Yoga can be defined in a neuroanatomical way as suppression of the left brain function and promotion of the right. That is, leaving off the obsession with past events and planning for the future, and, instead, focusing (note correct spelling, in spite of recent media epithetization of the word, as in “focussed” and “focussing”) on the moment.

A good friend, Colleen Lyons, recently appointed ethicist at the V.A. Hospitals of Western WA, sent me a fascinating videotaped lecture. It features a neuroanantomist from Harvard discussing her own altered perceptions as she evolved a massive left-brain stroke, from its earliest inception into a full-blown devastation of motor and language function. The talk is fascinating and quite entertaining. As I watched it, I was more and more struck by the role yoga plays in helping us tap into the vast resources of our right brain. And this we can do without undergoing a stroke!

Dr. Taylor had a full recovery, thanks in no small part to the craniotomy with evacuation of a two-week old blood clot, but her complete recovery took eight years. For our part, we can choose through breath control, meditation, and postures, alone or in combination, in class or at home to accomplish a beautiful journey deep into our right brain, almost at will. And then we can hook back the left side and carry on with our daily routine. What a gift yoga gives to us! The euphoria of the evolving stroke without the dire consequences.

Dr. Taylor describes the sense of at-oneness with the universe that yogis tell us we can achieve through the highest stages of practice, the level of contemplation, or samahdi . Most of us work towards this end, but few actually achieve it. However, through a balanced yoga class, with a grounding, centering meditation first, followed by postures done as a meditation in motion, completed by complete surrender in the final resting pose, or savasana, we can get a glimpse, or a taste, of the richness of the left-brain life. This we should try to achieve through each and every yoga class in which we participate.

Treat yourself to a unique video; it runs a bit over 18 minutes. Don’t miss it: Stroke of Insight