#aparigraha

A meditation on values, roots, and remembering.

Yoga was never meant to be easy. Not a trend. Not a sale. Not a neatly packaged hour squeezed between meetings.

Yoga has always been a path of return - to essence, to Earth, to the quiet flame of inner knowing.

But as the world shifted, so too did the ways we practise and share it. This is a gentle inquiry - not a judgement - into how our modern systems shape our sacred spaces. And how we, as a community, might remember what lies beneath it all.

5 Vows of the Seeker:

The first of the eight limbs of yoga is the yamas. The yamas are the physical restraints or ethical guidelines for embarking upon the yogic path. 

I want to make something clear. The yamas (really, all 8 limbs for that matter) are to be taken as guiding principles. The truth is, it is very difficult (if not downright impossible!) to uphold these yamas constantly. At best they serve as ideals to aspire toward and to guide our actions. We may have periods of our life in which we are better able to adhere to these principals than others. But as long as we sincerely try our best to live up to these ideals, we are on the yogic path. 

So, here we go! The 5 yamas are:

1. Ahimasa, (AH-him-saw) or non-violence/non harming. This applies to other humans and other living creatures, including animals. However, ahimsa goes beyond non-harming of other creatures and extends to the self as well. So, part of practicing ahimsa is to be kind and compassionate toward oneself and others. Practicing ahimsa helps us become more aware of the peaceful qualities of all beings, and it encourages us to honor that peace above anything else.

2.Satya, (sut-TEA-yah)  or truthfulness. According to satya, we view and describe the world based on how we want to see it, instead of how it actually is. This may mean that we have to admit when we’re distorting reality to avoid confronting a painful truth. In practice satya may involve speaking an uncomfortable truth with compassion rather than falsely telling others what they want to hear to avoid hurting their feelings. 

3.Asteya ( US-tay-yuh) or non-stealing. This includes not only objects, but also time, resources, information, and caring that others provide. In practice, asteya may look life being aware of when someone is generously giving their time, and being mindful not to take advantage of their generosity. It may also involve us “paying it forward” by donating our time and resources to others without expecting anything in return. 

4. Brahmacharya (bra-ma-char-E-uh) , or moderation of the senses or appropriate use of vital energy. Brahmacharya involves looking inward for balance, rather than depending on the outer world to satisfy our cravings. That way, we use our energy more wisely for the activities that sustain our inner peace. For example, maybe you have an unwinding ritual at the end of a particularly long hard day-long hot shower & a margarita (I have never done that! *wink...) While it may seem totally innocuous, you might become dependent on this activity for peace and normalcy, such that when you run out of hot water,you feel annoyed for the rest of the night. Consider finding another way to recharge that involves turning inward and withdrawing from the senses- perhaps by dedicating some of that time to a meditation practice. 

5. Aparigraha, (a-par-E-graw-haw), non-greed/non-possessiveness. Aprigraha  means coveting that which isn’t ours. This coveting nature is rooted in jealousy. Jealousy is fatal to our minds. In today’s social media society, we are consistently seeing everyone’s “highlights reel” not the real and everyday things. We see the make up on, angled, perfected, & filtered photos. We see this constantly, from social media to magazines, to tv commercials to billboards, and it’s so easy to compare ourselves. (Even in yoga class!). Aparigraha, therefore, encourages us to remain non-attached to the external world and remain in the present moment within our sacred mind space. 

See if you can integrate all 5 of the yamas this week into your daily life and thoughts!

Namaste-

Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose. ~Yoda

Anatomically, I am hyper mobile. For a time, I coveted flexibility, eventually moving to nonattachment, aparigraha- so I thought. Thus I never imagined how much my injured body would tighten post car accident.

Wednesday in class, I grew pissed off as pose after pose forced me to confront my loss of mobility on my left side. Closing my eyes, I asked why I care about how deeply I go into a posture. Physical depth is not the intention of Yoga. I softened, smiled.

This physical vessel is our home. When it shifts, we emotionally adjust. At times, anger is okay, so long as it is not consuming or constant.

As I always remind my students- Yoga is a practice, mostly of the mind. We meet ourselves where we are, sit with what arises, and choose, hopefully, a compassionate response.