{{Short description|Buddhist-style mindfulness practice with yoga as exercise}} {{good article}} [[File:Jon Kabat-Zinn.jpg|thumb|Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered the use of Mindful Yoga to treat stress at his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction clinic.<ref name="MBSR"/>]] {{Mindfulness|Other}}
'''Mindful Yoga'''<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/> or '''Mindfulness Yoga'''<ref name=Boccio/> combines Buddhist-style mindfulness practice with yoga as exercise to provide a means of exercise that is also meditative and useful for reducing stress. Buddhism and Hinduism have since ancient times shared many aspects of philosophy and practice including mindfulness, understanding the suffering caused by an erroneous view of reality, and using concentrated and meditative states to address such suffering.
The use of a hybrid of yoga and mindfulness for stress was pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn in America in 1990. It has since been advocated in differing forms by yoga and meditation teachers and authors from many backgrounds, such as Anne Cushman, Frank Jude Boccio, Stephen Cope, Janice Gates, Cyndi Lee, Phillip Moffitt, and Sarah Powers. Courses in Mindful Yoga are provided in Buddhist meditation centres, yoga studios, and stress clinics around the world.
==Origins==
===Ancient=== {{further|Buddhism and Hinduism#Yoga}} [[File:Hand made prayer wheel from Nepal.jpg|thumb|Hinduism and Buddhism share many of the concepts behind Mindful Yoga, such as ''karma'', the endless chain of cause-and-effect, symbolised by the endless knot at the centre of this Nepalese prayer wheel.]]
The teacher of Mindful Yoga Anne Cushman notes that Hatha yoga and Buddhist meditation are branches of the same Indian contemplative tradition. In her view, asanas are both objects of meditation, and useful for preparing mind and body for sitting meditation, while Buddhism offers a formal structure of meditation techniques and philosophy that can exploit the "sensitivity, concentration, discipline and energy cultivated during asana practice."<ref name="Cushman 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Cushman |first1=Anne |author-link1=Anne Cushman |title=Yoga Chic and the First Noble Truth |journal=Shambhala Sun |date=July 2003 |issue=July 2003 |pages=42–47}}</ref>
In his 2006 book ''The Wisdom of Yoga'', the psychotherapist and yoga scholar Stephen Cope examines the overlap of Patanjali's raja yoga and Buddhism. He notes that both were mainly concerned with "the problem of suffering, and the problem of seeing reality clearly."<ref name="Cope 2006">{{cite book |last=Cope |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Cope |title=The Wisdom of Yoga: Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living |url=https://archive.org/details/wisdomofyogaseek00cope |url-access=registration |publisher=Bantam Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-553-38054-5 |oclc=64098584 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/wisdomofyogaseek00cope/page/276 276-282]}}</ref> Both traditions provided three sets of tools: techniques for cultivating skilful behaviour to reduce suffering; techniques to develop intense states of concentration; and ways of investigating how the "self" is constructed by the mind. Both recognise "ordinary reality" as a confusing mental construction, as modern constructivism does, Cope writes.<ref name="Cope 2006"/> They agree that abolishing such confusion of thought permanently ends suffering. They agree, too, he states, on numerous "pillars" of their accounts of reality, with the concepts of ''nirodha'' (stilling the mind), ''klesha'' (afflictions), ''karma'' (cause and effect), ''samvega'' (urgent desire to change), ''samadhi'' (concentration), ''prajna'' (insight into reality), and ''samskara'' (impressions on consciousness).<ref name="Cope 2006"/> However, Cope writes, the meditation and "insight" practices described by Patanjali are missing from the mainstream Western tradition of yoga, though they are taught within Buddhism.<ref name="Cope 2006"/>
===Modern=== {{further|Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction|Yoga as exercise}}
The professor of medicine and pioneer of Mindfulness Yoga Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote in 1990 that "Mindful hatha yoga is the third major formal meditation technique that we practice in the stress clinic [at the University of Massachusetts Medical School], along with the body scan{{efn|Cushman states "This body-sensing journey [in which full attention is given to one part of the body after another, feeling any sensations that are there] ... is one variation of the ancient practice of Yoga nidra ... and of the body-scan technique commonly used in the Buddhist Vipassana tradition."{{sfn|Cushman|2014|pp=44–45}}}} and sitting meditation…"<ref name="Kabat-Zinn">{{cite web |last=Kabat-Zinn |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Kabat-Zinn |title=Mindful Yoga |url=https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/yoga.pdf |publisher=Palouse Mindfulness |access-date=11 April 2019 |date=1990}} excerpted from {{cite book |last=Kabat-Zinn |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Kabat-Zinn |title=Full Catastrophe Living |url=https://archive.org/details/fullcatastrophel00kaba_1 |url-access=registration |date=1990 |publisher=Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing|isbn=9780385303125 }}</ref> Kabat-Zinn developed the original course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction including sitting meditation and Mindful Yoga.<ref name="MBSR">{{cite web |title=Syllabus for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course |url=https://mbsrtraining.com/mbsr-syllabus-mindfulness-training/ |website=MBSR Training |access-date=18 April 2020 |quote=Welcome, to the true Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School by Jon Kabat-Zinn.}}</ref>
[[File:Yoga Therapy teacher training course.jpg|thumb|left|Practitioners can use yoga asanas such as Virabhadrasana I as an opportunity to observe their thoughts and sensations.<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/>]]
In 2008, the yoga teacher and editor of ''Yoga Journal'' Nora Isaacs wrote a feature on bringing "Mindfulness onto the Mat", noting that teachers from many backgrounds, such as Frank Jude Boccio,<ref name=Boccio/> Cope, Janice Gates,<ref name="Gates 2006">Such as is described in her book {{cite book |last=Gates |first=Janice |author-link=Janice Gates |title=Yogini: the power of women in yoga |publisher=Mandala Publications |publication-place=San Rafael, California |date=2006 |isbn=1-932771-88-3 |oclc=74029217}}</ref> Cyndi Lee,<ref>Such as is described in her book {{cite book |last=Lee |first=Cyndi |author-link=Cyndi Lee |title=Yoga Body, Buddha Mind |year=2004 |publisher=Riverhead Books |isbn=978-1-59448-024-9}}</ref> Phillip Moffitt,<ref>Such as is described in his book {{cite book |last=Moffitt |first=Phillip |author-link=Phillip Moffitt |title=Dancing with Life: finding meaning and joy in the face of suffering |publisher=Rodale |publication-place=Emmaus, Pennsylvania |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-59486-353-0 |oclc=182552934}}</ref> and Sarah Powers,<ref>Such as is described in her book {{cite book |last=Powers |first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah Powers |title=Insight Yoga |publisher=Shambhala |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-59030-598-0 |oclc=216937520 }}</ref> had "each, independently, discovered the benefits of merging mindfulness with asana", leading to "something we might call 'Mindful Yoga'."<ref name="Isaacs 2008">{{cite web |last=Isaacs |first=Nora |title=Bring More Mindfulness Onto the Mat |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/peace-of-mind |publisher=Yoga Journal |access-date=11 April 2019 |date=21 October 2008}}</ref> Isaacs described the benefit of not reacting to the discomfort that one might feel in a standing asana such as Virabhadrasana I, instead just observing one's thoughts and sensations in the pose. She commented that the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism and the Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga have similarities, both going from "ethical practices and conduct and include training in concentration and awareness."<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/> She quotes Cope as saying that he sees "Buddha and Patanjali as brothers, using different languages, but speaking about and pointing to the same thing".<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/> Isaacs writes that yoga stresses concentration on a single object such as the breath, whereas Buddhism calls for mindfulness of all events as they come to one's consciousness.<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/> She quotes Boccio as saying that he does not just practice asanas mindfully; "I teach and practice mindfulness through the form of asana."<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/> Isaacs reports, too, that Cushman finds that mindfulness practice can enliven yoga for people who find sitting meditation difficult.<ref name="Isaacs 2008"/>
==Practice== {{see|Meditative postures}} [[File:The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu addressing the gathering after releasing the Book ‘Yoga and Mindfulness’, authored by well known Yoga exponent, Ms. Mansi Gulati, in New Delhi on October 29, 2018 (2).JPG|thumb|The Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, releasing Mansi Gulati's book ''Yoga and Mindfulness'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gulati |first1=Mansi |title=Yoga and Mindfulness: The Basics |date=2018 |publisher=Konark Publishers |isbn=978-9322008840}}</ref> New Delhi, 2018]]
The yoga teacher Michelle Ribeiro writes that Mindful Yoga "applies traditional Buddhist mindfulness teachings to the physical practice of yoga; it is the holistic approach of connecting your mind to your breath."<ref name="Ribeiro 2019">{{cite web |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Michelle |title=What is Mindful Yoga? 4 Poses + Yoga Retreats |url=https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-yoga/ |website=Positive Psychology |date=15 April 2019}}</ref> For her, the key point is to be open to and interested in sensations in the body, so each one can be investigated fully and then released.<ref name="Ribeiro 2019"/>
Cope notes in addition that yoga's asanas and pranayama, yoga breathing, "have found their way into many Buddhist meditation retreats", just as Buddhist meditation practices have appeared in yoga studios, so the "sister traditions" are beginning a "rapprochement", or a continuation of the exchange of practices and thinking that has carried on for two millennia.<ref name="Cope 2006"/>
Cushman writes that when she first taught yoga on a meditation retreat<!-- at Spirit Rock Meditation Centre-->, her pupils told her that doing yoga gave them a fresh way to connect to "mindful presence", and made it easier to bring what they had discovered in meditation back into daily life.{{sfn|Cushman|2014|p=x}}
The practice of Mindful Yoga has spread to meditation centres and stress clinics, with drop-in classes and courses available around the world, for example in the West London Buddhist Centre.<ref name="WLBC">{{cite web |title=Mindful Yoga |url=http://westlondonbuddhistcentre.com/mindful-yoga/ |publisher=West London Buddhist Centre |access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref>
==Books== {{further|Frank Jude Boccio#Mindfulness Yoga}}
In 2004, Boccio published ''Mindfulness Yoga'', relating Buddhism, especially the techniques of the ''Anapanasati Sutta'' and ''Satipatthana Sutta'', to Yoga, especially the ''Yoga Sutras'', and asanas.<ref name=Boccio>{{cite book |last=Boccio |first=Frank Jude |author-link=Frank Jude Boccio |title=Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath Body and Mind |date=2004 |publisher=Wisdom Publications |isbn=978-0861713356 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mindfulnessyogaa0000bocc |location=whole book}}</ref> Also in 2004, Lee published her ''Yoga Body, Buddha Mind'', advocating a combined practice, stating that "yoga helps Buddhists embody their meditation ... Similarly, the specific focus of Buddhist mindfulness and compassion helps the yogi's mind become unbiased, wakeful, and connected".<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Cyndi |author-link=Cyndi Lee |title=Yoga Body, Buddha Mind |year=2004 |publisher=Riverhead Books |page=12 and throughout}}</ref> This has been followed by other books such as Charlotte Bell's 2005 ''Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice'', structured around the eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga,<ref>{{cite book |last=Bell |first=Charlotte |title=Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice |date=2005 |publisher=Rodmell Press |isbn=978-1930485204 |location=whole book}}</ref> Anne Cushman's 2014 ''Moving into Meditation'' with awareness of the body,{{sfn|Cushman|2014|pp=xi–xii}} Hannah Moss's 2018 ''The Practice of Mindful Yoga: A Connected Path to Awareness'', which argues that "Yoga is only safe and effective when it has mindfulness at its heart",<ref>{{cite book |last=Moss |first=Hannah |title=The Practice of Mindful Yoga: A Connected Path to Awareness |date=2018 |publisher=Leaping Hare Press |isbn=978-1782405696 |page=10}}</ref> and Robert Butera's 2018 ''Body Mindful Yoga: Create a Powerful and Affirming Relationship with Your Body''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Butera |first=Robert |title=Body Mindful Yoga: Create a Powerful and Affirming Relationship with Your Body |date=2018 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |isbn=978-0738756738 |location=whole book}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|26em}}
==Sources== *{{cite book |last=Cushman |first=Anne |author-link=Anne Cushman |title=Moving into Meditation: A 12-Week Mindfulness Program for Yoga Practitioners |date=2014 |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=978-1611800982 }}
{{Buddhism topics}} {{Meditation}} {{Yoga as exercise}} {{Yoga}}
Category:Mindful Yoga Category:Mindfulness (Buddhism) Category:Yoga hybrids