“The mind is compared to the surface of a lake ruffled by the wind. And
thus the purpose of yoga is to cause the wind to subside and allow the
waters to return to stillness. When the wind blows, the waves break and
distort the reflections so that they can be seen only as a broken image.
When the water is calm, the whole reflection of the sky and clouds appears
distinctly and the depths of the water are translucent and clear” Jane Hope

I love the above quote as to me it reflects the essence of yoga – the quieting
of the mind . Only when the mind is quiet can we see clarity …

This coming Tuesday we will look at the second of the Yamas – Satya. This
helps us to focus on truthfulness and honesty in our thoughts, deeds and
intentions. It is with us in our work on the mat and being honest about
how we feel in a posture and not pushing ourselves too far, to our daily
lives and how we lead them. By practising Satya we can remove distortion
and falsehood from our perspective on life and lead more transparent, clear and
simple lives away from lack of truth.

The practice of satya is generally about restraint: about slowing down,
filtering and carefully considering our words and deeds so that when we choose them,
they are in harmony with the first Yama, Ahimsa (non harm/violence).
Patanjali – the founder of the 8 Limbs of yoga – states that no words can
fully reflect truth unless they flow from the spirit of nonviolence and non harm.

Until Tuesday …