By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

The quality of your life is determined by how you use your mind, not by external events and situations.  

One person can feel crushed about losing her or his job, while another person feels grateful for the chance to reinvent herself or himself.  When you lose someone dear to you, a person or even a pet, you can focus on the loss or you can focus on your gratitude for the way they enriched your life for so long.

Because of the complexity of the mind, yoga offers many tools to help you with your mind.  Yoga has more tools for your mind than for your body.  

One of the most important yogic techniques for your mind is substitution.  Whenever you notice that you are caught up in thoughts that tighten your body or upset you, you can choose to substitute something better.  For example, you may be a worrier. Instead of worrying, you can say a little prayer or send a yogic blessing.

This is a very simple, yet sophisticated technique.  It is based on the understanding that you only worry about people or things that you care about.  The worrying is a way of reminding yourself that you love them.  Unfortunately, every worry makes your body live through the experience as though it is really happening, even though it probably never will…

Excerpt from Yoga: Inside & Outside, pages 166‒167