How Partner Yoga Can Strengthen Your Relationship
Have you ever scrolled through Instagram and reluctantly felt a pang of jealousy at someone else’s relationship? X and Y look so happy on that beach, at that restaurant, with their new puppy, why don’t I have that? It’s hard to fight off the little green monsters in our head but at the end of the day if you are actually yearning for more in your relationships, romantic or platonic, yoga could be your saving grace.
Yoga has undeniable benefits, as anyone who has practiced will tell you. If you apply those mind and body benefits to your relationship they will only get more intense. Practicing partner yoga creates the uniquely special space of complete mindfulness, connection, and focus. So put away your smartphones, close your laptop, and turn off your television. Partner yoga could be exactly what you need to find that connection you’re craving.
Here’s what partner yoga can do for you and your significant other/best friend/twin:
- It Builds Trust
Above all else, partner yoga builds trust. As you flow in and out of partner poses, you must be in complete harmony with your partner. You have to trust your partner, and know that they have equal trust in you. Otherwise, one of you is going head first into the ground. It’s like doing a trust fall, except upside down and on one hand. Easy peasy.
2. It Requires a Present Mind
While yoga calls for mindfulness and staying present in the moment, it’s all too easy to let your mind wander. Partner yoga on the other hand, requires a fully present mind. You must focus on what muscles you’re engaging, where your right hand goes in relation to your partner’s left leg, and so on. As soon as your mind starts to wander, your limbs probably will too.
3. It Improves Intimacy
Maybe you’ve recently hugged your best friend or been intimate with your partner, but for the most part our physical interactions are quite limited. Partner yoga offers a safe space to throw discomfort, awkwardness, and shame out the window and simply feel comfortable physically interacting with someone. Whether you are practicing with a significant other with whom you want to be intimate with, or a new friend you met at a yoga class, the sensation of touch is sometimes all you need. The more you are at ease during partner yoga, the more you’ll feel comfortable during those other intimate moments in your life.
4. It Strengthens Communication
Moving in sequence with another person is guaranteed to strengthen your ability to communicate. This level of communication goes beyond verbal cues and into physical cues. While this may sound complicated, it can be as simple as squeezing your hand around theirs to let them know you’re going to transfer your weight there next. Partner flow sequences bring communication into a tangible form that can strengthen your communication outside of yoga.
5. You Are Guaranteed to Laugh
The happiness and laughter that comes with practicing partner yoga is undeniable. It doesn’t matter if you just nailed a pose you’ve been working on forever, or you not-so-gracefully fell out of a new pose, you’re bound to bust a few hearty laughs (or if you’re like us, roll around on the ground laughing for a weirdly long time).