Yoga Hero: All of Yoga Podcast – Episode 20

How to stop overthinking, according to yoga

⁠There’s a REALLY important concept to explain here, to show you how much emphasis yoga places on the activity of the mind, and that is that the Sanskrit word for thought is vritti, which also translates as – and this is really important – vortex, or whirlpool!⁠

So now that there’s some acknowledgement, about how powerful thoughts can be, let’s look at what yoga says about overthinking.⁠

Firstly yoga asks us to be present. When you’re thinking about your breath right now, it diverts your attention away from overthinking.⁠

Secondly, physical yoga, is effectively a moving meditation and meditation is an incredibly powerful tool in being able to discern between helpful thoughts, like planning your day and hindering thoughts, like “I’m not good enough for this”⁠

Remember – learning to meditate is a skill just like learning to cook or to play the piano – it takes time. Be patient with yourself!⁠

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Transcript – How to stop overthinking, according to yoga – 10 days

How to stop overthinking, according to yoga

I think there’s a really important concept to explain here, to try to show you, just how much emphasis yoga places on the activity of the mind, and that is that the Sanskrit word for thought is vritti, which also translates as- and this is really important- vortex, or whirlpool.

Let’s just take a moment to absorb the magnitude of that. You might think that your mind goes 10 to the dozen that you overthink much more than other people that your mind is really busy and other people can’t possibly have such a busy mind because they seem so much calmer than you.

I hear this a lot! I do think that there’s a lot of potential comfort to be gained from knowing that the ancient yogis without their phones and their notifications and their social media and their extended work hours- even without all of that- they thought thoughts are brutal.

They suck you in like a vortex and they go round and round and round your head, and they gain momentum as they go round and round around like a Whirlpool does. When I heard that,. I felt very seen.

So now that there’s some acceptance, some acknowledgement, about how powerful thoughts can be, that they have the power of a vortex. Let’s look at what yoga says about overthinking.

Firstly yoga asks us to be present. When you’re thinking about your breath right now, for example, it diverts your attention away from overthinking.

Secondly, physical yoga, the Asana is effectively a moving meditation and meditation is an incredibly powerful tool in being able to discern between helpful thoughts, like planning your day and hindering thoughts, like “I’m not good enough for this”

Not to mention that cultivating the skill of meditation is cultivating the skill of placing your attention, where you want it to be- for example on the breath, or on a sensation or on a mantra. And when your attention is purposefully placed on this one thing, it can’t be going round and round and round around in a cycle that’s not helpful to you.

So, how do you actually do that? I promise. I promise. It’s simpler than you think.

First let’s debunk some meditation myths.

Myth number one, you have to have a clear mind to meditate. No. Uh, or wrong. Cultivating the skill of meditation will help you clear your mind, maybe instantly, maybe in about 10 years time. But you do not have to have a clear mind in order to meditate.

That’s absolutely a myth.

Myth number two, that you have to sit a certain way or in a certain place. Err err wrong. You can sit wherever you like, try and sit with a nice tall spine; it will help to keep you alert and energised.

Myth number three, it has to be at the same time of day, every day. Err err wrong. You can do it whenever you like.

Okay, so the how.

So do this now, if you’re in a safe place to be able to concentrate. Or just come back to this when you are in a safe place where you can place your attention on one thing. Get comfortable first of all, ideally in a place that you won’t be disturbed too much. Close your eyes or simply soften your gaze. And place your attention on your breath.

As you inhale. Say to yourself, breathing in, and as you exhale, say to yourself, breathing out.

And your mind will wander off. And that is okay. When you notice that your mind has wandered off, just bring it back to the breath. On the inhale saying to yourself, breathing in. And on the exhale saying to yourself, Breathing out.

Relax, your shoulders. Relax, your jaw.

And relax into this. It took me, personally, a long time to not worry about doing this right. Now I think about it is an opportunity to just put down all the stuff that I have to think about and plan. Believe me, it is all still there to think about after meditation. But just for one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes a day, you can put down your thinking, all of your overthinking, and allow yourself, permit yourself, liberate yourself, to just think about one thing; to think about the breath. Saying breathing in on the inhale. Saying, breathing out on the exhale.

And when you find yourself thinking planning, analysing, don’t worry, you are not doing anything wrong.

I promise you’re just developing the skill and it takes time, like learning to play the piano, like learning to cook. Learning to meditate.

Let’s take a deep inhale in.

And exhale out, to release the practice. And that my friend is how yoga stops overthinking.