The Patterns We Hold
My favorite aspect of the Beach Yoga sessions is the conversation that we have walking down the beach that often inspire what I will teach. I also thrive on the afterthoughts that are shared in the floaty like calm that follows a sun-bathed practice. A common theme in the conversations lately has been around Holding Patterns and how we can analogies holding patterns in the body with holding patterns of the mind.
Physical Holding Patterns
Physically, holding patterns develop in our bodies at times in our life when that holding is necessary in order to survive. Take an injured achilles for example. In order for that ankle to heal, the hips, side-body and shoulders all adapt and hold the weight of the body in such a way that the ankle has a chance to recover. When the ankle has healed the recovery is not yet complete. The final part of the process, which is slower and more subtle, is to release the holding patterns in the rest of the body so that holding doesn’t turn into restriction. Through the Yoga practice we start with breathwork, activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System, sending signals of safety throughout the body. It is only when the body feels safe will it let go of the holding that is no longer needed. Then through Subtle Body Work we aim to switch the body back on. This is different to working or stretching muscles, this is activation of connective tissue and communication channels in the body. Turning the internal lights on and then trusting the bodies own intelligence to figure out what holding it is safe to let go of and where support is still required.
The Nervous System
We often hear the Sympathetic Nervous System being referred to as Fight or Flight, a Survival mode that often gets a bad rap. It is a very necessary function of our internal systems, there is nothing wrong about wanting to survive. The part of the puzzle that’s missing is the need to offer our bodies the chance to come back out of survival mode and return to Rest, Digest and Recovery (the parasympathetic state).
Mental Holding Patterns
All of this is equally true for mental holding patterns. During early childhood development and later in life during times of intense stress or trauma we develop thinking patterns that help us survive the situation we are in. A child might think if I’m really really good and stay quiet I won’t attract negative attention or if I entertain and make everyone laugh all the time I’ll be noticed and feel loved. These kinds of patterns and many more develop throughout our lifetime and we normalise the thinking we’re familiar with. As such we often equate certain types of thinking as part of our personality. It’s like thinking that having a limp after a broken ankle is ‘just the way you are’. Not all thinking patterns are a problem, most are positive and functional and support a healthy balanced social and personal life. Some or obviously negative and can be easily identified as a source of your ongoing distress. Many of the deeply rooted ones are subtle and harder to extract. Problems occur when thinking patterns start to become restrictions, holding you back from where you’d like to be in your life.
A Mental (Imagination) Practice
Take time to Imagine: In this scenario you are allowing yourself to dream about the life that you would like to have in 5-6 years from now.
What dreams would you dream if you believed they would come true!
Then ask yourself what obstacles you imagine you might face that would stop those dreams coming true.
External obstacles, i.e. The economy, education/upskilling opportunities etc.
Social obstacles, i.e. Would your friends or family network support you in your choices? Or would they hold you back by way of negative feedback or wanting you to stay in a role that suits them!
Personal obstacles, i.e. Your own self-belief, your belief about your fitness levels, your motivation or self-discpline. All of these personal barriers are within your control to overcome by observing your thoughts and changing what you believe to be true.
Your perception of your external and social environments are also, by the way, completely in your control to overcome😉
It’s all within your control – It’s all within your holding
Releasing the Body
When we step onto our yoga mat we put into practice the physical concepts that help support mental and emotional release. When we find restrictions and points of tightness in our bodies we understand these are holding patterns not faults. Rather than being disappointed with our bodies we express gratitude to our body for holding on and helping us survive. We come fully into the present moment and accept ourselves exactly as we are. Being grateful for how our body has adapted to get us to where we are, we acknowledge the holding that is in place and create an internal environment of safety that lets the body know that it is safe to let go off what is ready to be released.
Releasing the Mind
Mentally and emotionally the process is the same. The mindfulness aspect of the practice helps us to catch the thoughts that’s are patterning around in our mind. One I caught myself repeating was a sentence that said ‘I’ll do this until…’ Once I heard it I couldn’t unhear it, and I wondered what the rest of the sentence was. With more practice mindfulness and quieting of the mind I realised I was waiting ‘…until I was given permission to do what I wanted to do’. A week later I handed in my notice at work and left my job as a research chemist. I was able to do that because I had, though the Yoga practice developed a strong sense of internal safety which released my need for external life crutches.
Do you know that it is safe for you to be exactly who you are!
Of course I’m still a scientist in the sense that I seek and find patterns and use the data and experiences available to help paint a truthful picture of the reality we are in. I also love a good table that summarises a long story:
Take time to de-stress, create inner ease and a safe place within from where you can fully absorb the reality of the life that you have around you.
