According to most people, the best technique in contemplating to do yoga is to concentrate and not to contemplate. What does this mean? Let us first define some important terms for you to understand this better. In the world of yoga, both yoga concentration and contemplation may be effortless; but the former must be learnt more in order to achieve full consciousness of oneself. Concentration helps one to move up into the meditative state.

When you do it effortlessly, you can focus your maximum attention towards something by using minimal brain effort. Thus, your desired activity will be seamlessly done. It will not be a conscious effort anymore but rather a flowing and natural reaction to certain stimulus.

Concentration and Contemplation

When you concentrate, you focus; you are fixed. When you contemplate, you think; you are conscious. Concentration is a natural flow reaction, while contemplation is a conscious stream of response, whether internally or externally.

Just like in a relationship, when you love someone, you are focused on that one single person and she becomes your center of attention; hence, effortlessly, you do things for her that even you cannot even fathom.

This is not aggressive, rather, it is something that is pure from the heart which sparks up the connection of souls that speak to each other. In yoga, concentration is practicing your willpower.

It should not cause you a headache because if it did, then you are using your brain instead of your heart. Effortless concentration helps one focused as long as he wants. On the other hand, contemplation is knowing what the present is all about.

You become aware of what is happening to you at that current moment. Concentration will eventually come but observation of oneself and the world around you is the initial step.

Although concentration and contemplation are being compared in achieving real meditation, it does not hurt if you will do them both. Now if you are thinking of starting yoga today, here are some things that may help you in your decision-making.

Yoga amidst the Pandemic

More than anything else, mental health remains the most important thing in our survival especially nowadays. Being confined at our homes because of fear of being infected with the virus adds up to our anxiety, we become uncertain of what the future holds, thereby increasing our stress.

Now to counterbalance this, one of the things that we may do is to practice yoga at home. It helps in our overall health system. You can even find this as an opportunity to bond with your other household members.

Best Yoga Techniques for You

In doing your workout, you may consider adding up a yoga technique to make your session more enjoyable.

These techniques are complimentary in nature with regard to the actual execution of yoga postures, be it for beginners, intermediate, or advanced practitioners. This sums up the importance of concentration and contemplation in yoga.

We have come up with techniques which you can do for yourself. Here are they:

Meditation

This is quite challenging because this technique gives your mind a single object to focus on instead of jumping from one though to another. If you do this repetitively, you be will be able to achieve a calm state.

Relaxation

Here, you may do abdominal or belly breathing. Afterwards, you may focus on one part of your body and release the tension there. Think of something that is soothing to help you relax and focus.

Note: This may be less helpful to someone who had a recent surgery which affects his body image and thought process.

Deep breathing

This will not take a lot of your time. It relieves tension especially in your chest and face by using your pursed lip or belly. You may also choose a focus word that makes you feel relaxed.

Posture

This is very helpful especially nowadays that sitting becomes the new “smoking” as they are now having the same impact to one’s health, albeit the “real smoking” is on the negative side. In this technique, you may use equipment like yoga blocks. If you are having a difficult time to decide which pose to prefer, you may opt for the plank pose which is a basic one. This is useful in developing your core strength.

Movement of joints

Here, you have to challenge your joints in target. Concentration and contemplation may play a vital role here for the needed execution. Stretch moderately to avoid ripping sensation.

To be more specific, here are some other yoga concentration methods that you may as well consider:

Hong-Sau

This means “I am He”. It is done when doing inhaling and exhaling. As the next breath comes in, mentally say “Hong”, and “Sau” when you exhale.

Aum

This is a scientific technique. Aum is considered as an aspect of God, specifically, the divine vibration of the universe. Hence, this technique trains you to perceive or hear this vibration.

Never forget to identify your intention in doing yoga. This will certainly help you in choosing what technique fits you best. Your intention must not necessarily be enlightenment, although it may be one of the objectives.

It can be anything that you want to develop such as gaining strength, managing stress, becoming more mindful, or any other reasons that you have in your heart.

Personal Experience

As a matter of personal experience, doing yoga really helps a lot in forming one’s focus. At first, I strived hard to do every movement. While I started with beginner friendly poses, still, there may be gradual transitions that you could not possibly execute because of the sheer stiffness of your body or the foreign position that you are instructing your muscles and joints to do.

As I go along my yoga journey, I realized that whenever there is a difficult pose that I about to undertake, first, I would mentally focus on the idea that “I can do this but it will have to be slowly.”

Those who initially embarked with yoga practice, I am sure went through this.

Hence, concentration may the key to unlock your inner will and inner strength to proceed and continue with yoga. Admittedly, it may be daunting at its inception, but as we go along, we will know that our hardships will pay off.

Bear also in mind, just like the saying goes, “no pain, no gain”. It applies to all. It is a universal dogma. There are no shortcuts towards attainment of better health, much less, better life. Sacrifices, and accepting the same, are the key.

I can say that I sacrificed to achieve the execution of yoga posture that I eventually desire. While it may not be as perfect as others can easily do, I am confident to say that I am comfortable already, unlike from the time when I really struggled.

Now, as we have discussed, in the yoga discipline, elevating your concentration skills will necessarily and enhance your will power, and that is the determination to succeed.

Contemplation, though, is awareness. You will also need that to promote the balance between effortless focus and seamless yoga performance.

Try yoga. I believe it will help you, both mentally and physically, in the same manner that it has done to me and to my well-being.

Final thoughts

Yoga is one of the best exercises that has been offered to the world. It dates back to ancient time, and has a spiritual evolution going to fitness adaptation at some point and at some level. While still regarded as a meditative exercise, we now know that not only it benefits the mind, but the body as well, thus, promoting over-all fitness and well-being.

The good thing about yoga is that, while it maintains its core attributes, it metamorphosize into a physical activity or workout that everybody or anyone can endeavor to engage into.

Yoga is a work in progress within your self but a lifetime boon in having the objective of attaining your optimal self.