“Yoga chitta vritti nirodha.”

Silence the fluctuations of the mind.

This yogic dictum has been revelatory and guiding for my life.

Seven years ago, when I entered the realm of yoga teacher training, I learned this words and molded my mind with daily meditation—for the first time ever in this body.

What I quickly learned is that, fluctuations of the mind are not all random. Though the disturbances can happen “spontaneously” or “on their own,” they most definitely are provoked by physical challenge.

Resistance training, running, hiking, calisthenics, yin yoga—you name it, all provide oceans of opportunity to volitionally interact with stimuli that will uprise disturbances in our mind.

The 25#-above-your-mental belief in “I can” back squat.

The 5-min pigeon pose in complete stilln ...