Pavlov's Yogis?: Redefining your space through Neuroplasticity

How do you define your yoga practice? I think the better question is "How do you redefine your yoga practice?"

I do not think there is one particular answer but the one I have been focusing on in my yoga classes is one of SPACE and SPACING. It seems when many of us go to a class, we grab our mats and go to the same place as the last time we were there. We like our "spots" and given going to that same spot more and more, we become accustomed to it and even feel "weird" when we are not in it, despite the fact it's the same room.

I think that probably happens in more than just the yoga studio. Classrooms, boardrooms, treadmills at the gym to even airplane seats. We are "creatures of habit" in so many ways. However, is that advantageous during our yoga practice and lives off of the mat?

Well, I could argue both ways but for the sake of today's post, I will go with a NO!

I have observed over the last few weeks that not only are my students setting themselves up the same way in the room (fine by me) but they are actually moving in, remaining and moving out of the asana in the same way and positioning their hands and feet the same way (not fine by me). Looking at the function of the CEREBELLUM, we become aware of how powerful the brain is in terms of learning in anything, in particular yoga.  In the book "Brain Architecture" by Larry Swanson, we see that the brain "The essential nature of cerebellar function remains elusive. However it does appear safe to conclude that the “small brain” is an integral part of the motor system (it is also known to participate in visceromotor responses) and that it plays an important role in motor learning and in fine tuning the coordination between the hundreds of muscles involved in orienting responses, reaching and manipulating, posture, and so on. The cerebellum receives all types of sensory information, either directly from the spinal cord and brainstem or indirectly from the cerebral cortex (via mossy fibers from the pontine gray). " 


We also see "Much more intriguing, however, is the possibility that synaptic strength can be increased or decreased by the coincident activation of synapses: in other words, that associate learning can take place. As a matter of fact, Richard Thompson and his colleagues have shown that the circuit  underlies at least some forms of Pavlovian learning, which is also referred to as classical conditioning. Recall Pavlov’s dogs and how they salivated at the sight of food (an unconditioned stimulus and response). What Pavlov did was to ring a bell just before food was shown to the dog, and the next time the bell was rung alone the dog salivated. Before the pairing, the bell alone did not elicit salivation; after the pairing, it did – it became a conditioned or learned stimulus that produced a conditioned response. The key point was that an ineffective stimulus (the bell) became an effective stimulus after pairing with an unconditioned or already effective stimulus. We now know that the strength of synapses associated with the auditory pathway were strengthened to the point where they were now effective without pairing with the other stimulus. Where does this synaptic strengthening – this learning – take place?"


Are yogis victims of "classical conditioning" that the mat is the effective stimulus to have them position and move themselves the same way EVERY TIME? I offer the some thoughts that we can not only develop our body, we can develop our minds via neuroplasticity. 


In the book "The Brain that Changes itself" by Dr. Norman Doidge, we see a great interview with Dr. Michael Menzerich  who discusses the reality that the brain is able to be changed, even in adulthood, for the better and it is not "hard-wired" as previously thought. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it's harder due to "competitive plasticity" which "explains why our bad habits are so difficult to break or “unlearn.” Most of us think of the brain as a container and learning as putting something in it. When we try to break a bad habit, we think the solution is to put something new into the container. But when we learn a bad habit, it takes over a brain map, and each time we repeat it, it claims more control of that map and prevents the use of that space for “good” habits. That is why “unlearning” is often a lot harder than learning, and why early childhood education is so important— it’s best to get it right early, before the “bad habit” gets a competitive advantage.

As we move through our yoga practice, make sure that you are changing the physical and MENTAL dimensions of your practice by doing the following:

1) Be "longer" in your poses, meaning increase the length of how far the feet are apart from each other. For instance, step 2 more inches forward of where you normally do in Standing poses like Virhrabandrasana I (Warrior I). (More sensory feedback for greater motor output)

2) Be "deeper" in your poses by bending your knees, within a safe range, to allow the muscles to elongate at the same time stabilizing you more. (More sensory feedback for greater motor output)

3) Be "slower" while moving into, through and out of your poses. The brain will want to move in/out of the pose quickly since the "pose" and not the transition is the goal. Be aware of your speed so that the brain fires to more muscle fibers so that start to develop greater strength. (More sensory feedback for greater motor output)

4) Breathe deeper. Enough said.

5) Focus

Merzenich discovered that paying close attention is essential to long-term plastic change. In numerous experiments he found that lasting changes occurred only when his monkeys paid close attention. When the animals performed tasks automatically, without paying attention, they changed their brain maps, but the changes did not last. We often praise “the ability to multitask.” While you can learn when you divide your attention, divided attention doesn’t lead to abiding change in your brain maps.

Warning: This will be difficult at first. For some, including myself, change is not hard. It's easier to use those highly used neural pathways. However, as we are more focused on the changing the brain, I promise you that the body will follow and you will see your practice soar!

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear them!

Will