Are you on autopilot?

I had this wonderful conversation with a friend yesterday about how yoga teaches us to be mindful. Yes, in addition to increased strength, flexibility and balance, yoga can help to create better awareness of your body and your everyday life. How is that possible some may question. It's simple and quite complex as the same time. When you first begin yoga, you may focus only on the physicalities....what you can do with ease, which poses challenge you, which poses scare you. You may find yourself questioning, "Are backs really meant to bend that way?" ;-)

As a yoga teacher I want my students to learn how their body moves, to test their limits without overstepping their boundaries. In class we're talking about moving the breath, straightening your legs and arms, extending your spine then twisting, exhaling to release stress and tension from your body. There's a lot going on. All this strengthening, stretching and flexing eventually teaches you how to be awake and alive in your body, then eventually your life. You become more mindful of how your living your life. This doesn't mean that you're perfect and never make mistakes. However, you aren't stuck on cruise control or autopilot....going through the same (e)motions day in and day out. You're traveling down the road and you can feel the sun on your face, taking notice of the changing colors of the trees, feeling like this is the best drive ever.....even if you take the same route everyday. That's gotta count for something :-)