is happening right now. It means you aren’t multi-tasking (as that truly doesn’t exist), but are focused on what you are doing. Your mind and your body are working together toward the same goal, whatever that is.

You might be pulling weeds from your garden. You might be folding laundry. Maybe you are writing an essay for Substack. Maybe something else.

Your mind notices what you are doing, with all of your senses. Smell, touch, sight, sound, and perhaps taste, if you are eating. We take in information through our senses. Mindfulness helps you make note of that information. Memory and learning come from paying attention. When you’re distracted you don’t absorb the information in the same way.

How is one apple different from another? Can you taste, smell, see, feel the differences? Are you aware of these differences or are you simply eating?

When you garden, are you aware of your fingers in the dirt? What do the weeds feel like in your hands? When you run, are you aware of the breeze on your face? Or the ground beneath your feet? Or the feeling of sweat running down your face?

Mindfulness deepens your life experiences. It doesn’t change what happens, it opens your eyes to what’s happening and lets you feel all of it.

Yoga off the mat

Practicing yoga on the mat has taught me about my body, my mind, and myself. I have learned to “listen” to my body so that I know when to push myself harder, when to back off, and when to rest. I have learned what different sensations mean and what I need to do as a result of feeling them. I have learned to avoid injury by letting my body be the guide, rather than my ego.

My mind was not my friend for a lot of my life. I have learned that she was stuck in the many stories that I had created to survive my childhood, as we all do. I used to make myself smaller to make other people comfortable. If I can take up more space on my mat practicing Warrior 2, I can take up more space in the world.

I learned that I am allowed to take up space, and that speaking up for my own needs will not actually kill me. Although occasionally it still feels like it might. I can listen to my body, honor how I feel, and talk to myself like someone I love. This didn’t happen all at once. In fact, it took many years. But that is what practice is for.

If you keep showing up, on your mat, for yourself, shift happens. And the gift that yoga gives you is that you get to take that shift with you, into the rest of your day, and into the rest of your life.

Mindfulness for everyday

There are so many opportunities to practice Mindfulness every day, no yoga mat required.

• Every time you eat, pause between breaths to taste your food. Feel the sensation of your food against your teeth and tongue. Chew well, letting the flavor fully explode in your mouth. Before taking your next bite, notice if you are still hungry. If you are, take another bite. If you’re no longer hungry, you can save the rest of your food for later.
• When you drive, see the road. See the car in front of you. Take in your surroundings. Notice the houses you pass and the lines in the road. Feel your hands against the steering wheel. Notice the sounds around you. Feel your feet on the pedals or the floor. Observe your posture while you drive and how your body feels. Relax your shoulders and jaw.
• When you brush your teeth, feel each tooth that you brush. Feel your feet on the floor and breathe. Spend time with your eyes closed and your eyes open and see if that changes your experience. What happens when you brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand? Does it make you more mindful of your movements?

Mindfulness won’t fix everything that goes wrong in your life, but it can help you to face your challenges and not let them overwhelm you. Mindfulness keeps you in this moment, the one you have control over. It keeps you from flying to the future on the plane of “What ifs.” Practicing Mindfulness helps you stay here where you are.

Yoga on the mat

I teach yoga, both on and off the mat at Purple Room Yoga, an online yoga studio that caters to active adults over 50 who are looking to stay active for life. I can’t promise you that yoga will solve all of your problems, but I can promise that it will change how you feel.

Leave your mat feeling less anxious and more grounded. Stronger and more stable on your feet. Less stiff and more mobile. Aging has its challenges, but yoga helps you makes sense of them all, and accept yourself as you are.

Click the button to see the full schedule of live online classes. All classes can be taken on demand as well.