So we are at the end of the second week of January and how are we finding life so far this year? Most of the people I speak to still feel like they are picking themselves up off the floor after a couple of months of preparing for Christmas and New Year followed by two weeks of clearing up after both these events – several people still haven’t managed to take the Christmas decorations down!! All of this can be exhausting…..especially if we have set ourselves rather unattainable New Years Resolutions.
One way of dealing with these frustrations is by not allowing ourselves to make anything a “big deal” – we don’t have to be anything to anyone …… we don’t have to be perfect and do what people expect of us. The Yamas, one of the foundation stones of yoga, were written over two thousand years ago to help us find a way to a calmer life and more inner peace. The third yama, Asteya, is about “non-stealing”. This can be taken in the literal sense but it can also go far deeper than just not taking what is not ours to take. It can mean not taking from ourselves by “stealing” from our true selves and stopping ourselves from being how we are meant to be. This can be as simple as not allowing ourselves to be as quiet or as rested as we feel is right for us, by worrying what other people might think or say if we had a quiet day, or an afternoon nap. We all know that when we are our true selves we are at our happiest and most peaceful and those that are dear to us would be the first to confirm this… .. so what is stopping us??? Our ego, our wanting to seem better than we believe we be …. our egos rarely do what’s best for us!
As you all know, yoga helps us to connect to our deeper selves and never more so than when we are in deep relaxation at the end of a session, in Shivasana, Corpse Pose, connecting to our inner peace and Truth.
More simply, we can also observe Asteya in our yoga practice … not stealing from ourselves by being late for the class …not taking from our uniqueness by wishing we were like someone else …. not stealing from our personal time on the mat by observing others and missing out what is happening to us and our personal growth.
When you’re not in the present, when you allow your mind to wander, you steal the experience of being alive in that moment from yourself. If you do that most of the time, you will miss your life.
Lets continue our practice together in classes on Mondays 10 am, Wednesdays 12 noon and Thursdays 5.50pm and details of new blocks will follow shortly. There are usually spaces in all classes for drop ins – just send me an email if you would like to join us ….http://www.judithdavismindedyoga.co.uk/contact-us/