4 Ways Yoga Can Improve Your Relationship
Yoga can improve physical health and mental well-being in a number of ways. When practised by couples, yoga can also have very positive effects on relationships. No relationship is perfect – If you feel that your relationship could do with some improvement, read on to discover 4 ways yoga can help you and your partner to strengthen your bond and appreciate each other more deeply.
1. Yoga promotes acceptance
Yoga meditations teach us to practice compassion and remind us that everyone – including ourselves and our partners – are imperfect and make mistakes. Yoga and its meditations can help us to accept our partners, rather than try to change them. Yoga also teaches us to accept ourselves. We can’t have a truly great relationship or be truly available to others until we learn to accept who we are. Yoga helps us to accept and forgive rather than resent.
2. Yoga teaches us to be fully present
Yoga teaches us to slow down and recognise the important things in life. One of the primary teachings of yoga is mindfulness, which is the practice of paying attention to the emotions, sensations, thoughts and surroundings that you experience in a present moment. Through yoga, you and your partner will learn to be more present during the time you spend together – rather than getting caught up in day-to-day dramas or worries about the past or future, you will be able to focus on simply being together in the present. You will be surprised how much simply being present can help your relationship.
3. Yoga promotes peace of mind and relaxation
When life gets stressful, we tend to take our stress out on the people we are closest to. When we are constantly tense, stressed, anxious or upset, we get caught up in our emotions and we are not able to be present and focus on the people we love. Yoga releases endorphins and brings relaxation and peace of mind. It gives us the tools to deal with the daily frustrations in life so that we can focus on getting through them in a way that benefits, rather than hinders, our relationships.
4. Yoga promotes observance and understanding over defensiveness
The more self-aware you are, the better you will be at dealing with criticism and disagreements in your relationship. Yoga increases self-awareness – it teaches us to turn inward and take responsibility for who we are and what we feel. It teaches us to observe our emotions, rather than react to them. When we do this, we are less likely to see ourselves as victims and are more likely to react to fights or disagreements with a mindset of ‘what can I do to help this situation’ (instead of incendiary reactions like ‘what is this person talking about! I don’t do that! They don’t know me!).
Yoga helps practitioners to open their mind and body and release tension. Staying open and receptive is key to dealing with conflict – when you remain open and reflective (and learn to process your emotions), you don’t need to defend or attack in response to criticism. Instead, you are able to communicate effectively and diffuse, rather than inflame, the situation.
When you learn to open and release your body and mind, you open yourself up to giving and receiving love.
Whether you are in a relationship or not, yoga can benefit your life in countless ways. Our delicately designed syllabus of yoga classes or meditation space will enrich your mind and body and assist you to achieve true wellness. The positive impacts that yoga can have on your life are endless.