This Mindful Monday, a little yoga philosophy to learn how to clear your mind to tap into your most joyous self.

This Mindful Monday, a little yoga philosophy to learn how to clear your mind to tap into your most joyous self. | The Foodie Dietitian @karalydon

This past Saturday, I attended a yoga workshop for inversions. Despite needing some solid work on my handstand practice, I actually didn’t sign up for the inversions, I signed up for the dude teaching it – Raghunath. 

NYC punk rocker turned monk who lived in an ashram in India for 6 years. Wild, huh? He spent an afternoon with us during yoga teacher training, playing kirtan and chanting in the park, and bestowing us with his practical yoga philosophy. It was the highlight of my teaching training program. He’s so down-to-earth and he has this magical way of putting lofty philosophy into terms anyone can relate to.

As I hoped, Saturday wasn’t just about the inversions. We spent time in a circle chanting and discussing life and there was something in particular that resonated with me that I carried with me throughout the weekend that I wanted to share here with you today.

Our soul (or our jiva) is our true self, meaning we are not defined by our physical bodies, but by what’s underneath. And the jiva’s natural state is joyous, which means that our true nature is joyous. So why then, are we not all full of joy 24-7? Isn’t that the dream? To always be filled with happiness?

Our minds cloud our jivas. Our thoughts, our ego, all of the crap we take in every day from the TV or the internet that doesn’t serve us, that clouds our jiva. As Raghunath explained, it’s like a dirty window – you can’t see through it because there’s too much crap in the way. We can’t see our jiva because we let our mind and the ego get in the way.

And this isn’t just our own problem to deal with. If we’re not our joyous self, everyone in our universe is affected. The people we encounter on a daily basis, our loved ones, they’re all affected by how we act and react.

The answer to unlocking our true state of joy? Clearing the mind.

The ancient yogic texts were translated and interpreted to say that yoga is practiced to clear the mind’s thoughts and by clearing the mind, we can attain a state of pure awareness. Without the practice, all we are is the turnings of the mind.

I’ve heard the saying before, “get out of your own way”. To me, this is saying the same thing. Clear your mind and your negative thought patterns because they are holding you back from your greatest potential. I definitely need to get out of my own way sometimes.

How do we clear the mind?

  1. Practicing yoga
  2. Meditating
  3. Focusing on a mantra or positive thought
  4. Talking to your mind

Talking to your mind I saved for last because it sounds kinda funky, right? Too often, our mind talks to us. Tells us negative thought after negative thought and it affects our mood, our actions, etc. But what if we shifted gears? What if, instead of letting our mind talk to us, what if we talked to our minds? The next time you catch your thoughts going to a negative place, try to catch yourself, and then talk right back. Tell your mind how you want to feel. You’ll shift the thought pattern and your mood.

What works for you? How do you clear your mind?

Need more inspiration? Check out these other Mindful Monday topics:

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16 Comments

  1. Beautifully put! By taking time off social media, my mind cleared, and I had space to listen to what I needed for that week – REST. I had planned to do a lot of writing, but I really just needed a physical and mental break from to-do lists. Luckily, I was able to work my schedule around to give myself a few days of just doing what I wanted to do.

  2. Love this! Meditating and writing things down are my go-tos when it comes to clearing my mind. Although I’m terrible at actually mediating, I know my life looks so much different when I commit to doing it. That’s reason enough for me!

    • Haha I don’t think anyone can be “terrible” at meditating. There’s really no “good” or “bad” meditation. Just making the time for it and sitting down with your thoughts is good enough. Once I let go of the notion that I was bad at meditating, I started to enjoy it more and resist sitting down less. Journaling is so helpful too! I’d like to do more of that actually. It’s really cool when you can do both – one after the other!

  3. What a timely post! I truly needed this, and, I need to get myself to the yoga studio. Thanks Kara!

  4. Oh I need this. I swear the more crap I watch and take in the less happy I become. I need some time to push it out. I tend to get cranky WITH myself rather than realizing I don’t need to let it affect me.

    • I’m right there with you, Renee. I’ve made a point to censor what I watch on TV and take in because I’ve noticed it affects my sleep, my dreams, etc. (especially when I’m watching something stressful before bed). I’ve made a switch to read before bed and it definitely helps.

  5. Self-talk is so very real! Love this

  6. Hi Kara, I love your topic finding peace and joy in this crazy world. I am not a yogi, but believe in an optimistic approach to life and believe in it’s contribution to a healthy lifestyle. What works for me? I try to surround myself with positive people! Have an upbeat day!

    • Thanks, Diane! You definitely don’t have to be a yogi to appreciate the conversation around mindfulness. I think it’s something everyone can relate to and benefit from. Love that you try to surround yourself with positive people! That way you’re making sure that what you take in is positive. You too- enjoy your week!

  7. I loved reading this! I just read an article on the Huffington Post about this same thing. How are minds are clouded and not allowing us to see what we really have and what’s in front of us!
    Yoga is the perfect way to get rid of that and break the fog!

  8. LOVE this post Kara! Especially #4, which I find to be the best strategy to deal with negative thoughts. One of my old psychologist coworkers told me this trick and I use it all the time – whenever a negative thought arises, treat it as if you were a judge and the thought was on trial. Consider your “evidence” for that negative thought to see if there is any truth behind it or not. If there’s no truth to that negative thought, it’s immediately apparent. But if there’s something behind that thought, at least you can deal with it in a rational way.