Yoga and Psychological Safety
Those who spend a depth of study in yoga, not just to master a handstand, but truly in immersing themselves in understanding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali see that one of the markers of a practiced Yogi or Yogini is the ability to create, maintain and sustain psychological safety with others.
What is psychological safety?
The deeper practices of yoga especially in public or group settings can open up dimensions of one’s own and others’ psyches that can be surprising or new to the practitioner. A skilled teacher can discern when vulnerabilities are open to exploitation by the group and uses tact and wisdom to ensure that the student does not unwittingly try to process beyond the group’s ability to handle what comes up.
Practicing psychological safety in one on one settings is the realm of a skilled and highly trained social worker, therapist and even psychiatrist. And those with 200-500 Hour yoga teacher trainings who do or don’t have backgrounds in psychology and social work often work with students one on one.
No matter the setting - group or one on one - the key element in creating a safe space is having and protecting boundaries.
The mind and the psyche to a Yogi are held in something much bigger. This bigger arena is often interpreted as “consciousness” from all the multiple languages including Sanskrit and Pali that try to describe this.
Consciousness in yoga is multi-layered and is comprised of Buddhi, Mahat and on up to Purusha and Prakriti in the Tree of Samkhya.
A Yogi or Yogini and teacher who are more in tune with consciousness rather than the mind and psyche can contain these in a safe setting within boundaries.
A more immature yoga teacher who identifies more with his or her mind and psyche can be dangerous in that they are unaware of how to expand beyond the mind and psyche and can therefore unwittingly harm the student or stifle them rather than helping them expand their awareness into greater consciousness.
The teacher who guides the student into consciousness is successful when the student - rather than identifying with the psyche or emotions - is seen to identify with the inevitable, ineffable bliss that comes with having been guided to their consciousness rather than their psyche and mind.
Psychological boundaries are so much more effective at allowing the student to gain and identify with one’s own Self - the ultimate aim of Yoga.
We see the indulgence of the psyche and the mind everywhere- on social media, television, news outlets. And how this over-indulgence can foster the opposite of bliss. And we are seeing that having boundaries, time off the screens, time to go inward and into nature are ways to secure a sense of psychological safety.
Another dimension is the expression of too much emotion into its extremes of misery, depression, despair and then the opposites of extreme elation and hyper-excitement. Whether or not you teach yoga - there are many and somehow reality television loves to exploit extremes in emotion - who overly indulge in extremes of emotional expression.
A skilled teacher helps guide the student to place these emotions into healthy expression such as art, creativity and movement. An unskilled teacher or friend often allows for too much of this and then inadvertently can feel disempowered by having allowed for too much emotionality to color a session, a phone call, a class or group setting.
How to create and maintain boundaries:
One of the best ways is to simply state your boundaries. A lot of boundaries are simply ways to show respect for one another.
Stay within an alotted time for class and don’t go over or under the time commitment
Practice a mantra silently and focus on this in your Heart. You will find that no matter what arises, the mantra reminds you and the other who you truly are. A simple one is “I-AM.” Find your own that protects you from too much mental stress.
Remember who you truly are is not the mind nor the psyche. They have their beautiful place when harnessed by boundaries, but otherwise can wreak havoc on an untrained mind.
May you dive into the Heart of Hearts and identify with your inner bliss and peace today and everyday.
Namaste,
Sumukhi
