Yoga a sense of touch

Yoga, the sense of touch. How do we feel, what does it give you back?

How do we feel, what does the sense of touch give you?

Yoga is the sense of touch. If you are conscious of how your feet touch the ground, how you might hold them with your hands sitting, you may become aware of your touch. What does your contact give you back? The proprioception of this engagement. An awareness.

Proprioception. (prō’prē-ō-sěp’shən) The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself.

Excercise your touch

Here’s a little exercise to try. Are you standing, sitting? How do your feet touch the ground? What can you notice? Become aware of the contact points. Think of a triangle big toe/ball of the foot, little toe and heel. Soften your approach tune into your breath and let it out, going with gravity notice how your feet touch. Is there a right side / left side feel? Heavier/ lighter side? You’re breathing and noticing so this a good starting point. Stretch your toes apart make space between toes keep noticing, breathing and feeling.

Touch the floor

If you can sit on the floor, cross one leg over the other until you can hold your foot, so right foot, left hand. Now be aware of how you hold your foot or how your foot touches your hand. Your feet and hands meet, through proprioception, you are merely mindful of this touch. Let your breath out, slowly enough like blowing a candle and notice if you feel more touch as the breath leaves you?

Effortless touch

Don’t strain be comfortable in your position but keep it going, feel for how your fingers meet your ball of foot, the base of your big toe, don’t pull your toes away from your fingers let them relax and fit and all the time you notice how you sit and meet the ground, as your breath goes out. How you settle inside yourself to the simple action of holding, touching your feet and breathing. Let things change, be patient. This way of practising brings great reward. Learn to know yourself.