How to do dreams relate to my yoga practice?

How do we define our dreams in yoga?

“Dreams exist not just to convey one meaning, it can be meant for more than one. This has something to do with the collection of unconscious and conscious thoughts of the dreamer. Dreams inform the dreamer of the condition. One common condition is the healing process. Thus, it sets balance to the dreamer’s life. So when we understand the emotion that is driving the dream, the charge that it has over us is neutralized, and we are naturally healed, which is the intent and purpose of our souls journey through this life.”

According to Sigmund Freud when he studied dreams, he named an area of our brains called the subconscious where the mind stores all of our memories and desires. He believes that dreams are the visuals of the subconscious. According to Freud, every symbol in dreams originated from a thought or desire that buried in the subconscious mind. For more on Freud, go to here.

When we meditate and breathe in yoga, we become more and more aware. What I do know is that the more we are aware of our memories and desires, the more we can connect with the universal consciousness or God and have more appreciation for karma. I do believe karma is the cycle of memories and images popping in our heads that influence our emotions whether its happiness or sadness. The more we become aware, the more we become one with our own mental space and the power of dream is lessened or neutralized. From my visit to the Chopra Center, dreaming is one of seven states of consciousness. It is subject to the object of experience and it’s fuzzy with no real logic. You know how you have dream about your “teeth falling out”…you awake thinking “what does this mean?”  It typically is releasing karma from the past and signaling a form of anxiety of some kind. In summary, our dreams are vague experiences as a state of consciousness. So, dream on and realize our dreams are abundant and everyone deserves to have a dream that is not to be judged but just to be observed. There is enough air in the world for all our dreams. 😉

By Dena Dodd Perry

Yoga Teacher 500 CYT/MBA