How do you define self-awareness? Is self-awareness important to your success? To put it simply, self-awareness is becoming aware of what you do and why you do it. In order to achieve your goals, you need to be conscious of the things that work for you in your life and also the things that don’t work. “Life is not about the goals you have achieved; it’s about who did you have to become to achieve them and what kind of impact did you make along the way” (Willard Barth).
Practicing yoga on a regular basis becomes a way for many people to develop their self-awareness. Yoga brings health, harmony, and endorphin-rich happiness to many and it helps others simply live their daily life. Yoga allows one to make a connection to becoming more aware of the small choices they make everyday and how those choices affect them, their community and the world around them. Whether your intention is to take better care of your body, help others more or live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, yoga helps you make positive changes that ground you in self-awareness.
Here are some other ways to increase your self-awareness (Charity Ferreira, Yoga Journal):
1. Shift Your Perspective: Break out of your regular routine and try something different whether it is a new food or a new style of yoga you have not tried before. Notice how this simple change affects you.
2. Waste Not: Make one day of your week a ‘free of disposable products’ day. Use reusable containers for your lunch, bring your own water bottle to your yoga class, use reusable grocery bags. Pay attention to what you consume and throw out in that day. Becoming aware of what you thrown out will allow you to continue to make changes on a daily basis.
3. Restore Health and Happiness: Take the time devote one yoga practice throughout your week for restorative practice. Sit quietly and take a few minutes to connect with your breath and include gentle stretches. It becomes a great way to revitalized yourself and develop a deep sense of self-awareness.
4. Experience Silence: Take some time to sit in silence – even a 10-minute tea break. Taking the time to simply sit and notice the noises around, the movements of other people, allows you to become deeply rested and you will appreciate your surrounding even more.
Carolyn
