What Creates Yoga Bliss? Answer is Not What You Think

Yoga Bliss—that calm, settled, the world is a wonderful place to be is what many who practice yoga describe feeling as they are sprawled out in shavasana, the traditional way to end class.

I too felt this way often in the different forms of yoga I practiced for many years. But I felt it most intensely at the end of an hour and a half Power Yoga class. What’s more, the calm settled feeling would last often for three to four hours following class.

What creates yoga bliss?

To most, yoga bliss comes from spiritual awakening, as described in yoga teachings. Neuroscience offers a different explanation. It’s about biochemistry. In yoga, you move through a series of poses (asanas) that involve considerable:

Proprioceptive Input (sense of body awareness from input into the joints and muscles when we move);

Vestibular Input (sense of balance from moving in a different plane);

Tactile Input (from deep pressure applied to your body against floor or wall);

Interoception (our internal body sense that puts us in tune with the inner workings of our body, like muscle tension).

Digging Deeper

Proprioception comes from balancing and weight bearing postures, changing body positions, and postures involving push/pull (flexion/extension) into joints and muscles (“heavy work”). All put pressure into the joint. This pressure sends information to the brain about where the body is in space to enhance body awareness.

Vestibular input happens with each head change as you move in different directions:

Upright

Forward

Backward

Rotated

Up to down

Backbends to forward bends

Bends to twists

Tapping into the balance system, these head changes alert the brain to change of position to maintain balance and perspective. Think about all the head changes as you move through a vinyasa. Upside down poses especially enact a huge vestibular surge. If you practice Power Yoga especially, your class will likely consist of headstands, handstands, Crow, and Firefly to give you a continual pow of vestibular hits.

Tactile input in yoga comes from:

Bare feet pushing into floor or mat

Hands pressed into various parts of the body for support

Instructor's physical adjustments

Interoception in yoga allows you to recognize and respond to momentary sensations in the body as they fluctuate in time, allowing you to identify tension (“Pull back.”) or relaxation (“Go for it!).

Primary Vs. Far Senses

These four “primary” senses are our power senses. Their strong input in yoga practice, bolstered by deep breathing throughout, is the secret behind yoga bliss.

Near Senses: Proprioception, vestibular, tactile and interoceptive inform us of what is happening inside our bodies. The main players in our sensory repertoire, they give the nervous system the most power.

Far Senses: Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching inform us of what is happening outside our bodies and are supporting players in our sensory repertoire.

Daily Prescription For Yoga Bliss

For a powerful, pleasurable way to get a strong dose of vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile input for a calm, balanced state of being, get on the mat, daily if possible.