I recently read a psychology journal article about schizophrenia* and some of the interesting observations of the psychologists that conducted this particular study involved the disembodied voices that many people afflicted with this dis-ease are prone to hear.

More specifically, the study looked at the subjective assessment that each of the patients made about the voices in their heads. The patients had to indicate whether they perceived the voices as malevolent, benevolent or neutral. Those people that perceived the voices as malevolent or evil also tested for higher levels of stress related to the disease. The opposite was true of the people that tended to think that the voices were ultimately trying to help.

What this highlights is the power of our subjective interpretation of our reality and the subsequent impact that it has on the other aspects of our lives. How are you interpreting the feedback that you are getting from your body, mind, relationships and environment? As cliche as it sounds, it seems that whether you see the glass as half empty or half full can actually change your fundamental experience of life (even if you have been diagnosed with something as potentially debilitating as schizophrenia).

What does this have to do with yoga you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

The practice of yoga and meditation has the potential to create a controlled environment where you can more clearly observe these subtle patterns of the mind. We can observe the preferences, judgements, etc. that influence the way we see the world and untimately our subjective reality. The practice is designed in a way that makes it easier to see these thoughts/feelings as opposed to trying to track them in the daily chaos of modern living. Once you are aware of a particular way of thinking, it will no longer inadvertently “colour” your experience of reality. You get to choose how you want to see the glass, and that choice may be the beginning of freedom.

*Virgil L. Gregory Jr. MSW (2010) Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Schizophrenia: Applications to Social Work Practice, Social Work in Mental Health, 8:2, 140-159, DOI: 10.1080/15332980902791086