Energy follows Attention

This is a law of the universe of which I am quite fond. I make this point often in class: wherever you direct your attention in life is where you are going to go. If you are dealing with an injury and you put your attention into learning about the injury, doing workshops, asking teachers questions and spending time on your yoga mat, you are going to heal the injury. If you are making lifestyle changes and putting your energy into activities that will foster this change, the change will become a reality.

Yoga also affords us the opportunity to hone in on what thoughts we are putting energy into and where are placing our attention. If we feed into positive thinking, our life will breed positive vibes. So what do you do when you realize you are feeding negative thinking? First of all, congratulate yourself, because the first step to change is awareness that there is pain. The next step is to become non-judgmentally aware of these thoughts, learn to watch them and notice how your body reacts to them. It is important to not judge yourself because falling into judgments worsens the matter and creates further self loathing.

We have an incredible ability to rationalize and ignore where we put our energy—I catch myself doing it all the time. Be mindful of where you are placing your attention and begin noticing whether the results of your attention will be constructive or destructive to your state of peace. Wiser life choices arise by continually refining your attention. Yoga is the art of paying attention.