Everything we experience through our senses we “eat” or take into ourselves. Just as we try to make healthy nutritional choices, we can also use discernment in all our tastes – the books we read, movies we see and company we keep. Our work and home environments impact us as deeply as the quality of our food and water. In all aspects of life, yoga seeks to create helpful impressions and diminish those that harm.

   All that we see, hear, taste, smell and touch leaves an impression upon us. We are even more strongly imprinted by our thoughts, words and actions. In yoga, the patterns created by our experience are called samskaras. Samskaras are mental imprints, accumulated impressions or subliminal activators. These unconscious propensities can be positive or negative. Yoga helps bring deeply rooted patterns into the light of consciousness, so we can discard those that no longer serve us, and create positive impressions in their place. Ultimately, the yogic practitioner attempts to clear away all past impressions, creating the freedom to respond freshly and spontaneously in each moment.

   A wonderful meal of fresh, deliciously prepared food leaves an impression different from that of fast food. Rushing to work with angry shouts at other drivers creates the habit of irritation, while calmly breathing through the traffic jams imprints serenity. Whatever we think, say or do we will tend to repeat. All our experiences create patterns that will consciously or unconsciously direct our behavior. For this reason, yoga recommends that we practice mindfulness and discrimination. Mindfulness allows us to observe our habits and reactions with detachment. Discrimination lets us decide what is to be cultivated and what is to be avoided.

   Sitting all day at the computer can leave an imprint of heaviness and rounded shoulders. If we do a yoga posture, it creates a fresh impression of extension, peace and refreshment. We have cut through the habit of slumping and created a new pattern. The more we practice yoga, the more likely we are to bring its lessons into everyday life and how we sit, stand and walk. When we improve our physical condition, we feel calmer and less tied to old reactions.

   Changing mental and emotional patterns is difficult, because they are subtle and deeply ingrained. Therefore, yoga begins with the body, moving from the outer to the inner, from the gross to the subtle. As we learn to change physical patterns, we also begin to change mental and emotional ruts that limit us.

   A fundamental principle of yoga that helps us cut through old patterns is called pratyahara, or withdrawal of the senses. In the deep relaxation of Savasana (Corpse Pose), awareness is directed within and the nervous system is soothed. Savasana is the practice of relaxed awareness while remaining still and silent. It provides a unique opportunity to take a break from sensory stimulation and habitual thoughts. All yoga postures – and especially Savasana – help us to clear away old patterns, and create a lasting impression of peace and contentment.

Karen Allgire, MFA, RYT, is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor. She has been teaching dance and movement since 1983 and yoga since 1998. Karen is co-director of Green Tara Yoga & Healing Arts in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Vist her website at www.greentarayoga.com. You can reach her at info@greentarayoga.com or (216) 382-0592.

Photo of Evamarie Pilipuf courtesy of Tree of Fitness, Inc., www.treeoffitness.com.