CHAPTER 12: YogA PRACTiCE To CulTiVATE THE SElf off THE mAT • 283hand on your belly. This not only allows you to feel your deep breaths in and out, but also shows that
you have control over your breathing. When you have control of your breath, there is a good chance
you will be able to manage how your brain reacts when it is trying to solve a problem or make a deci-
sion. We are all better able to feel and think with our brains when we are relaxed. When we are relaxed,
both the thinking and the feeling parts of the brain have enough room and energy to work their best!
Now, the feeling and thinking parts of the brain are ready to work together. You can help them work
together by imagining just how they would do so.
Another way to think about how our brain works is by using the Hot Soup model. Imagine a
freshly poured bowl of steaming hot soup. The soup spoon is right next to it, waiting to be lifted. You
might sprinkle some crackers or cheese into the soup, or eat it just how it is. It smells delicious, and
you can feel your mouth start to water at the sight of this delicious meal in front of you. The soup,
however, cannot be eaten just yet; it is piping hot. When we are upset, frustrated, anxious, or hurt
and are facing a problem to solve, our brain is just like hot soup: It is too hot and needs to be cooled
before we can eat it (or use it in the case of our brains). Nothing is wrong with the soup; it is still
going to be delicious and good for us, it just needs to cool down. Like the soup, when our brain is “too
hot,” or we are having strong feelings, it needs to be “cooled down” before acting or making decisions.
How can we cool our soup?
Our parents often tell us to “Wait a few minutes and it will cool off,” or “Blow on it.” The soup
needs TIME and AIR. This is exactly what the brain needs when it is wound up and ready to react:
TIME and AIR. Just like your soup, it is perfect, just too hot. So, we wait and we breathe. This way
the thinking and the feeling parts of our brain can work effectively together to help us make a good
choice.
There is a strategy that you can use that will help you make better choices in these types of situ-
ations. If you focus on your breath, just as we do when we practice our yoga or relaxation, you will
calm yourself and allow yourself time and space to make better decisions. You can work on letting
what you feel, what you think, what you say, and what you do be in harmony. That means that when
you start to feel a particular way, you are able to think about what may be causing the feeling and the
most effective way to react. Thinking about our feelings before acting is important, because if we act
only on feelings we are missing out on a lot of extra information that can come from our thoughts.
We want our actions to be because of the choices we make and not because we acted too fast without
thinking first. It might even be helpful to think about it in terms of yoga:
I FEEL: “Frustrated!”
You might begin to feel frustrated because a particular asana or posture is difficult for you.I THINK: “I can’t do this. I am not good at anything. Everyone is better than me.”
It is easy to feel angry and give up or have negative thoughts about yourself and your body.I SAY (to myself or even out loud): “This is stupid. I can’t do this.”
At this point what you are thinking is shifting into things you are saying about yourself. You
might even say things out loud. In this way, your feelings and thoughts are guiding your behavior.
I DO: You quit trying and start fidgeting and trying to distract your friend.PRACTiCE SCRiPT 12.3 (continued )
(continued )