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Out with the Old, In with the New: Changing Habits with Yoga

Therese M. Pope | May 5, 2008

We all have bad habits that we need to overcome, but we sometimes don’t have the willpower or the tools to tackle them. Whether it’s smoking or trying to lose weight, we have habits that hold us back. The practice of yoga is now being used as a creative, dynamic tool to teach people how to re-train their brains to overcome these habits and patterns.

Resolving Habits with “The Fluent Self”

Portland, Oregon yoga teacher, Havi Brooks, created “The Fluent Self,” (http://www.fluentself.com) a system of self-learning that teaches people to resolve their habits.

“We take a lot of concepts from the yoga world (mindfulness, compassion, and using the body to change the mind) and incorporate them into the habits-changing process. People get results a lot faster when they combine mental and emotional work with a physical practice,” explains Brooks.

Brooks has been a yoga teacher since 2003 and never thought she’d even like yoga, let alone teach yoga.

“I had zero interest in yoga. I associated yoga with flakiness and a kind of gullible spirituality where people would accept anything that came their way without questioning it. I was leading a very unhealthy lifestyle at the time working as a bartender and was drinking and smoking.”

Because she was a bartender and her job required her to look good, she spent a lot of time at the gym.

Practicing Kindness and Compassion with Yourself

“One day I was hurting so much from my training that I was still on my back when the ladies trooped in for their gentle yoga class. I couldn’t move so I stayed and it changed my life. It felt so good and my body totally ‘got it’- that I can care for myself instead of fighting with myself. You can practice kindness and compassion with yourself and your body. You can feel and look great all at the same time. I threw myself into this whole world of self-learning and self-work. It was huge.”

Brooks has taken her knowledge of self-learning to help others “work through their stuff.”

“My intention is to give you as many tools as possible to help you gather clues about who you are, how you function and how you interact with yourself and the world around you, so you can take apart those old patterns that are holding you back,” explains Brooks.

Shiva Nata: Brain Training

Brooks offers the physical practice of Shiva Nata (Dance of Shiva) to her students, but it is not a requirement of “The Fluent Self” system.

“I recommend Shiva Nata as a form of brain training and facilitates their habits work to help them get results faster.”

Shiva Nata is a flowing movement form that challenges the brain to make new neural connections, which facilitates insights and epiphanies.

“Students experience personal breakthroughs, nearly always 24-36 hours after the practice. This is a scientific modern version of the ancient, lost Dance of Shiva which gave birth to yoga, martial arts and many forms of Indian dance,” Brooks explains.

She has helped students quit smoking, lose their nail-biting habit, lose weight and cure public speaking fears. She has also worked with the corporate sector and has also taught around the world (in both Hebrew and German).

Engaging Both Brain Hemispheres

According to Brooks, the use of movement and coordination exercises forces the brain to engage both hemispheres of the brain (scientists refer to this as “crossing the midline.”) Ultimately, this challenge creates breakthroughs.

“This is the basis for many of the techniques that are used with people who have various brain dysfunction issues and also for autism. Shiva Nata takes the concept much further.”

Brooks mentions that Shiva Nata involves following complex, systematic mathematical sequences at increasing rates of speed and dexterity. As a result, people obtain the same effects but at faster rates and higher levels. It not only improves coordination, but creates new neural connections that actually allow people to use and access more of the brain’s capacity for structural and intuitive thinking.

Mental and Physical Breakthroughs

The physical practice of yoga can provide hormonal release in asana, concentration and deep penetration (dharana and pratyahara) and deep relaxation in svasana. However, when Shiva Nata is added to the asana practice people get more high quality insights (more information) faster.

“Usually with yoga people change their habits in a slow, steady fashion. After several months or years as a practitioner, you start to realize, ‘Oh, I like myself. I want to take care of myself better. I like how it feels to breathe. I’m going to stop smoking and consume less caffeine and eat and sleep better, due to what I’ve learned.’”

People experience both mental and physical breakthroughs as a result of the Shiva Nata practice.

“With Shiva Nata, it’s more like: ‘Zing! I get it. I’m smoking because I have a deep fear of being judged if I express my anger. Also, I don’t feel comfortable taking a break when I need one. What can I do to get better at speaking my mind and giving myself space?’”

Her students are able to master poses they weren’t able to do in the past, or have energy experiences where they are able to work on healing.

“Capital-Y Yoga”

Although, Brooks doesn’t introduce spiritual elements into “The Fluent Self” system, she offers elements that could possibly facilitate a spiritual experience. Her goal is to create an environment in which everyone feels safe and comfortable.

“I teach mindfulness exercises, meditation, acupressure techniques, vocal exercises and chakra exercises. Anything goes as long as it can be presented in a way which is accessible and inclusive.”

Brooks likes to think of her work (techniques and exercises that work on the mind-body) as “Capital-Y Yoga,” which complements asana yoga and other physical practices.

“The benefits of working with different mind-body techniques are huge, of course, while the physical is only one level, yoga opens us to the possibility of creating change on many levels simultaneously.”

On the negative side, yoga can be used to exacerbate old patterns (i.e. whether it’s beating yourself up mentally for not being perfect or being too competitive). On the positive side, yoga can be used to dissolve those old patterns.

You Contain All You Need

“It takes a little more mindfulness and a little more compassion, but the genius of yoga is that you contain everything you need to know and everything you need to be,” Brooks reflects.

Brooks adds that she is inspired by the thousands of smart, interesting and creative people around the world with whom she has been lucky to interact as teacher, coach and mentor.

“There are so many amazing people who have such huge gifts to give to the world, and if something is keeping them from shining their light, well, I want to be part of changing that, so they can go out there and just glow.”

Sources:
Interview: Havi Brooks
www.fluentself.com