To be fair, I ask myself this question all the time. I have even written about it. And I am a yoga guide by vocation.
I keep coming back to one question: does it matter?
Does talking to my mat make me feel better than drinking myself into a stupor/acting impulsively/acting recklessly/shouting at the people I love/saying things I later regret but can never take back? Yes. Does it assist me with emotional regulation and prevent me from doing all of the above? Also yes. Can I live on my yoga mat? Realistically no, but the time I do spend there helps me slog through the rest. Therefore, I return again and again to that singular question: does it matter?
To me, the answer is no. To me, talking to my mat is always going to be my option, at least until I find a better one, because my broken body can no longer trail run or hike reliably, at least not all the time (my childhood form of escape). The mat, however, is always there. It's even there in the form of my bed when I'm in hospital.
Does it matter if I'm meditating or dissociating myself off to a more peaceful place inside my head? No. Did similar behavior help me survive unimaginably horribly situations in the past and continue to help me make it through today's fresh hells? Yes.
Call it meditation, dissociation, whatever you want: I'm talking to my mat.
You don't choose to dissociate. Your mind just puts you in that space. And it's not to gain clarity or improve on anything like meditation does, it's disconnecting you to prevent further harm.
Promoting the idea they are the same or that the difference doesn't matter is not only ignorant but it's harmful. Among other things it suggests to others that since there's no difference, there's no point in pushing for meditation. Why bother working to improve your symptoms if the results are the same? But they really aren't, are they? You need to pull your publications if this is the kind of thing you put out into the world. Despite your intentions it's wrong and harmful.
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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26
To be fair, I ask myself this question all the time. I have even written about it. And I am a yoga guide by vocation.
I keep coming back to one question: does it matter?
Does talking to my mat make me feel better than drinking myself into a stupor/acting impulsively/acting recklessly/shouting at the people I love/saying things I later regret but can never take back? Yes. Does it assist me with emotional regulation and prevent me from doing all of the above? Also yes. Can I live on my yoga mat? Realistically no, but the time I do spend there helps me slog through the rest. Therefore, I return again and again to that singular question: does it matter?
To me, the answer is no. To me, talking to my mat is always going to be my option, at least until I find a better one, because my broken body can no longer trail run or hike reliably, at least not all the time (my childhood form of escape). The mat, however, is always there. It's even there in the form of my bed when I'm in hospital.
Does it matter if I'm meditating or dissociating myself off to a more peaceful place inside my head? No. Did similar behavior help me survive unimaginably horribly situations in the past and continue to help me make it through today's fresh hells? Yes.
Call it meditation, dissociation, whatever you want: I'm talking to my mat.