Yoga and Body as Portal to self-development: A Coach's Perspective'
Embodiment Yoga is different!
If Yoga does not improve your life, so what's the point?!
Hm?
How healthy I need to be?
Yoga today is strongly associated with an obsession with health and beauty. Of course, health is essential for a fulfilling life, but in modern yoga, this focus is often given too much attention—at the expense of other, equally important aspects. In doing so, common sense is sometimes simply ignored.
Yoga can certainly enhance our well-being, and although I have found other practices more effective for developing athleticism and yoga also carries some health risks, it is fundamentally "good for you." Surely, no one is seriously opposed to health, and we all know that yoga can support it.
Another key point that makes yoga yoga and sets it apart from mere fitness training is the mindfulness aspect.
It has been proven to have great benefits in dealing with stress - and hardly anyone would dispute that. I am by no means against beauty, but I do see it as problematic that yoga is increasingly influenced by consumer culture and its distorted ideals of beauty.
Yoga and the influence of consumption culture
When yoga entered the mainstream, it became integrated into the mechanisms of the advertising and beauty industry. Modern yoga practices are often neurotically geared towards a materialistic, middle-class lifestyle, where a perpetual pursuit of greater well-being is seen as a status symbol. However, this is only a poor substitute for what yoga is really about: insight, meaning and making a contribution to life. Yes, yoga can make us more radiant and attractive - but let's not get caught up in self-obsession, vanity or the pursuit of validation through manipulated body images on social media.
Ego. Ego. Ego.
Chögyam Trungpa coined the term “spiritual materialism” to describe the egocentric use of spiritual methods. Unfortunately, this term often applies to modern yoga.
Instead of truly transforming us, yoga often becomes another means of keeping up appearances and strengthening the ego.
Of course, there are also numerous yogis who maintain their practice quietly and away from the hype, and I would like to acknowledge that at this point. Many of us who have been practicing yoga for a while are tired of the monotonous images of the same slim women that fill the yoga magazines these days. If you take a quick look at Google images for a major yoga magazine, you'll quickly understand what I mean.
Transformation and Yoga's true value
While many still flock to yoga studios to sculpt the “perfect” body, many others are searching for something deeper. They feel betrayed by the spiritual promises of yoga and have found only fitness and superficiality instead. In recent years, these very people are beginning to form their own “tribes” - groups that are looking for a deeper, more authentic practice. The answer to this need can be found in Embodied Yoga Principles (EYP)
Curious?
Yoga offers the potential for deep transformation - not only on a physical, but also on an emotional and mental level. As a somatic coach and body psychologist in training, I see the great value of embodiment in the safe practice space in which we practise and try things out with guidance and feedback. In my practice, the focus is less on external perfection and more on coherence and inner resonance (biofeedback). On how we can better understand and embody our inner world, our body and our emotions.
Somatic Coaching und Bodypsychotherapy
Somatic coaching and body psychology offer an approach that goes far beyond physical fitness. It is about using the body as a mirror of our inner world and transforming old patterns and blockages through embodiment. In contrast to conventional coaching or psychotherapy, which often takes place on a mental level, somatic approaches focus on the body and make it possible to resolve deep-seated issues, which often cannot be grasped purely cognitively, through movement and conscious bodywork. This type of work can help us to transform ourselves from the inside out and develop a deeper understanding of ourselves. As a coach, I work with my clients to not only improve their quality of life through mindful bodywork and somatic techniques, but also to create more awareness of their own needs and potential. Yoga can be a valuable tool here, but only if it goes beyond a pure focus on health and aesthetics.
The body as a gateway to self-development
In body psychotherapy, we learn that the body is an essential gateway to emotional and mental health. The way we experience and use our body influences our entire being. Yoga and somatic techniques offer a way to connect with ourselves on a deeper level, enabling transformation. Through mindful bodywork, we come to feel and perceive ourselves. This allows us to anchor ourselves in life in an authentic way.
My clients report that they not only grow physically through somatic practices, but also emotionally and mentally. They feel more energy, clarity and connection with themselves and their environment. This holistic approach offers an alternative view of yoga and its role in our lives: less focus on the outer form, more focus on the inner journey.
So what?!
Headstand, handstand... and?
This brings me to the central question: “If yoga doesn't improve your life, what's the point?”. Is it really so important to master the perfect handstand if it offers no real added value for everyday life? For me, the value of yoga - and also of somatic coaching - lies in the change it can bring about in daily life. Whether it's managing stress better, having healthier relationships or simply living more authentically and present, yoga should positively impact our lives and help us become the best versions of ourselves. So practicing a handstand is not the goal in itself, but rather a means to learn more about ourselves, expand our boundaries and transform ourselves.
To be continued...
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