Centering Yourself before Yoga Practice

Yoga literally means ‘to join,’ or ‘to yoke,’ or ‘to unite.’ Yoga texts discuss how the practice leads to the union of universal consciousness with individual consciousness. Yoga practice harmonizes mind, body, and spirit.

Sounds like we shouldn’t show up to yoga distracted, scattered, or in a rush, right?

How do we get ready to practice yoga? What do we do to focus ourselves? How do we pay attention to the body, the stretches, and the class?

Coming Present

In our hurried, technological world, we can feel rushed. Even distracted. It can be difficult to pay attention. Hard to stay “in the moment.”

One thing we can learn from our yoga practice is how to center ourselves. We can increase our ability to stay present. Or, rather, to pay attention.

A way that yoga helps us do this is through the breath. When we focus on the breath, watching the full inhale and full exhale, it’s difficult to pay attention to other things. When we feel the body breathing, we are in the moment.

Anytime we get distracted during yoga class, we can come back to the breath. It’s always with us. Always there. So, just release whatever is distracting you and return your awareness back to your breathing.

Some say that yoga is like a moving meditation. Because when we’re focusing on our breath, we’re “meditating” in that very moment. We might be stretching and moving our bodies. But we are paying attention, with focus, to our breathing.

Setting Intention

Another way we can center ourselves before practicing yoga is through intention. Oftentimes, yoga instructors will ask students to set an intention for their practice.

This could be a word. A feeling… how you’d like to feel walking out of the class. Maybe it’s a personal mantra or affirmation. Or maybe it’s just your “why” for that particular day of class.

You could set a personal intention for yourself and how you’d like to feel after yoga. Or you could set an intention for a class for someone else, dedicating your practice to them.

An intention is something that can give you purpose. It’s an object of offering. The intention might even be considered the outcome of attention.

So, again, rather than rushing into yoga and feeling completely distracted throughout your entire class, why not focus in on a purpose. A reason. The why of why you’re there.

Grounding Ourselves

If breathwork or intentions don’t work for you, another practice you might consider is called grounding.

Grounding ourselves (during yoga or outside of class) literally means feeling the physicality of our bodies in the present time and space. Lots of yoga instructors cue students to feel the bottom of their feet grounded into the mat.

By bringing our full attention to the bottom of our feet, we can’t be up in our heads. In our thoughts. The clouds of past or future.

Feeling the feet, noticing how they’re connected to the mat, and sending every bit of our attention to that place helps us pay attention to what we’re doing. So, if you’re ever stuck in thought and completely unable to get out of your head, you might consider grounding yourself by focusing in on the feet planted wherever they are.

Translating Yoga into the Real World

Distraction is common. We’ve got a lot on our minds. There are people we take care of. Jobs we do. Things we need to accomplish.

We’re often worrying about the past or fretting over what might happen in the future. Many of us live in our past/future heads that we miss the reality of what’s actually happening in the here and now.

This is where our yoga practice can support us in the “real world.”

By setting an intention before class, centering ourselves before we practice, and using our breath moment by moment during a sequence, we are literally strengthening our focus and attention muscles. Practicing these things, time after time, increases our ability to stay present.

We can enjoy heightened concentration, less distraction, more meaningful relationships, and calmer emotions. Centering, breathwork, intentions, or grounding are all great practices to get in the habit of trying. You don’t even have to be in yoga class to do these things. Try them during your daily life and see how they impact you.

What else? What else helps you focus? What do you do when you’re feeling distracted? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

And, of course, we’d love to see you in a future class! Check out our yoga schedule and sign up for a future program.

About the Author: Elizabeth Scala MSN/MBA, RN, RYT (200) is a holistic nurse, registered yoga instructor, and reiki master.

Elizabeth received her dual master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. She is a certified coach, nature lover, and avid meditator.

Elizabeth lives in Maryland with her supportive husband and playful pups. She enjoys gardening, jigsaw puzzles, baking, music, and hiking.