With humility, I want to share my experience of initially finding yoga to be boring and time-consuming. The detailed instructions provided by yoga teachers made the practice feel like a tedious 90-minute "snooze-fest" or a game of "Simon says." For eight years, I approached yoga with a sense of impatience, eagerly awaiting the end of each session.
At that time, I was unaware that many people enter into yoga with similar feelings of boredom. I failed to recognize that yoga was designed to elevate our mental state and free us from obsessive thinking. The practice of meditation in yoga and other similar disciplines aims to liberate our minds from the constant chatter that causes us pain and suffering.
As I delved deeper into yoga philosophy, I realized that it wasn't as mystical as I had initially believed. In fact, the root knowledge of modern psychology stems from ancient philosophies such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Greek and Roman Stoic Philosophy, and our ancient, earth-honoring ancestral teachings from all over the world.
I came to understand that the true value of a consistent yoga practice extended beyond physical fitness. It became a tool for healing my mind from the anxieties accumulated through life's experiences.
When I stepped onto my yoga mat, I had to confront my boredom and recognize that it wasn't yoga itself that was dull; it was the incessant traffic of thoughts in my mind. Whether positive or negative, these thoughts became the source of my boredom. Realizing this, I understood that the path to overcoming boredom was to practice being fully present in the moment. Any thought other than the breath, the posture, the teacher's guidance, or the energy in the room was merely a distraction, offering no value in that particular moment.
Learning to let go of thoughts, without attachment, allowed me to experience the exhilaration of being fully present. The joy of being alive and engaging in yoga in the present moment was profound. Taking a break from the ceaseless thought processes of my mind, both natural and self-created, became a source of relaxation, joy, and enlightenment.
I recognize that yoga postures may not resonate with everyone, but I use this practice as an example to highlight an essential mental exercise. It involves immersing oneself in the most mundane tasks and practicing presence within them. By embracing the task at hand and striving to be the best in that moment, we can cultivate mindfulness. This practice entails staying focused on the breath, noticing when the mind wanders into other moments, negative thinking, future plans, or past mistakes, and gently redirecting our attention back to the breath and the present activity. Through this exercise, we develop mental focus and make boredom an impossibility.