Reflections

Practicing Ease

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , / 1 Comment

Are there times in your practice when you feel like you can give it your all and other times when you can hardly get on to your mat?

Our lives are so busy these days that adding one more item on to the list can feel over whelming. If you have a regular yoga practice you may have come to the realization that yoga definitely helps with dealing with the stress in your life. But sometimes you just don’t have the energy to get yourself to the mat.

I have noticed that if I can get to my yoga class, sit on my mat, start breathing that everything else in my life falls away, if only for an hour, but I end up feeling much better than if I just lounged on my couch for an hour.

The trick I find is to remember the reason why you have come to yoga. It is not to compete with your neighbour or even yourself. That is the Ego talking. The striving to always out-do yourself can not only add stress but also misses the true gift in yoga.

Peace or the gift of equanimity; a state of even minded openness that allows for a balanced, clear response to all situations, rather than a response borne of reactivity or emotion, can come through a regular yoga practice. When you are always reacting to events and situations rather than just calmly observing these events stress is added to your life. By always striving to get better results there is no joy in life as you are never satisfied.

We live in a culture where striving for results colors our every endeavor. The chatter of our mind is constant; how much did I accomplish today? Did I meet /exceed my quota? Is there something else I need to do to make myself feel complete and purposeful? Why is it never enough?

Having a regular yoga practice can help you to recognize where, when and how you get caught up in the results. It also clearly shows your reaction/attachment to those results; either good or bad. When practicing your asana (postures) you might start to notice your internal running commentary; I got deeper into my breath yesterday, I had more energy, and I got lower in my Utkatasana.

All these judgments on yourself create stress and is counter- productive to your growth and ultimate happiness. If you allow yourself to step back from the experience; with all the things attached to it, such as; thoughts, emotions and pure sensations, by not getting caught up in a reaction which would have you identifying with those thoughts, emotions and sensations that would give you the peace you need.

To just purely experience things without attaching any emotional baggage gives you the ability to calmly remain balanced in any situation.

To practice with ease will bring you closer to the pure joy awaiting you in yoga.

Namaste

(source: topnews.net.nz)

Five Ways Yoga Can Save You Money

Taya / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , , / 1 Comment

Erica Rodefer (from the Spoiled Yogi) recently wrote an article on the Yoga Journal describing five ways practicing yoga can actually save you moolah. If you’re new to yoga and broke, we wouldn’t recommend jumping into the discipline just to save cash, but Erica does bring up some great ways yoga saves your health, wealth, and the planet! Here is an excerpt from her list:

4. Shop less. Some people eat ice cream when they’re feeling down. Others just shut down. Then, there are those of us who buy new shoes to make us feel better about life. I’ve learned that the more yoga I do, the less “stuff” I need to feel happy and fulfilled. I don’t need a day at the spa or a psychotherapist to validate my worth.

5. Conservation. One of the tenants of yoga is ahimsa, which means nonharming. While there may be some controversy in the yoga community about what exactly it means to practice ahimsa (mostly around the issue of vegetarianism), one thing we can all agree on is that we do less harm when we use fewer resources. The more we conserve, the less money we spend.

To read reasons numbers 1 – 3 of her list, click here.

How does yoga help you save in your life?

[source: yogadestin]

6 Tips to Deal with the Elephant in the Room

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , , / 2 Comments

Okay so I’m just going to say it! Many of us our ruled by our emotions! 

{Source: http://www.function1.com}

 There’s the over emotional, unemotional or those who deny emotion. There are the people that react or overreact or just act, or the people who are boisterous, quiet or confident all of which are tied to our emotions. Sure our emotions encompass our personalities, but they shouldn’t have to define us. Our patterns, actions and behaviours, that result from our emotions, can be “trained” without changing our personalities, but for some reason we seem to grow up with this disconnect. 

What are emotions exactly? Well, according to the dictionary; 

Emotion is the complex psychophysiological experience of an individuals state of mind as interacting with biochemical (internal) and environmental (external) influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves “physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.”Emotion is associated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and motivation. Motivations direct and energize behavior, while emotions provide the affective component to motivation, positive or negative. 

Therefore, those individuals who say they aren’t “emotional” are wrong. They are, they just don’t see their anger or aloofness as an emotion. So what are we supposed to do with all of these emotions in our lives?

Well, here are 6 tips to begin dealing with the elephant in the room; 

  • Be Aware– Start to take notice of how you interact with the world. Notice when you are acting or reacting or even overreacting. While in the moment your emotions may not let you see this, take a moment after a conversation or any social interaction and review how it went. Were you polite, interruptive, reactive to their thoughts, beliefs or opinions, this affects you and them!
  • Practice Patience –  While a fairly simple concept, be patient with yourself and others around you. Remember that everybody has to deal with their own emotions and while you may not like the way somebody interacts with you, remember you don’t know where they were or what happened to them 5 minutes before they saw you. Take a deep breath and let it go, maybe they are dealing with something really hard, don’t take it personally.
  • Keep a Journal – Keeping a journal is a great tool to “get it all out” or make sense of the clutter in your head. It is a great resource to say the things you wish you could say but feel you can’t, and to “let go” of everything that weighs you down.
  • Do One Thing a Day That You Love – Whether its yoga, or a hike or a run, or something a simple as reading a chapter of a book. Take that 10 minutes or 2 hours to do something for you! Your emotions and your soul will thank you and your presence will show that happiness to all.
  • Be Authentic –  There is a way to express your feelings, desires and emotions to those that surround you without causing them any ill emotions in return. Don’t do the things you don’t want to do if it doesn’t serve you, but let people know why. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” ~ Dr. Suess.
  • Breathe – You know in the heat of the moment that you are either angry or upset, take a moment to breathe before reacting. Remember that everybody has problems, challenges and obstacles in their lives and we can interact and still be our own person without being ruled by our emotions.

Our emotions shouldn’t define who we are, and while they can make all the difference in our lives by building lasting emotions of love and happiness, they can also make us live a life of bitterness or sadness. Remember, when you wake up in the morning you have a choice; choose to smile!

Oh Lordy, Yoga For Forty Part 2

Melina Lake / Associations, Reflections, Studios, Thoughts, Tips, Yogis / , , , , , , / 0 Comment

I felt muscles in my legs I didn’t even know existed. I felt more ribs move with every twist. More pressure in my fingers with every downward dog. More strain in my Achilles tendons as I tried to perfect my Warrior one. I had to stop going to my weekly Kundalini practice to ensure I could maintain my strength for upcoming classes. My basement suite became dustier, laundry grew higher, bus rides seemed longer, and sleep time felt shorter.

As tough as it is to dedicate your body to practicing every day, it is even tougher to dedicate your time.

Was it awful to give up other routines and dedicate my spare time to yoga? Not at all. It was a challenge, but I grew to like it. My daily practice became what I looked forward to during each work day. Knowing I had a welcoming, comfortable, and relaxing place to be in a few hours made the dull days shorter.

That tired, restless feeling most of us get after a poor night’s sleep and an even poorer day on the job was eliminated during my daily practice. It energized me rather than drained. I spent less time wasted on watching mindless TV or checking email and more time being productive. My time was better spent because it became more crucial. Don’t get me wrong, I began to miss staring at the Food Network, but I put more effort into taking care of myself instead.

I enrolled in the course I never got around to registering for, I completed four cover letters for job applications I was procrastinating on, and I got myself into bed earlier and in turn, was able to wake up feeling more rested, despite that I could always keep sleeping.

Time became more precious, which I soon learned may be the point of this whole challenge. A focus on time, the now, and gratitude for the precious time we have.

But how about those precious physical changes? You know, the ones to our muscular frame. As much as I didn’t think it was going to happen, it did.

To be continued…

Mindfulness And Me (3 Tips)

Guest Author / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips, Yogis / , , , , / 0 Comment

I’m thinking about walking the talk more. As I work towards being mindful in my yoga practice, I’m exploring how to be more mindful in my life. It doesn’t make any sense to be committed to being conscious and thoughtful on my mat and then float through the rest of my day on auto pilot. So I’m going to take my mindfulness practice off the mat…

How? you ask.

I have some thoughts:

1. Turn off my laptop more. Can I do this and keep my identity? Probably. It may be hard, but I bet I could do it if I made more of an effort (“I am not my mind, I am not my mind, I am not my mind”).

Less time reading the New York Times online would probably be good for me.

2. Slow down. Looking out the window is not necessarily a waste of time.

3. Pay more attention to food and drink. I need to remind myself that eating is sacred, not something I do for entertainment, and it’s not just fuel. My heart loves to enjoy and savour food, but sometimes I forget.

So in May I am going to start living my yoga off the mat one mindful moment at a time…

(source: www.mindfulconstruct.com)

Oh Lordy, Yoga For Forty – Part 1

Melina Lake / Contests, Events, Reflections, Reviews, Studios, Thoughts, Yogis / , , , / 1 Comment

smokefreewisconsin.blogspot.com

“Oh no, there is no way I can do that,” I respond to my best friend Brenna, the yoga teacher, when she asks me to do Semperviva’s Forty Day Challenge with her.

She looks at me calmly and replies, “why not?”.

The excuses flowed faster than a Vinyasa Power Flow class. “Well, I’m taking that night class and I have lots of homework. My weekends are tied up enough as it is. I won’t have time to cook dinners. My body can’t handle it – you know, I’ve had that sore hip for months. I don’t have a car anymore. I’m trying to find a new job right now. And I’m not good enough at yoga to do it that much.”

“Ok then,” she says unbothered, “I’m going to do it.”

In reality, if anyone doesn’t have time to do this yoga challenge, it’s Brenna with her schedule of volunteering, yoga teaching and training, overtime working, and wedding planning to name a few. Her question of “why not?” stuck with me the whole rest of the night. It’s called a challenge for a reason.

But why forty days? I asked. It seemed like an eternity. Semperviva’s website (www.semperviva.com) states, Yogic science confirms that it takes 40 days to fully develop a new life-promoting habit or to drop a current destructive habit. Knowing full well that I could use something to break the repetitive question to myself: “What am I doing with my life?” I chose to try and sustain my mind from all the foreseen opportunities within my future and focus more on the now. Something I do well temporarily, but making it last is a recurring problem.

I started off strong. The first week of March 13-20, with momentum and positivity, I counted every class with pride. A few friends and I were in it together and created a routine support network.

Slowly after week 2, fourteen straight days of yoga, I began to feel the benefits of practicing every day, but these weren’t felt without pain. Strong, rooted stiffness which I took as good pain, but pain nonetheless.

To be continued…

What The Neck About Yoga

Tanya Lee Markul / Reflections, Tips / , , / 1 Comment

We store stress throughout our entire body, but for most of us, our neck takes the brunt of it. Fortunately, yoga can do wonders for neck pain and not only because it helps build strength and flexibility, but also because it helps us to develop better posture habits, even if we have a sedentary lifestyle.

The average human head weights between 15 and 21 pounds, so, as you can imagine, when we have poor posture, have bad head-neck alignment or are stressed, it makes the muscles of the neck and back work and compensate more than they should – it actually makes the muscles short and weak. This can lead to pain and tightness in the neck and upper back region, headaches, even arthritis and other not so pleasant muscle injuries.

Forcing your body to do anything in yoga that it is not ready for can result in serious injury. All it takes is a few centimeters the wrong way.

Chances are that if have (or have had) a desk job or stress in your life, you are going to show up to yoga with tight neck muscles (most of us do). You may not be able to bring the chin to the chest, bend the head back to look up or even turn the head from right to left to a great degree. These limitations are OK, you just have to learn to work with them.

Releasing tension and stress in the jaw, neck, shoulders and down the back is as important as sitting up straight. All we need to do is to take a few deep breathes and remind ourselves to relax and sit up right (remember strong, but soft). This goes for when we are doing yoga and in our everyday life.

Here are only a few exercises that could help. Remember to move slowly and deliberately and not beyond your boundaries.

Easy Pose: helps to balance the head evenly on top of the neck. Sit in comfortable cross-legged position with a straight spine, balancing the head evenly on top the neck.

Chin-to-chest: creates a long gentle stretch of the back of the neck. Inhale and as you exhale slowly lower your chin to your chest, creating a long, gentle stretch along the back of the neck. Take several slow, deep breaths with the chin down. Lift the head back up on an inhale. Repeat.

Ear-to-shoulder: creates a gentle stretch along the top of the shoulder and side of the neck. Inhale and exhale your head to toward one shoulder – eyes forward. Inhale and raise your head back up. Repeat on the other side.

Draw-a-necklace with your chin: creates a gentle stretch along the top of the shoulder and side of the neck. Inhale and draw a necklace with your chin from the middle of your chest toward right shoulder. Exhale come back to center. Repeat on the other side.

Before you know it you’ll be looking up at your fingertips while in triangle pose.

Bridging the Gap Between Yoga and Functional Movement Part 2

Sarah Jamieson / News, Reflections, Styles, Teachers, Tips / , , , , / 0 Comment

 

YOGA & BACK CARE

The functional movement of Yoga is integral to our health and wellness, but did you know that Yoga can also benefit the health of your spine! Therapeutic movement and alignment based postures have been used to improve the integrity of the spine, as well as overall mobility of the spinal segments, all by nurturing your spine and caring for your back.

Your spine consists of several parts. Each segment has about 2 degrees rotation when turning. Your lumbar spine has 5 vertebrae and  is designed for stability, as well as load distribution through the hips to the lower limbs. Your cervical spine or neck counts 7 vertebrae. Your thoracic spine counts 12 vertebrae and is designed for mobility.

Our thoracic spine plays an integral role in our overall movement and ability to move freely. Lack of thoracic mobility is as common as lack of hip mobility. Lack of thoracic mobility forces your body to function in ways it was not designed for.

While participating in a class, or teaching your own class keep these anatomical and movement principles in mind:

 Breathe:  When we hold our breath, we hold onto tension. Quiet, introspective breathing, allows for relaxation and increased circulation to tissues whose vessels are constricted during times of stress

 Create Movement of the Spine With Flexion and Extension:  The spine needs movement to lubricate the joints and provide nutrition to the spongy disks between the vertebrae.  During movement, the disks soak up nutrients., therefore it’s necessary to reverse the curvatures for brief periods of time.

Balance Flexibility with Strength: Developing strong yet flexible muscles is perhaps the most crucial principle in back care. It is important to lengthen contracted muscles before working on strength. When lengthening the spine, its natural curves should be maintained, keeping the low back in its concave curve. The back’s curves are designed to absorb shock throughout the spinal column.

 The Importance of Yoga Sequencing: Sequencing yoga poses from basic to more advanced is very important. Start with postures that bring our attention to releasing the fascia first and establishing movement in the thoracic spine.

So the next time you find yourself saying….”awww my aching back”…. Stop, drop and roll out that Yoga Mat!

Getting Into The Flow

Leeann / Reflections, Reviews, Studios, Teachers, Thoughts / , , , , , , , , , / 0 Comment

I am currently going through a phase where I really like Flow Yoga.

With all the different types of yoga out there you might be wondering what exactly is Flow Yoga. According to About.com Flow yoga would be classified under the broad umbrella of Vinyasa Yoga. A breath synchronized class where poses or postures are strung together smoothly. Following your instructor’s lead you are asked to match your inhales and exhales to a specific posture, flowing from one pose to another creating a very rhythmic meditative dance.

Some instructors are very good at creating this illusion of a dance; their choice in poses is well thought out, they synchronize smoothly, the inhale & exhale comes naturally and their choice in music complements the overall feel of the class.

I have run into all different types of Flow classes. That is the beauty of Vinyasa Yoga; it allows for so much diversity in teaching styles that you would never get bored. It does require you to come with an open mind as you might find it can take a few tries to get the teacher you like.

One instructor’s choice in music was not to my liking, but I learned a lot about Plank pose, and Chaturanga. I have found that even if I don’t like everything in a class, there is always something I have learned that I can take from the class.

This past week I was lucky enough to catch a Yyoga flow class with Christie Baumgartner.  She is a wonderful instructor. A beautiful soul packaged in a tiny dancer’s body; playful yet welling with good informational tips on posture and proper alignment.

Her arrangement of postures seems to flow naturally, allowing for maximum breath and ease of motion. Without even thinking, your inhales and exhales seem to flow naturally with each pose she suggests.

This is where the dance begins. She varies her Sun Salutations with enough freshness that it never seems to get dull. She builds each pose upon the previous so that the muscles slowly warm up, yet you do not feel fatigued. From beginning to end I feel as if I have been skilfully guided to achieve what I set out to do; experience my body in all its beauty of movement, to breathe with fullness and to awaken to a new sense of calm.

You can tell that Christie is very passionate about yoga, her enthusiasm is contagious. She makes you want to strive higher, not for her, but for you. To push yourself just a little more in order not to miss a step in the dance she is sharing with you.

She makes yoga fun! She laughs through-out her class and truthfully I appreciate that. Why not have fun?

I have yet to disagree with her choice in music. I literally caught myself singing along.

Even though you will sweat through-out her class, you will be so engaged that you’ll hardly notice until the end; at which time you will be very grateful for those Yyoga showers.

If you get the chance try out one of Christie’s Flow classes at Yyoga Flow Wellness on Burrard Street; I highly recommend it. She just might make you fall in love with yoga all over again.

(Source: jameswvinner.com)

My Top 5 Favorite Vancouver Yoga Review Articles

Tanya Lee Markul / Reflections, Thoughts, Writers / , , , / 2 Comments

This was tough! But, here are some of the articles that have lately spoken to me and have stuck to my heart. Hope you enjoy! I would love to hear your fave!

1.  Memory Dredging by James Liang. Time traveling through the senses – how smell, sight, taste, sound and touch can revert us back to a time that was significant in our lives. We hold onto these moments (both good and bad). Sometimes we may not even be able to remember the entire instance, but select pieces and parts of it, but for whatever reason, a particular sense captured its imprint. I believe that perhaps a reason we record this instance is for energy. In those places (memories) we experienced something profound, memorable, a particular feeling or emotion. Perhaps they are also places for us to return to learn from and use the experience and its energy for strength to keep going.

2.  Coming Back To You by Leeana Anaka. Yoga helps us to reconnect with our bodies in a way that we become more in tune with it and, in a way, we become better at listening to what it’s telling us. Yoga also helps us to take control of the mind, especially when it comes to dictating unrealistic expectations or negativity. As Leeana has written, yoga cultivates a calmness that allows you to believe that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

3.  Browse with Moderation by Sophie Legrand. In this article, Sophie talks about not squandering our energy and exercising our will-power in a modern world of cyberspace. We often resort to things like the television and endless hours of Internet surfing when we are bored, lonely or in need of stimulation. Sophie has some great recommendations for nurturing ourselves instead of giving in to mindless surfing.

4.  How to Start Your Day Calm & Relaxed – Without Yoga by Taya Ng. An article from Vancouver Yoga Review’s founder, Taya describes some very nice ways to start the day without yoga. Not everyone can or chooses to start the day with asana practice, and that there are other ways to capture and manifest a sense of relaxation and calmness upon waking up. Yoga can be done at any time of that works best for you.

5.   21 Beautiful Benefits of Yoga by me. One of my self-written faves, this article covers some of the benefits of yoga practice. Perhaps it’s a bit weird to choose one of my own, but I constantly come back to this. It’s important we believe and trust in the process of yoga, surrender ourselves to it and know that the more we do yoga, the more we believe and dedicate ourselves to discovering our true selves, the more will be revealed.

Namaste.

3 Ways to Pamper Your Soul!

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , , / 0 Comment

{Source: http://www.portalmico.com/?p=244}

Who doesn’t love a relaxing massage or a stroll on a beautiful spring sunny day, but how can we continuously pamper our soul? How do we make the time to make our soul and or our heart feel good? We may get these feelings from the above, but generally they are only temporary solutions.

Our lives are made up of a bunch of moments, and while every moment may not be the best experience it makes an impact on our soul and our subconscious.

Here’s 3 Ways for Long Term Soul Pampering;

  • KARMA
    Seems to be pretty self explanatory, especially with the old adages “what goes around comes around” or “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”Derived from the Sanskrit word “kri,” karma literally means “to do.” Then if we take the meaning of yoga as “union”; karma yoga translates to the path of union through action. In some philosophies the word karmanot only means action but the effects that your actions have and can be further described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which someone acts in accordance to their dharma (one’s duty) without personal self-centred desires, like or dislikes.In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:

Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.

           Take into consideration how your actions influence life around you and your life.

  • SEVA
    Otherwise known as Selfless Service, Seva is the action of giving back, it is a sincere sharing of wealth (money, talents, service).  Our community is nurtured through voluntary gatherings, where teachers and students can connect with each other while, at the same time, doing something that makes the world a better place.Swami Niranjan, a modern master of yoga, explains the word Seva is made up of two words, ‘saha’ (with that) and ‘eva’ (to). Therefore, the word Seva means ‘together with’ and is describing actions that is an expression of compassion, of the desire to uplift and assist people and can be a strong practice for self-purification.How do you do this? Start small, maybe helping a senior citizen with their groceries or offering to run an errand for a friend. Or take a look at www.govolunteer.ca which lists countless of opportunities to volunteer from bringing your dog to visit the local care home or teaching yoga.

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment.
Anthony Robbins

  • DHARMA
    Buddhists believe in the Law of “Dharma,” which means, the purpose in life. This law says that we have taken manifestation in physical form to fulfill a purpose. You have a unique talent and a unique way of expressing it meaning there is something that you can do better than anyone else in the world. By understanding your purpose and special qualities, you will be able to reach your goals and get closer to your dreams.Is what you are doing in life your dharma, are you not sure? Write down all your biggest hopes and desires and work to live by them!

Souls have different journeys. The best thing to know is, not what everybody else does, but what you do. Self-discovery essentially is finding your own dharma, your own rhythm.
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While all of these items are life skills and or lifelong ways of interacting with the world, they can lead to healthier, happier you and a pampered soul!

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN YOGA AND FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT PART 1

Sarah Jamieson / News, Reflections, Reviews, Teachers, Thoughts, Tips, Yogis / , , , , , / 1 Comment

What do Yoga and Functional Movement (FM) have in common?

In Sanskrit the word Yoga is derived from the root “yul” meaning “to control,” ” to unite,” and “to join;” meaning whole. There are many paths in yoga, all of which lead us to the same ultimate destination; which is optimal health and wellness in body and mind and a connection with something greater then ourselves. Functional movement aims to achieve the same destination, but does so through a more scientific modality. One rooted in understanding the approach to freedom in movement through the application of transformational biomechanics.

 Let’s take a closer look at the fundamentals of both Yoga & Functional Movement (FM):

  • Yoga: Anamayakosha – the physical body and its systems.
  • FM: biomechanics, anatomy & physiology of the human body
  • Yoga: Pranamayakosha – the energy body and breath
  • FM: deep diaphragmatic breathing & energy flow distribution
  • Yoga: Manomayakosha – the psychoemotional body
  • FM: sports psychology & emotional mechanics
  • Yoga: Vijnyanamayakosha – the watcher state or higher mind
  • FM: visualization & skill attainment
  • Yoga: Anandamayakosha – the bliss body, higher consciousness and the enlightened state
  • FM: homeostasis & equilibrium, in mind, body  & spirit

As a health practitioner of movement coaching we focus on aligning the body, and controlling movement through the use of transforming negative restrictions or “bio mechanical breakdowns” into symmetrical movement patterns. These movements are based on real-life situational biomechanics that affect us daily. They usually involve gross motor movement involving multi-joint movements that prepare the body for real life developments; which also place a high demand on the body’s core, segmental stabilizers and innervation of the body processes.

Yoga and Yoga therapeutics have been a growing niche market of the Western Yoga World for many years and with more teachers becoming more educated on human anatomy and physiology and more health practitioners understanding the benefits that Yoga modalities can have both mentally and physically on their clients, it’s easy to see the direct connection between the two disciplines. Both aim to teach on-going adaptation; which is required for people to remain injury free, and to maintain freedom of movement and peace of mind.

Join us next week as we look at the role of Yoga therapeutics and transformational biomechanics in rehabilitating back pain, a common issue in today’s society. Your spine will thank you! Namaste!

Continuing Along The Path

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , / 1 Comment

Within last week’s blog post: Letting in the New, I wrote about Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Eight Fold Path. Patanjali offers guidelines to help you cleanse the body and mind in order to lead a more meaningful and purposeful life by following an eight limbed path. One limb of that path is the Yamas.

One of the five Yamas I focused on was Aparigraha: non-covetousness/non-hoarding. By allowing yourself permission to let go of those things that no longer serve you, you lessen the burdens in your life. The less clutter you have in your life the more meaningful life becomes. The more you practice Aparigraha the more you will come to understand that Aparigraha embodies the idea of letting good things come to you.

Not only does this apply to actual physical things, but also to our own thinking. Getting stuck in old patterns of belief can become very harmful. As we age it is necessary to continually re-evaluate old thought patterns based on the new knowledge we have gained; although sometimes thought patterns are so ingrained in our sub-conscience that we hardly question them. Thus it is necessary to always be in a state of awareness; to live in a state of acting not re-acting. Allowing yourself a moment to breathe, step back and look at the situation with new eyes. Ask yourself why you are feeling the way you are, is it because of something in the past or are you truly in the moment. Allowing yourself to let go of old patterns opens you up to new ways of relating.

I also mentioned that Sophie Legrand discussed Brahmacharya in her post titled “Browse with Moderation”. She discusses the concept of Brahmacharya: sensory control; not giving into the ego’s excessive demands & striving to live a balanced life, without squandering precious energy.

Further to the above two Yamas there is Ahimsa: nonviolence.

Ahimsa refers to not only the abstention of physical violence but also discouraging violent words or thoughts. It is necessary to be actively aware of our thoughts and interactions with ourselves and others in order to eliminate these destructive behaviours. Remember that thoughts become actions and actions eventually become behaviours.

To truly practice Ahimsa one needs to participate in the practices of compassion, love, understanding, patience, self-love and worthiness.  First and foremost it is necessary to begin with oneself. You cannot be patient or understanding or compassionate with others if you haven’t first started with yourself. It begins from within. It is only from the love of oneself that you understand that ultimately there is no separation between you and me. To do violence to you is to do violence to me.

Starting with little baby steps, such as on your mat, be kind to yourself. The body is always changing; what you were able to do one day you might not be able to do the next. Just try to believe that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Practice forgiveness within yourself so that you can give that to others. This patience and understand that you give to yourself on your mat will naturally flow into other aspects of your life given time.

(Source: cominohotels.co.uk)

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