A World of Wonder
Photo courtesy of Frank Greenagel
Balancing self-study with cosmic awareness.
Yoga as a cognitive experience is one of self-study. In Yoga Odyssey classes, students turn their focus inward and practice tuning out external distractions by bringing awareness to the emotions and sensations felt in the body. Introspection is an important aspect of social, mental and physical health. But emerging literature about emotions and health indicates that people should balance self-analysis with its opposite: Awe.
Yoga creates a buffer against fear, stress and negative self-talk. Yoga Odyssey classes include mindfulness, goal-oriented movement and detachment, all of which help yoga students shift into a state of introspection. It’s in this relaxed state that people reprogram their behaviors, beliefs and biology. But too much of anything is, well, too much. When a person spends too much time self-reflecting, they may become overly preoccupied with analyzing, fixing or healing themselves. Some teachers refer to this as spiritual narcissism—the obsession with bettering oneself.
Is a yoga class an awesome experiencce?
As a person studies themself, they also need to study the environment. Many yoga students mistake a sweaty, hot yoga class for an awe-some experience. Sure, the energy of a community moving together or the thrill of a handstand can feel quite powerful. But these experiences are more likely moments of connection, peace or satisfaction. True awe is the sense of being in the presence of something vast—much bigger and grander than the individual self. When a person feels wonderstruck, the experience expands their worldview beyond what the rational mind can comprehend. Like, how wide is the sky? Awe therefore requires extrospection: Shifting attention away from oneself to contemplate the surrounding world.
Awe-inspiring experiences aren’t exclusively life-changing or enlightening experiences. Yoga students can experience wonder in the everyday—on a cliffside hike, witnessing a random act of kindness, watching clouds roll across a blue sky or simply meditating on the depth of the ocean or the size of the galaxy. Regardless of how you’re astonished, the benefits are considerable. The body responds to awe differently than other positive emotions such as joy, hope or love. Awe changes a person’s tone of voice, as well as their facial expressions. Scientists found that awe activates the vagus nerve, slowing down a person’s heart rate, deepening their breath and facilitating digestion. People experience these same benefits in yoga, too. The critical difference, however, is often overlooked—the absence of self-related thought.
Yoga students need to feel wonder.
Awe detaches people from themselves and their communities. It reframes an individual in a much larger context: That we’re a tiny speck of a person in a little town called Somerville in a small state named New Jersey in an infinitely large universe of trillions of stars and planets. It’s a humbling realization that helps us think abstractly. Awesome experiences connect us to humanity as a whole and to the preciousness of the present moment. Instead of getting stuck in an all-too-tempting state of self-preoccupation, people should strive to balance introspection with extrospection everyday.
In Yoga Odyssey classes this month, let’s encourage each other to seek awe. To place ourselves in a state of mind that transcends the “I” and even the “we,” and notice the fulfillment that creates. One of our Yoga Odyssey students, Frank Greenagel II, did something pretty awe-some recently. Take a look at his photos below.
“Over two weekends, I hiked 15 mountains to finish the winter 46 in the Adirondacks. Only about a thousand people have ever done all 46 in the winter. The last few hikes were incredibly long, usually over 20 miles and 6,000 ft of elevation. My work with Yoga Odyssey has really improved my hiking ability. Next up Patagonia.”
