Anger during class?

[brummelibrum]

#1854

I know that lots of feelings come up during classes and noticing, not struggling with them, is a fine way to handle them. But sometimes I am just enraged for the entire class, sometimes attaching those feelings to a particular person in the room–a stranger–and just think about how much I hate them. Like I can’t detach from the feelings. And hating someone in the room doesn’t feel very yogic. I am sure it happens because the mat is a safe place for me to have feelings I can’t have outside the warm room. But any thoughts about dealing with these feelings?

[fraseram]

#7269

try challenging your thoughts and feelings….this works wonders for me
asking yourself questions and putting them into realistic perspective about what they r really about

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#7293

Hi Jay

Don’t you have some odd fantasies!??? We all do I can assure you. It must be odd to be aware of those thoughts and feelings during a yoga class.

They are just fantasies. In fact any thoughts you have are really usually nothing to do with the present moment at all. Your distinctly human trait is your ability to observe and that’s what you’ve been doing. It seems you could be identifying with those thoughts rather than simply and non-judgmentally observing them. Your thoughts – in those classes – are distracting you from what really is. So really your job is to notice your thoughts and then let them go.

I would have a hard time questioning or challenging those feelings because it would cause me to become even more distracted. This would create more difficulties. You could find that if that’s happening then it could be reflected in your ability (or inability) to balance or have a satisfying practice. So find something that grounds you, that brings your focus back onto you. Feel the air, moving in and out of your body, through your nose, in your lungs, feel the quality of that air.

If you really get stuck on ‘those’ thoughts then your aim is to take even more notice of other feelings that you can feel with your skin. Something verifiable like the feel of your hands against each other, a hand on a foot, the stretch of your skin. Get in the habit of noticing the obvious and not so obvious. Those judgmental thoughts will happen from time to time (allow them to occur in the background if at all), but notice over time how they seem less violent.

You could spend days analyzing the reasons why, you could try to work out the significance of those thoughts and how they relate to your life in general but it could lead you to concern yourself too much with something that’s really not that important. Remember, your thoughts are NOT you! That can often be a relief for people to know that you CAN let them go and they don’t have to have a hidden meaning.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

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