Why Spending Time in Nature Helps Us Slow Down

For many people, yoga begins with the body.

A stretch. A pose. A sore back. A desire to become more flexible.

But for those who stay with the practice, yoga often becomes something much broader.

It becomes a way of noticing.

How am I breathing?

Where am I holding tension?

Am I rushing?

Can I stay with this moment without needing to push through it?

At The Sound Temple, yoga has always sat naturally beside meditation, mantra, sound and mindfulness because they share a common invitation: come back to yourself.

Yoga is more than exercise

In modern life, yoga is often introduced through movement, but its roots are much deeper than a sequence of physical postures.

Yoga developed within the spiritual and philosophical traditions of India, and over time many different schools and approaches emerged.

The physical postures most people recognise today are one part of a much wider tradition that can also include breath practices, meditation, ethics, concentration, mantra and contemplation.

That wider context matters.

A yoga class can strengthen or stretch the body, but it can also become a place to observe how we respond when something feels easy, uncomfortable, unfamiliar or beyond our control.

The mat has a funny way of showing us ourselves.

The breath is always with us

One of the simplest bridges between body and mind is the breath.

Most of the day, breathing happens without us thinking about it at all.

Then somebody asks us to notice it.

Suddenly we realise we have been breathing shallowly, holding the breath while concentrating, or rushing through the day without taking one full comfortable breath.

Yoga brings our attention back to this rhythm.

We begin to notice the inhale.

We begin to notice the exhale.

We notice what changes when movement follows the breath rather than fighting against it.

Breath awareness does not need to be complicated. Sometimes the practice is simply noticing that we are breathing at all.

What does mindfulness have to do with yoga?

Mindfulness is often described as paying attention to the present moment with less judgement.

Yoga gives us something very tangible to pay attention to.

The feet on the floor.

The stretch through the back of the legs.

The weight of the body.

The rhythm of the breath.

The point where effort becomes strain.

The moment the mind begins saying, 'I should be better at this.'

Instead of escaping into thought, the body becomes an anchor.

This is one of the reasons yoga can complement meditation so beautifully. For people who find sitting still difficult, movement can provide another doorway into awareness.

Gentle yoga still counts

Yoga does not have to be fast, sweaty or acrobatic to be meaningful.

You do not need to touch your toes.

You do not need to balance on one leg while looking serene.

And you certainly do not need to look like the person beside you.

Gentle yoga, Yin Yoga and slower practices can create space to stay in a position long enough to really notice what is happening in the body and mind.

At The Sound Temple, our yoga offerings reflect this slower approach. Our current program includes Yoga for Vitality and Tranquility as well as Elements of Yin Yoga, both held as part of our wider focus on mind, body and soul in the Perth Hills.

The intention is not performance.

It is awareness. 

How is my body today?

What is Yin Yoga?

Yin Yoga is a slow style of yoga in which positions are generally held for longer periods, often with support from props such as bolsters, blankets or blocks.

Rather than moving quickly from one pose to the next, Yin invites us to pause.

That can sound easy until you are actually doing it.  This style of yoga is great for our complicated web of fascia that encases and sheaths our muscles.  If we lengthen and strengthen, our fascia adapts to our movements with increased ease.

Stillness can reveal how quickly the mind wants to move on, fix, compare or escape.

A slower practice gives us time to notice those impulses without automatically following them.

It also creates an opportunity to soften unnecessary effort and find a version of the pose that works for the body we have today, not the body we think we should have.

Hatha Yoga on the Other Hand

Hatha Yoga concentrates on our breathing, the movements and postures are aligned with the in and out breath.  We breath in to expand and give way to air during the opening of the postures.  We breathe out when the posture moves into contraction, this helps our muscles, but it also helps to move stale blood around the body and assists with exhaling stale oxygen too.

Listening instead of pushing

One of the most useful lessons yoga can teach is the difference between challenge and force.

Modern life often rewards pushing.

Push through the deadline.

Push through tiredness.

Push through discomfort.

Push a little harder.

Yoga can offer another option.

Listen.

Notice.

Adjust.

Rest when you need to.

That does not mean doing nothing. It means learning that effort and self-awareness can exist together.

Sometimes strength is knowing when to stay.

Sometimes strength is knowing when to back off.

Can yoga help us switch off?

For many people, yoga becomes valuable because it gives attention somewhere to go.

If the mind is busy, focusing on a movement, a breath or a physical sensation can interrupt the endless stream of thinking for a while.

You are not pretending the rest of life has disappeared.

You are simply giving yourself a period where the next email, message or job can wait.

Research into yoga continues to explore its potential role in supporting stress management, sleep, mobility and general wellbeing. As with meditation and sound, experiences vary and yoga should not be treated as a replacement for medical care.

But we do not need to make yoga extraordinary for it to be valuable.

Sometimes an hour of mindful movement, breathing and quiet is enough.

Yoga and sound belong beautifully together

Movement and sound can work together in a very natural way.

Yoga helps us arrive in the body.

Sound can then give the mind somewhere to rest.

That is why The Sound Temple offers a Saturday combination where guests can attend Yoga for Vitality and Tranquility before moving into the Saturday Morning Sound Healing Session.

One practice prepares the body through movement and breath.

The next invites stillness and listening.

They are different experiences, but they complement each other beautifully.

A simple mindful movement practice to try at home

Stand or sit comfortably
Let your feet or body feel supported. There is no need to begin in a traditional yoga pose.

Notice one full breath
Do not change it immediately. Just notice the inhale and the exhale.

Move your shoulders slowly
Roll them gently backwards and forwards and notice where you are holding tension.

Reach your arms up as you breathe in
Only go as far as feels comfortable.

Lower your arms as you breathe out
Move slowly enough to notice the movement rather than rush through it.

Pause
Notice whether anything feels different - your breath, shoulders, jaw, posture or state of mind.

Yoga in the Perth Hills

The setting matters to us too.

The Sound Temple sits amongst five acres of jarrah bush in Sawyers Valley near Mundaring in the Perth Hills.

Our yoga practices are held within The Mandala Room, a space that feels removed from the everyday rush, with the bush, birds, changing seasons and natural quiet forming part of the wider experience.  The Mandala Room is lined with Cedar and has a level of luxuriousness due to the organic carpeted space which includes under floor heating, very comforting during the winter months.

For some people, that shift begins on the drive into the Hills.

By the time the shoes come off, the phone is put away and the mat is unrolled, the pace has already started to change.

You do not have to escape your life to reconnect with yourself.

Sometimes you just need enough space to hear yourself again.

You do not have to be flexible to begin

This may be the most common concern of all.

If you are not flexible, that is not a reason to avoid yoga.

It is a perfectly good reason to begin gently.

A thoughtful yoga practice meets the body where it is.

Age, mobility, previous experience and physical limitations all matter, and a good teacher can offer modifications and support.

If you have an injury, significant pain, are pregnant or have a medical condition that may affect movement or breathing, speak with your healthcare professional and let your yoga teacher know before beginning.

Yoga is not about forcing the body into a shape.

It is about building a relationship with the body you are already living in.

Coming back into the body

We spend so much of modern life in our heads.

Planning.

Remembering.

Problem solving.

Scrolling.

Responding.

Yoga brings us back to something immediate.

Feet.

Hands.

Breath.

Movement.

The ground underneath us.

There is something reassuring about that simplicity.

You do not have to solve everything while you are on the mat.

For a little while, you can simply be where your body is.

Perhaps that is one of yoga's greatest gifts:

a way to move, breathe, notice - and come home to the body we so often forget to listen to.