‘Beggining well involves a clearing away of the crass, the irrelevant and the complicated to find the beautiful,often hidden lineaments of the essential and the necessary’- David Whyte
Yoga invites us to to do much more than move, breathe and stretch. Yoga offers us a place to begin a process of self-enquiry.
Yoga invites us to journey lightly.
Aparigraha the 5th principle of the Yama’s is the idea of non-posessiveness.
The Yama’s and Niyama’s are basically the ethic’s of yoga, the Yama’s are the don’t do’s and the Niyamas are the do’s.
It’s relatively easy to grasp the physical aspect of this principle.
When we accumulate too much stuff it becomes clutter. How many things do you have in your closet or in little corners of your home that never see the light of day? Too much stuff has a negative effect on our mental wellbeing, it definitely effects mine, I get anxious when I see clutter, ( I may have a touch of OCD.) This is why spring cleaning is so important and why people like Marie Kondo are so popular. Taking time to clear out the old or un-used items and only holding onto the things you use and love give you a sense of lighness in your space.
The other side of this principle is to begin to observe our beliefs about the world, people and about ourselves. We have each accumulated a life time of the advice, guidance and ideas from others. These ideas may be old and out dated and the people who shared this information may have been well meaning but possibly never stopped to ask themselved why? either.
Some of these ideas have become so ingrained in who we think we are that we may think they are us.
It’s important to be present, to continue to sift through the layers of our perception, the ways in which we react, and to continue to ask questions as to why we react the way that we do in certain situations. Essentially to become aware of ourselves.
For years I beleived my self-consciousness was a crippling flaw, it made me question every word that came out of my mouth, every interaction I had would be replayed in my mind with a microscopic lense, I would always ask… had I said something to offend? did my behaviour reflect negatively on how I was being perceived.
I eventually realised self-reflection and consideration towards others was something to hold onto but painful criticism of myself could definitely go!
Yoga invites us to sit with our observations, to see how they feel in our body and to let go of the perceptions that create barriers to our growth.
Similar to the closet analogy…if our closet is filled with old stuff there is no space for the new, there is too much clutter blocking our ability to feel the light.
Where are you holding on, where can you make more space?
Go lightly
Feel at ease.
Ana Maria xxx
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