By Bella Brinkerhoff
“Yoga is not just repetation of few postures - it is more about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life.”
Recently in my yoga class, I've noticed numerous conceptual similarities between the practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation. As the teacher guides us through the session, it resembles the structured mindfulness meditations that I’ve grown to love. At the start of each class, she prompts us to introspect and decide on a focus for the day. Throughout the session, she directs our attention to our breath, synchronizing our inhales and exhales with our movements. When we engage in "binds" — positions where our limbs intertwine — we reflect on the symbolic binds within our minds that may impede our progress. Towards the end of every session, we recline into savasana, also known as corpse pose, and concentrate on clearing our minds, breathing deeply from the diaphragm, and scanning our bodies for any areas of tension.
For those who are not familiar with mindfulness, it can be described as present-moment awareness with acceptance. This practice can take various forms, including meditation, mindful eating or walking, and any other daily activity that incorporates nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the Mindfulness Module, “What is Mindfulness?”. Similarly, yoga serves an internal purpose but also integrates a physical aspect, bringing together the body, mind, and soul. Could yoga be considered a form of mindfulness that incorporates movement and engages the body or is it something completely different that stems from the same source? To answer this question, we might dive deeper into the origins of mindfulness and yoga.
Mindfulness as the practice it is today can trace its roots back hundreds of years to Hinduism and Buddhism (Selva, 2017). In Hinduism, influences can be seen in Vedic meditation, with its teaching on cultivating peace and deep focus, and Bhagavad Gita’s writings about yoga and how to turn the mind inward to detach from the material world (Selva, 2017). In Buddhism, the central purpose is to attain enlightenment and mindfulness is taught as the first step (Selva, 2017). These influences were brought into Western cultures and combined with scientific research to produce the popular method of stress reduction we have today.
Yoga originates from Eastern culture, with the term "yoga" derived from Sanskrit, meaning "to bind together or to concentrate" (Garfinkel & Schumacher, 2000). Over time, it has evolved to signify the process of uniting the body and mind with the soul. Initially, yoga was designed to prepare the body and mind for stillness and meditation (Garfinkel & Schumacher, 2000). Thus, yoga may serve as a form of meditation and mindfulness as well as a segue to those practices. Additionally, my instructor has pointed out that yoga includes many hip-opening and core-strengthening poses, specifically aimed at preparing a suitable seat for meditation.
Although yoga originated as an oral tradition passed down through generations, Patanjali is widely recognized as the "Father of Yoga" for compiling these oral teachings into The Yoga Sutras (Garfinkel & Schumacher, 2000). Within these Sutras, Patanjali defines yoga as "that which restrains the thought process and makes the mind serene." He also outlines the eight limbs of yoga, which represent the way of life of those who follow a spiritually enlightening path of discipline. To illustrate the similarities and differences between mindfulness and yoga, let us briefly examine each of these limbs alongside the principles of mindfulness meditation where applicable.
Yamas comprise the first limb, guiding individuals in their interactions with the world. Ahimsa (non-harming) urges us to uplift others, akin to loving-kindness metta meditations, fostering a hope for others' freedom from suffering (Hofmann, 2011; Sharma, 2021). Satya (truthfulness) involves presenting one's authentic self, asteya (non-stealing) is the respect for others' time and energy and brahmacharya (abstinence) refers to the mindful management of sexual energy (Sharma, 2021). Each of these aspects contribute to the interconnectedness and interdependence in mindfulness, by simply being mindful of oneself and others. Aparigraha (non-hoarding) embodies trust in sufficiency and the transient nature of possessions (Sharma, 2021), aligning perfectly with mindfulness’s acceptance of experiences. As one is aware of the flow of money, goods, and happiness in and out of their life and accepts it completely, they are practicing mindfulness.
The next limb, Niyamas, focuses on self-discipline. Saucha (cleanliness) extends to cleanliness of one’s body, mind, and space, including positive thoughts about the self and others (Sharma, 2021). Much like the meditation techniques of clearing one’s mind, yoga calls for the cleanliness of the entirety of oneself. Santosha (contentment) involves finding peace with the present circumstances (Sharma, 2021), akin to the earlier-discussed mindfulness principle of acceptance. Tapas (heat) acknowledges the challenges of mastery, encouraging persistence, akin to enduring discomfort in mindfulness meditation. Svadhyaya (self-knowledge) involves introspection, similar to observing inner thoughts in mindfulness. And lastly, ishvarapranidhana (full surrender to the divine) emphasizes letting go of control (Sharma, 2021), reflecting mindfulness's acceptance of the present moment, irrespective of religious beliefs.
The third and fourth limbs are asana, the physical postures in yoga, and pranayama, breath control (Sharma, 2021). The physical poses and movements are probably the most obvious difference between yoga and mindfulness meditation, but breath control is one that they certainly have in common. Mindfulness uses the observation of breath, and sometimes its coordination with movement or counts, to bring awareness to the present moment (Keng et al., 2011). The fifth limb, pratyahara, is the withdrawal of sense to journey inward (Sharma, 2021). This is almost the exact opposite of mindfulness, which directs the awareness to the senses and away from the self to the moment that one is experiencing. Interestingly, an aspect of mindfulness is “interoception” or the sensory awareness of one’s own body in that moment in time (Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020). The sixth and seventh limbs are dharana - concentration, and dhyana - meditation (Sharma, 2021), both correlating with mindfulness in previously discussed applications of mindfulness meditation and focus on the present. The eighth and final limb of yoga is samadhi or enlightenment, which is the being of mindfulness as it represents the ability to indefinitely stay in the present moment.
In examining the vast overlap between the modern practice of mindfulness meditation and the ancient teachings of yoga, it is evident that they are two pathways that reach towards the same goal. What yoga calls enlightenment, positive psychology calls mindfulness, but both allow one to focus on and accept the present moment.
If you would like to experiment with the meditative side of yoga, watch this video and follow along with a guided savasana meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1j3erpSErE&ab_channel=YOGAUPLOADwithMarisAylward
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self”
References
Garfinkel, M., & Schumacher, H. R. (2000). Yoga. Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, 26(1), 125-132. https://10.1016/S0889-857X(05)70126-5
Hofmann, S. G. (2011). Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: Potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176989/
Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011, August). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical psychology review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3679190/
Pandurangi, A. K., Keshavan, M. S., Ganapathy, V., & Gangadhar, Bengaluru. N. (2017, January 1). Yoga: Past and present. American Journal of Psychiatry. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16080853
Schuman-Olivier, Z., Trombka, M., Lovas, D. A., Brewer, J. A., Vago, D. R., Gawande, R., Dunne, J. P., Lazar, S. W., Loucks, E. B., & Fulwiler, C. (2020). Mindfulness and behavior change. Harvard review of psychiatry. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7647439/
Sharma, M. (2021, July 7). A decolonized guide to the 8 limbs of yoga. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/the-8-limbs-of-yoga
Selva, J. (2017, March 13). The history and origins of mindfulness. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/history-of-mindfulness/