Remote connections… Why is practicing in the shala a different experience? A hypothesis from Neuroscience
Yoga and the Brain - editorial by M. Elide
Let's start with a much needed foreword. There is nothing wrong with Zoom or any other apps. In these times of restrictions, many yoga and movement professionals have been able to continue with their practice and students have continued to roll out the mat, albeit at a distance from each other. However, it is often noted that the experience of online practice is not exactly the same as the one in a studio/shala. Comparing one-self to others is no longer an issue, you can focus more on how you feel, you can organize your time better. That’s all true. However, it is undeniable that something is missing, and the fault it’s not just the poor internet connection, the turned-on microphone when they should be shut, or the Amazon driver ringing the doorbell. Indeed, one possible explanation may lie in the functioning of our brain. However, let’s start from the beginning.
Have you ever noticed that when we spend time with people from another Country, or even another county, our accent changes? Have you ever heard that, after living together for a long time, a couple becomes more alike? These stories of basic psychology are nothing but examples of how people, while interacting with each other, begin to adopt mirroring mechanisms in an unconscious way. At the same time there are mechanisms involving temporal synchrony or "interpersonal coordination". Of course, the stronger the emotional bond between people, the higher the power of coordination.
However, the super interesting fact here is that this phenomenon of mutual adaptation does not only occur on a behavioral level but can also be recorded in the psychophysiological responses of the body (such as heartbeat, sweating, breathing rate) and especially in the brain. When we cooperate with another person, our brain activity begins to align with each other, much like when we walk arm in arm and try to keep up the pace. This fact clearly appears from the recording of electrical signals, such as the electroencephalogram (EEG).
It seems like a rather obscure phenomenon to describe and there was definitely some paranormal stuff going on at the beginning of these studies. The first research carried out in co-registration (“hyperscanning technique”) aimed to demonstrate the presence of telepathy in pairs of homozygotic twins. What actually seems to happen is that doing something together not only activates the same brain areas (that would be too simple!) but it also creates a chain of events that make two brains resonate together. This phenomenon disappears, or is reversed, in the case of competitive activities.
The crucial point for us now is that these mechanisms are not just the consequence of a mutual tuning between two people, but they can be the cause. It is precisely through them, in fact, that it is possible to create a feeling of closeness. While it is true that the stronger the bond, the greater the coordination, it is also true that the greater the coordination, the greater the empathy. Think about how important this can be when practicing together in the shala. Think about breathing, which sets the pace from the beginning to the end. Everyone feels his own breath and that of the others, but during practice, this time gap disappears, and you experience a single flow. A bit like when people clap hands in a theater: after a while, you start hearing a single rhythm. Those who practice or have tried Ashtanga yoga, know how much energy it can unleash, especially in guided classes where the pace is the same for everyone.
And now let’s move on to nerd world. The main brain areas that are responsible of these mechanisms are the premotor regions, for movement planning, the parietal regions, for the sense of position in space, the prefrontal regions, the so-called "social brain", and finally the cerebellum, for the rhythmic aspects (and not only... Remember this one, because we will talk about it again). In addition to these networks, it is important to point out that cooperative, rhythmic activities carried out together are associated with the release of specific neurotransmitters and hormones, such as endorphins and oxytocin (the "love hormone"), which facilitate affiliative social processes through reward mechanisms. The reward system, thanks to the action of a network of neural structures, regulates some aspects related to positive emotions and motivations based on the pursuit of pleasure. Their release was found to be related to bond formation, to the pursueing of social closeness and the sense of mutual trust. This way it is possible to create a unity, a group.
Let us conclude now with some reflections about the reasons underlying interpersonal synchronization. This issue should be addressed to evolutionary psychology in order to consider some aspects related to our phylogeny. Indeed, it has been suggested that the tendency to do things together, rhythmically, as in the rituals of many tribes of the past (and of present ones) is aimed at blurring the boundaries between the self and the other. This way, it is possible to leave aside individuality in favour of the group, bringing some evolutionary advantages related to the optimization of resources, reproduction, security, and protection. Obviously, this does not mean that losing our own identity should be desirable. It is precisely by expressing our identity, our unique being, that we can live and share with others authentically. At the same time, we can take yoga practice as an opportunity to lose ourselves a bit, to be part of a whole, to feel strong and safe with others, when we want to. Because being at home, alone, doesn’t always sound very safe.
For the nerdiest…:
The Yoga and the Brain column is related to the practice of Yoga from the point of view of neuroscience research. We will talk about the mind-body relationship, the effects of yoga and movement on the brain, the boundaries between science and spirituality and much more, from a perspective that is anything but reductionist, but rather of research and integration. After all, "Yoga" means "Union"...
M. Elide graduated at Hari-Om in 2020. She is a trained psychologist and has been involved in neuroscientific research for years. She juggles between the study of Mind and Body, finding the true strength of practice and self-knowledge in the awareness of their encounter.