Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Yogis in the Outfield
I went to Coney Island on Saturday to see a Brooklyn Cyclones game. Perfect day, great game, and even some yoga during the visiting team's warm ups - go Lowell Spinners! Must share...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Out of Control...
... and it feels so good. Well, that might be pushing it but I'm learning that you cannot control everything and that is okay. You're shocked right? In the purest yoga sense, you should not want to or try to control anything. Let it be. Be in the moment. Let go of attachment. I have written these things in this very blog. However, it still seems to be the most difficult lesson for me. And I am sure it is a lesson that I will learn again and again. (Forgive my ever pitta ways.) Through wedding planning I am being put in situations where in order to enjoy the process I need to truly practice surrender.
Last week we celebrated our engagement with our wedding party and family. I had planned said party, made the invitations myself, knew the food, every person, who was bringing children, etc. I had the details down, but still felt like there was always more to do. Then I ran out of projects. I could barely sleep the week before and was having extreme nightmares all to do with not being in control of whatever situation I found myself in night to night.
The message was clear - let go, do not attempt to control, stop worrying about the future, the universe will handle it! Why was I so worried? There are many reasons. Everyone has family stress, right? And here are two families coming together to meet and it's all mine to organize. Stress.
It turns out that it was stress for no reason. The party was wonderful. I slept like a baby after. Had I simply trusted in what I already knew I could have been sleeping much sooner. The yogi me knows the universe provides. The yogi me knows that I can only be in the moment. The yogi me knows to breathe, to be content, to put love out into the world and trust that love will be returned. This was a lesson in practicing what I already know to be true. As the rest of these wedding milestones occur, I hope to trust better next time and practice the awareness my inner teacher is happy to provide.
Cheers to living in the moment, and letting this crazy ride be about our love and joy every step of the way!
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Last week we celebrated our engagement with our wedding party and family. I had planned said party, made the invitations myself, knew the food, every person, who was bringing children, etc. I had the details down, but still felt like there was always more to do. Then I ran out of projects. I could barely sleep the week before and was having extreme nightmares all to do with not being in control of whatever situation I found myself in night to night.
The message was clear - let go, do not attempt to control, stop worrying about the future, the universe will handle it! Why was I so worried? There are many reasons. Everyone has family stress, right? And here are two families coming together to meet and it's all mine to organize. Stress.
It turns out that it was stress for no reason. The party was wonderful. I slept like a baby after. Had I simply trusted in what I already knew I could have been sleeping much sooner. The yogi me knows the universe provides. The yogi me knows that I can only be in the moment. The yogi me knows to breathe, to be content, to put love out into the world and trust that love will be returned. This was a lesson in practicing what I already know to be true. As the rest of these wedding milestones occur, I hope to trust better next time and practice the awareness my inner teacher is happy to provide.
Cheers to living in the moment, and letting this crazy ride be about our love and joy every step of the way!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Santosa...
Santosa, or contentment, can take many shapes in our daily lives but most commonly it is thought of as being satisfied with what we have been given. Santosa reminds us of Aparigraha, in the sense that we already have everything we need to be happy and content, but takes it a step further. I find that this is often the way with the Niyamas. They are personal disciplines and force us to look inward in ways we may not naturally be drawn to do with the Yamas.
Santosa is more than being satisfied with what we have in material things, though that's a start. It is being content with where we are on our path in life. It is recognizing that where we are right now is where we are meant to be. However, it does not mean take a seat on the side of the road and get stuck there. Contentment is not complacency, but acceptance. It is knowing that each step on the path is bringing us to the next lesson or experience.
This niyama is really whole in theory; every time I read a different definition of santosa I think, yes, this is the key. The key... to happiness, enlightenment, the way to becoming a better person, etc. Oop! And there it is - the snare - a 'better' person. This idea of always needing to be bigger and better is etched into the fabric of our society. We are raised to want success and are given a very limited understand of what that means: to be richer, more popular, more famous, climb the corporate ladder to the top. (If I could only lose five pounds he would fall madly in love with me and we'd live happily ever after.) We push and push to be other than we are right now. Do not get me wrong, not all ambition is bad - it can be a driving force that leads us where we are going. But it can also be destructive and cause us to miss the beauty of where we are right now.
Santosa teaches compassion. This week, try letting go of okay-what's-next. Try to be still, and love who you are and where you are at this moment. Be content. Turn off the judging, ambitious mind and just observe how far you have journeyed already.
Santosa is more than being satisfied with what we have in material things, though that's a start. It is being content with where we are on our path in life. It is recognizing that where we are right now is where we are meant to be. However, it does not mean take a seat on the side of the road and get stuck there. Contentment is not complacency, but acceptance. It is knowing that each step on the path is bringing us to the next lesson or experience.
This niyama is really whole in theory; every time I read a different definition of santosa I think, yes, this is the key. The key... to happiness, enlightenment, the way to becoming a better person, etc. Oop! And there it is - the snare - a 'better' person. This idea of always needing to be bigger and better is etched into the fabric of our society. We are raised to want success and are given a very limited understand of what that means: to be richer, more popular, more famous, climb the corporate ladder to the top. (If I could only lose five pounds he would fall madly in love with me and we'd live happily ever after.) We push and push to be other than we are right now. Do not get me wrong, not all ambition is bad - it can be a driving force that leads us where we are going. But it can also be destructive and cause us to miss the beauty of where we are right now.
Santosa teaches compassion. This week, try letting go of okay-what's-next. Try to be still, and love who you are and where you are at this moment. Be content. Turn off the judging, ambitious mind and just observe how far you have journeyed already.
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