How to Find the Flow State on your Mat
Ever sit down to start a project and suddenly two hours have gone by? When you completely immerse yourself into a task, you enter the flow state. Popularized by positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the flow state is when your mind is entirely focused on what you are doing. You may know this feeling more commonly as “the zone”. This week on our mats, we’re going to continue our practice on entering the Flow State.
The Flow State
During the flow state, you will experience low levels of self-referential thinking. You stop worrying about what you look like. And you just let yourself exist in the moment.
What happens during the flow state?
When we get into the “zone”, or the flow state, activity in our brain’s prefrontal cortex begins to decrease. This is the part of our brain responsible for higher-level thinking, such as self-reflection. When our prefrontal cortex slows down, our inner critic goes away and our thoughts focus only on what we are doing. The act of what we’re doing becomes autotelic, or intrinsically rewarding. The end-goal does not exist with the flow state. Only the enjoyment of what you’re doing in the very moment. Many people report losing a sense of time, saying they feel time has slowed down. Most importantly, all distractions go away. Our mind no longer focuses on physical feelings, such as hunger or tiredness. We feel focused and at peace in the moment.
“It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.”
― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
How do we find the flow state on our yoga mat?
In order to get into the flow state, the task you are doing needs to be challenging, but balanced with your capabilities. In yoga, we always want to ride the edge of our practice. Riding the edge is much easier to say than do. To enter the flow state, we want our movements to eventually become somewhat automatic. Our body should be able to perform each posture without having to think too much. If we challenge ourselves too much, we’ll find ourselves too focused on technique, and unable to relax into the moment. On the other hand, if what you’re doing is too easy, your mind won’t get enough stimulation, leading to boredom and distraction. A good rule of thumb is to go as deep as you can in each posture, while still being able to maintain a deep breath.
To find the flow state in our practice this week, we’ll use repetitive asana sequences, in which each student will flow at their own rhythm. I encourage everybody to close their eyes as we flow this week. Forget about what you look like. Forget about what your neighbors are doing, and just surrender to the sensations inside of you. We’ll be on the mat Wednesday and Sunday at 6:30pm. Join us this week to find your flow!
