Tag: Yamas

Get back on track

KathrinLeave a comment

I lost myself a bit over the last weeks, well even months. Under the flag of „common, let’s enjoy life“, I finally lost the connection to myself, which was so hard to build up. The good news, I know what I have to do. The difficult thing is, not to get distracted. But just do it.

My theme is all about ahimsa. This is one of the yamas (ethical precepts), part of the yoga sutras. Ahimsa translates into non violence — violence in all aspects, physical and also mental violence, such as words or thoughts.

How you treat others and yourself, what you say and think of others and yourself. This is where everything has to start, within ourselves. Be kind to the people around you. Be kind to yourself.

Non harming is the basis of every practice and it all boils down to the relationship with yourself. Repeat this: it’s about the relationship with yourself.

On the mat, it means to be kind to your body. To not push yourself into postures that you are not ready for, as you may cause injury.

Off the mat it’s about speech, food, clothing, how you treat others, the environment, yourself. Living healthy. You decide.

I decided to get back on track, back to a life of practicing ahimsa. Particularly when it comes to myself. And you know what? I know it will feel amazing, even if it needs discipline to get back. 

I’m in, how about you?

What has Aparigraha to do with happiness?

KathrinLeave a comment

I’m sure you’ve heard about the Yamas and Niyamas. The ethical and spiritual observances that should help us develop the more profound qualities of our humanity. They represent a series of “right living“, kind of rules or guidelines within Hinduism and Yoga. They were first detailed in the Upanishads and then Patanjali describes them his Yoga Sutras some years later.

One of the Yamas is Aparigraha. Which means nonpossessiveness, detachment.

On the mat it could be translated into „let go“. Let go of expectations. Let go of your desperate desire to master a certain posture. We’ve got the tendency to „hold“, particularly when it gets challenging. Either active, when it’s about holding the breath. Or more passive, when it’s about holding any emotions that manifest into tension and stiffness. When practicing asanas, try to not just push and stretch, but be aware of what’s going on in your body AND in your mind. Release and let go of what you are afraid of. Be careful and easy with yourself. Let it flow and follow your breath! Our hips are well known as a storage for emotions. So hip opening postures are quite useful, practicing with the appropriate intention and breath.

Off the mat, it’s also about letting go of your attachments. On a rather material level, think about cleaning out the clutter by getting rid of all the things you don’t need anymore. Make room! Get rid of any weight! In your relationships, it might be about forgiving others and with this, free yourself from resentment. If there’s anything dragging you down, ask yourself „is it really about me?“, I beg it’s not.

Make happiness your attitude. Life on and off the mat is so much easier and effortless when you’ve found YOUR happiness within yourself. Independent of any possession, independent from anybody’s mood or even appreciation.

Read more about it in my happiness post on my other blog love.breathe.shine.

Practice Aparigraha and keep on rocking your happiness yogis!