Six Exercises to Create Self-Connection

Teaching yoga, my focus was never on fancy poses or complicated sequences. I wanted my students to leave feeling connected in their head, body, and soul— to be able to know or understand a part of themselves just a little bit better than when they first came in.

To create this environment, I put the focus on how a pose might feel in their body versus what it should look or feel like by general description. I would invite them to explore areas of tension and ease not only in their muscles and joints, but also in their thoughts and breath. In this way, over time, I got to see my students become more self-possessed and confident.

Now, I may not be in the room teaching you a yoga class, but I can take you through some exercises that can help you feel a connection within yourself and with the world around you.

The easiest entry point to getting connected is through the body. You might feel silly or uncomfortable as you do one or more of these exercises. That’s okay, it’s perfectly normal. Just keep coming back to the importance of having the sensation of being in your body. Here’s a few ways that you can do this:

●???Put on your favorite song or playlist. Close your eyes or keep them softly open and let the music guide you. You may start with moving your shoulders, or your head, and then like a waterfall, just let the movement cascade down to other parts of your body and move those with the music. When the song is over, just notice how you feel.

●???Sit in a calm and safe area and close your eyes. Put both hands over your heart and breathe. Notice what the breath feels like inside your body and how it feels as you steady and deepen your breath. If it feels uncomfortable, or strong emotions come up, just tell yourself, “I’m okay,” or, “I’m safe,” and continue for 3-5 more breaths. Take note of any places of tension and invite the muscles to release.

●???Touch different parts of your body and name them. You can even say things like “hello elbow” or “thank you belly.” Notice if any sensations or thoughts arise as you do this. Again, this might feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll be surprised at the small changes it makes to your mental attitude toward yourself.

Now that you’ve had a chance to connect with your body and notice areas of tension and ease, let’s head over to the brain. As you tuned into your body, you may have experienced some chatter in the brain. You might even have noticed that you were judging yourself. While this is very common, it can lead to some pretty negative self-talk in other areas of your life. To focus on increasing your feeling of self-worth, let’s look at some exercises that will assist with that.

●???Stand in front of a mirror in a room where you can be alone. Bathrooms work great for this! Look at yourself in the mirror as if you were looking at a stranger. Do this for at least one full minute, up to five minutes. Be present to what you are saying to yourself. If you notice that you are being judgmental or negative, that’s okay, just take note of it. Now, out loud say, “You are beautiful, you are loved.” If the words don’t come out clearly the first time, repeat the phrase until they come out strong and clear. Bonus points if you blow yourself a kiss before you walk away.

●???Give yourself a hug and say “thank you” to your body. My favorite is to say, “Thank you, body, for everything that you allow me to do every day.”

●???Notice your thoughts throughout the day. How are you speaking to yourself when something doesn’t go the way you wanted or expected? Are you putting yourself down or supporting yourself to keep going?

If you do these exercises consistently for a couple weeks, you’ll start to notice yourself making different choices and moving a little differently. From this new place, you can start to get in touch with who you want to be and what you want to do apart from other people’s opinions, judgments, or thoughts. How would you want to express yourself if there were no more “should,” “have-to,” or “need to” thoughts in your head? What style of clothes, way of moving, speaking, and connecting would you be drawn to? Let your imagination play, and start moving in small, sweet steps in that direction.