Yoga: Overcoming Negative Thinking

From the second we wake up, millions of thoughts are rushing through our mind. While some of these are necessary, most of them are pointless and negative. All these thoughts do is zap our energy and lead to anxiety, depression, stress, and restlessness. While occasional negative thoughts are normal, excessive negative thinking can affect our health. When this happens, it should be seen as a warning sign that needs to be addressed. Thankfully, overcoming them could be as simple as putting on your yoga pants.

Excessive negative thoughts disturb the flow of Prana in the body. This results in imbalances and energy blockages over time. An energy blockage brings with it an accumulation of toxins, leading to sickness and disease if left untreated. Negative emotions such as anger, jealousy, fear, revenge and hatred damage the heart chakra and cause disease in the nearby organs. This can lead to lung disorders, immune system disorders and heart conditions. Cultivating positive emotions such as love, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance can cleanse and rebalance the heart chakra. Similarly, gossiping, criticising, lying and suppressing emotions can throw the throat chakra out of whack. This manifests as disease in the organs surrounding the throat such as the thyroid and the larynx. Healthy thoughts, on the other hand, result in a healthy body and mind. Cultivating positive thoughts will help to rebalance your body and allow the energy to flow freely. In this article, we explore yoga: overcoming negative thinking.

Meditate or do Yoga

One of the best ways to overcome negative thinking is through yoga or meditation. This can take your focus away from the thoughts and bring attention to your breath, instead. Additionally, yoga and meditation are great for relaxing the mind. The practice can help you to stay in the present and instead of jumping to negative thoughts about the future, it brings you back to the now. The only moment you worry about should be the present.

Smile

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, a smile can work wonders. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, put on a funny film or meet a friend for coffee. Anything that will make you happy and induce a smile will help you to overcome negative thoughts. If you’re not doing much, even bringing yourself to a mirror and forcing a smile can change your mood and relieve stress. Interestingly, it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown, so smiling can also make you feel lighter.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

When you’re feeling negative, the best thing to do is surround yourself with positive people. Meet with a friend that will give constructive but loving feedback. If negative thinking is getting the better of you, talk to positive friends who can put things into perspective without feeding your negative thoughts.

Think Happy Thoughts

We understand this is easier said than done, however, thinking happy thoughts is a must for negative thinkers. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean ignoring any thought that isn’t happy. Instead, you need to rework your negative thoughts and put a positive spin on them. For instance, instead of thinking “I am going to have a hard time adjusting to my new job”, think, “I’ll face some challenges in my new job, but I’ll come out the other side a stronger person”.

Take Responsibility

Take responsibility instead of playing the victim. If you’re feeling negative about a new job, think about what you can personally do to change it. If you’re not happy, there’s always a way to make things better. Take responsibility for this and trust that you’ll be able to improve things if need be.

Help Someone

If you’re in a negative spiral, take the focus away from yourself and do something nice for someone else. This could be as simple as helping a friend or volunteering your time to a charity. You could even make up a hamper of food and donate it to a food bank or the Salvation Army. Any good deed will take your mind off things and you’ll feel good for helping someone else.

Let Yourself Move Forward

When you’re feeling negative, the worst thing to do is dwell on your mistakes. Instead of feeling guilty about something, learn from your mistakes and move forward. If what you’ve done has affected someone else, be sure to apologise but avoid dwelling on the issue. Not letting yourself move forward won’t help anybody.

Sing

Singing can have a positive effect on our mental health. Not only can singing voice our feelings, but it’s also an amazing stress reliever. It doesn’t matter how you sound, turn up the music in your car or kitchen and sing along to your favourite tune.

Be Grateful

Being grateful helps you to appreciate what you have in life. Instead of thinking about everything you don’t have, be thankful for everything you do. You may not have the best job in the world, but as long as you’ve got a roof over your head and food on your table, you’re doing fine. Be grateful not only for objects but also for the people around you. Appreciate your friends and loved ones and be grateful for what they bring to your life.

Read Positive Quotes

Reading positive quotes is another way to overcome negative thinking. Placing post-it notes with positive quotes on your fridge, mirror, computer and dressing table will remind you to stay positive. If you’d prefer, build a collection of positive postcards to display around the home. As well as cultivating positive thoughts, these can serve as mini pieces of art and brighten up the room.

In Summary

So, there you have it – yoga: overcoming negative thinking. If you find yourself in a negative spiral, put on your yoga top and work through the tips above. Over time, you’ll begin to replace your negative thoughts patterns with positive ones, leading to a happy and healthy body and mind.