How I was reminded of two key yoga principles in spinning class

I haven't been taking my yoga very seriously while here in Buenos Aires the last four months. I've been leading a small class two or three times a week, practicing at the same time, but that's been pretty much it. Nothing wrong with that, after 14 years you're allowed to take a break now and then.

But I was nicely reminded of two of the most important components of the yoga practice recently in spinning class, of all places. And I was reminded of these principles because I was using them, with great seriousness, during the hardest parts of the class.

For those who don't know, spinning class is a led class of station bicycle riding. At first it sounds crazy, like why would you need someone to lead you in riding a stationary bicycle, right? Well, what they do for the most part is run you through interval training -- you tend to do sets of a few minutes, each set reaching a pretty high level of cardio-vascular intensity, and you rest briefly between sets. And as a lifelong cyclist, I can say that I never, ever, ever do this kind of training on my own. It's just so not fun. But it turns out it feels great, and it's no doubt really, really good for your cardio-vascular health. I have come to really love spinning class, and I think it will help my "real" cycling dramatically when I get back to New York.

Now, how was I using these yoga principles in spinning class? And which principles were they anyway?

At the end of some of the intervals, the teacher has you sprint for 15, 20, or 30 seconds. (I love how they say "esprint" in spanish!) In this context, sprinting means maximum possible output, pedaling as fast and as hard as you can. And trust me, this is hard. So I found myself during these sprints staring with great focus at a single spot on the floor ahead of me for the entire sprint, and focusing all my attention on inhaling as deeply and exhaling as thoroughly as I could. And also, to keep my rational mind quiet, I usually count my breaths during these "esprints".

So, the two yoga principles I have been using are the drishti, and focus on the breath.

Drishti is the gaze, and when performing yoga poses, you are supposed to maintain a fixed, though soft gaze. The fixed gaze is said to help calm and focus the mind. And without thinking about it, this is what I've been doing in the esprint.

Focus on the breath, well, that's yoga principle number one for many people. Somehow, it seems, by focusing on the breath, the body is more free to do its thing, whether that's release more completely into a stretch, or pump out its maximum output during an esprint. I think Kundalini yoga in particular uses a focused, forceful breath to allow you to push your body very hard through the repetitive exercises in that practice.

Happily, utilizing these two principles, or components of the practice, or whatever we want to call them, does seem to help me perform -- even in spinning class. So of course I've been thinking of how these two principles can be more generally applied in life.

I think just about anytime at all during your day you can try to fix your gaze, to limit the quick eye movements that we all do naturally, and this may help you focus, and may help you calm the mind.

Similarly with breathing, I think anytime at all you can focus on the breath and this will help steady your body and mind. But I think perhaps a focus on the breathing is especially useful whenever you're in a situation where the body, or the mind, is under some stress. You may be in a 30 second "esprint", or you may be preparing to go into your boss' office to tell him you didn't finish your project on time, or you may be waiting at the door for your blind date to show up. In situations like these, focusing your attention on the breath can have a steadying effect, I'd suspect.

I love how you can apply things from your yoga practice to improve your day-to-day life. As I often say in my classes, yoga is sometimes like a little laboratory for life. You take what you learn in yoga class and apply it in life. And two of the biggest ones for me are fixing the gaze, and focusing on the breath, especially in those situations where focus and determination are important.

Like the "esprint" in spinning class!

Now, as a final aside, I might note that these two principles -- drishti and focus on the breath -- are every bit as much part of meditation as they are part of yoga, perhaps more so. But, ah, the relationship between yoga and meditation, I think I'll leave that for another day.