In general, we tend to have a lot of thoughts flowing through our minds, but not much awareness of them. We get caught up in streams of thought, not even knowing that we are. We float downstream in the currents of the mind.
What we want to move towards in yoga (and in life) is the opposite: greater awareness and less thinking. Yoga masters through time have taught that by simply becoming aware of our thoughts, our thoughts will slow down; eventually, in deep meditation, our thoughts can stop altogether until only awareness remains.
The ancients also taught that it is our thoughts that create our suffering. But pure awareness, or consciousness, brings with it a state of peace and bliss. For example: I look at the clock, and I think ,“Oh dear, I won’t have enough time to get everything done,” and panic (suffering) instantly kicks in. It is that thought – not the actual time on the clock – that creates my suffering. But if I am aware of that thought as it arises, and if I know that it is just a thought and not a truth, then I can choose not to believe it. And I can choose a different thought – the highest, truest thought that my mind can muster up at the moment, for example, “there is enough time for all that is truly necessary.”
There is a story in the Upanishads about two birds sitting in one tree. I will paraphrase. One bird is busily absorbed in eating the tasty fruits, building a better nest, avoiding predators, seeking a mate. The other bird is observing all this. Her feathers unruffled, unaffected, unchanging, she sits and watches, basking in the light of the sun. The birds represent these two aspects of our Self, both housed in the same body: the busy mind with its many needs and wants; and the eternal witness, always at peace and connected with its higher wisdom.
Through hatha yoga, the practice of yogic postures and breathing, we develop greater awareness – body awareness, mind awareness – and we lessen our mental chatter. We gain greater control of our minds, so that our minds do not end up running the show. Is this easy? No. It is like swimming against the current. The mind is so active, its habits so powerful, but with practice our will and our discernment grow stronger and stronger.