How visualisation practices during yoga can benefit you when you're resistant to anything too “woo woo”

Picture the scene - you’ve just begun an early morning yoga class to stretch and wake up those stiff muscles from a (hopefully) long and restful sleep. You enjoy taking the odd yoga class for the physical benefits, but when your teacher starts telling you to “visualise a golden light surrounding you” you can’t help but roll your eyes and internally grumble.

Sound familiar?

While there are definitely intentions behind using techniques such as visualising different forms of light that relate to connecting with the subtle energy body, which some people might consider a bit out there and woo woo - and as a result, feel uncomfortable practising - there are still many benefits to giving it a go even if your main goal for your yoga practice is the physical benefits.

Visualisation methods help you to connect to your breath and bring you into the present moment

Any yoga teacher will tell you the practice of yoga goes far beyond the physical postures and they want to help bring their students out of ruminating over past events and worrying about the future by bringing them into the present moment during class. Visualisation techniques are an effective way to achieve this.

One of my favourite visualistion techniques is to imagine a ball of white light travelling up the spine into the mid-brain on the inhale and back down again on the exhale, which is something I sometimes teach at the very beginning of class before beginning physical asanas. Whilst this technique has roots in the more esoteric concept of the “nadis”, particularly the “sushumna nadi” (the central channel through which energy flows), this technique is effective for helping students get out of their monkey minds, quiet down the mind chatter and become present in the now.

Enhancing mind-body connection

By visualising a ball of light travelling up and down the spine with the breath, students bring their attention to their breath, whilst helping to induce a meditative state, this also helps students establish a stronger mind-body connection.

By picturing a ball of light moving up and down the spine in sync with their breath, practitioners become more aware of their body's movements and sensations. This heightened awareness can lead to a more focused and meditative postural practice, fostering a deeper connection with the self. And having better body awareness means students will be more attuned to how the physical postures feel, and more mindful when transitioning between postures, which greatly reduces the risk of injury.

Better awareness of the breath enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the physical postures.

Alleviating tension and stress

Breathwork practises are one of the best gateways to influence the nervous system and the simple act of visualising a ball of light in time with the breath can help students maintain slow, deep breaths, inducing a profoundly relaxing effect on the nervous system. When we concentrate on the gentle ascent and descent of the light along the spine, we divert our attention away from external stressors, as I’ve mentioned above. This redirection of focus can help reduce tension and stress, bringing about a calmer, more serene state of being - which is a perfect way to begin your movement practice and a feeling that will stay with you once you roll up your mat and go about your day.

So there you have it

Yoga is a deeply transformative practice that goes far beyond the physical postures. It’s a holistic approach to wellness and practices such as visualisation techniques can offer profound benefits - particularly to those who struggle with a busy brain. But it can also improve your physical practice too and reduce the risk of injury.

So next time your teacher offers a visualisation practice - give it a try!

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