Tend to React to Tough Situations Without Thinking? Try Boat Pose to Strengthen Your “Witness” Mind
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In a culture where anyone can catch up on the news, send a work email, post an Insta story, and order breakfast from a mobile device—all before getting out of bed in the morning—we can’t deny that these days things move fast. Super fast. And as you’re riding that momentum, you’ll inevitably run into challenging situations—and you may want to respond with a similar speed.
That’s where the wisdom of sakshi (witness) comes in. Cultivating your witness mind can help you observe the issue at hand objectively, so don’t get swept up in making snap judgments or allow emotions to drive your responses. (Spoiler: Neither will serve you.)
Watch also Try This Meditation to Learn How to Witness (Not React to) Your Thoughts.
Instead, you can build up your sakshi muscle so that, when you run into difficult moments, you have the ability to broaden your perspective and create space to consider the issue at hand.
Here, Rina Jakubowicz—yoga teacher, author, and creator of YJ’s new class series, Empowered Vinyasa—leads you through a brief Navasana (Boat Pose) practice to help you embody sakshi and remember how to call on it when needed off the mat.
Feel like you’ve lost your sense of Self in the noise of social media or societal expectations? It’s time to get on the mat and reclaim who you are. Join author and yoga teacher Rina Jakubowicz for Empowered Vinyasa: Journey to Your Highest Self, a series of 10 yoga classes and companion dharma talks that zero in on principles of yoga philosophy—from The Bhagavad Gita and the Hindu spiritual tradition Vedanta—that are essential to self-exploration. Sign up today!