The Beginner´s Mindset

Be open, curious and let go of prejudgments.

Today I would like to write about The Beginner´s Mindset. As always you can listen to the podcast and enjoy a guided meditation after the input on: https://cba.fro.at/576111 or read the blog right here.

My very first associations with The Beginner´s Mindset are: being curious – about yourself, your body and your mind but also your surroundings. Being open to learning and gathering new experiences. To me, a beginner´s mindset is a real asset. No prejudgments, being humble and being open to challenges.

It is a great lesson you can take away from the yoga mat and straight into your life. In yoga, it is always good to stay curious about how a pose feels in your body, how moving from pose to pose feels. It will help you find conscious movement, and to keep your awareness in the moment. And it will help you not to go for a certain look, but actually stay connected with your body and how things feel, keeping your breath flowing easily. But it may also help you to be open to what yoga has to offer, besides asana practice. Like the 8 limbed path of the yoga, postulated by Patanjali. This path offers you a roadmap on how to live your life on your way to happiness. Through the Yamas & Niyamas (the guidelines on how to treat yourself and the world around you), the Asana practice (keeping your body strong and healthy), Pranayama (breathwork), Turning Inward, Concentration, Meditation (non-judgmental self-awareness), and finally the state of oneness with all – also referred to as Enlightenment.

But: let´s focus on The Beginners Mindset!

To quote Shunryu Suzuki: “In the beginner´s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert´s there are few.“

I love this quote, because it says it all in such few words.

It is about being a student of whatever you are doing, being open to learning, to criticism (when productive) and seeing that when you do embrace this mindset there is no such thing as failing, only learning. By embracing the beginner´s mindset, you can step out of your own way and allow things to simply be what they are.

The ego and false sense of identity usually do not serve us well. To let go of it, means you don´t expect things to go a certain way, you don´t expect yourself to be able to do something already. Instead, you get to go back to the place when you were a child, the natural state of being, open and receptive to wherever life leads you.

So, the question is, how can yoga help you embrace more of a beginner´s mindset, which reflects humility with respect to life experiences and the world?

When you have a structure build on a strong and solid foundation, everything builds up and aligns far more easily than when built on unstable ground. This is true for on and off the mat. In your yoga poses you can pay attention to the parts of you that are touching the earth, and practice really rooting yourself evenly through those areas of pressure. When you move faster then your attention, there is danger of imbalance and injury. Connecting to your foundation in your practice is a way of not only keeping yourself safe but is also a way to open up to the experience of the moment you are in with a humble attitude.
Nourish the Wonder of Children. A child´s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. Let it be your intention to feed the childlike curiosity and awe of not knowing all the answers.
Practice being at peace with the state of not knowing everything. In this way, you learn to relax into the moments when faced with a challenge and when you have no idea what will happen. Faith in the unknown brings about inner peace and can be practiced in meditation.
When practicing yoga, notice how you experience expectations. For example: When you come to a Warrior II position, do you expect your front thigh to start burning? Do you expect to hate it? Would you be able to notice, if this pose was empowering for you today? With The Beginner´s Mindset you can experience each pose as if you were doing it for the first time.
It is your past experiences, assumptions and judgments that send you into a cycle of storytelling and unnecessary suffering. The Beginner´s Mindset invites you to see things as they actually are – as opposed to the illusions with which you may so often identify.
Building a routine and practice with consistency is very useful. But it comes with the danger to move through the poses like brushing your teeth. Just doing it without awareness. By asking yourself “What can I learn in this pose/situation?” nothing becomes boring or useless.

Being a beginner can be fun, freeing and rewarding. Open your mind, heart and spirit – listen for guidance that might come your way. The ability to reconsider your preconceptions and open your mind to new ways of thinking may be increasingly important in today’s rapidly changing world.

In a time when it might feel like things are changing faster than you can keep up with (whether it´s relationships, technology or politics…) it´s vital that you learn how to remain open, curious and flexible in all facets of life. Just like a tree is likely to snap if it resists the wind rather than swaying with it, you can reduce your suffering and live a more enriched life if you invite more grace and less rigidity. Cultivate that “beginner´s mindset” where nothing is certain and there is everything to learn.

In the podcast you can enjoy a guided meditation:

08:00 Meditation: Bring Yourself Into The Present Moment